ALCOHOL 51 



pain or a cold, and many drink because others do. The 

 real reason for drinking alcohol is that men like the feel- 

 ings which it produces better than they like healthy minds 

 and bodies. Because strong drink can be sold for a great 

 deal more money than it costs, selling it is a very profitable 

 business, and men fit up costly rooms so as to entice men 

 to buy it. 



96. Effect of alcohol upon the mouth. Alcohol is a 

 poison which has definite effects. It usually has effects 

 opposite to those that men think it has. As it is swal- 

 lowed, the alcohol in all drinks injures the cells of the sur- 

 face of the mouth and leaves a false feeling of thirst. 

 So a second drink is taken to relieve the thirst caused by 

 the first. Thus the drinker keeps on drinking, and all the 

 while grows more thirsty, even though his body has suffi- 

 cient water. His mouth gives off unpleasant odors, but 

 this is due in part, at least, to the coated tongue and sick 

 stomach which drink causes. 



97. Effects of alcohol upon the stomach. In the stomach, 

 the alcohol of strong drink hinders or stops the action of 

 the gastric juice. So food may digest more slowly or pass 

 into the intestine without being changed. The alcohol 

 also hurts the mucous membrane of the stomach. Then 

 this may become red and pour out a slimy mucus. The 

 alcohol often causes a person to vomit. This is really a 

 good thing, for so the stomach gets rid of the poison. 



98. Protection against alcohol. When strong alcohol 

 is taken into the mouth, the saliva flows freely and dilutes 

 it so that it is no longer capable of burning the mucous 

 membrane. This flow of saliva is like the flow of tears to 

 wash away a speck of dirt from the eye. 



When alcohol reaches the stomach, the glands in its 

 mucous membrane pour out gastric juice and mucus to 



