WHAT WE BREATHE 45 



Now that we are considering the status of 

 street dust in bacterial circles, it will not perhaps 

 be out of place to inquire into the character of 

 another waste product of streets, i.e. the discarded 

 ends of cigars and cigarettes. That what is care- 

 lessly tossed away on the one hand may be as 

 carefully collected on the other is well known, 

 as is also the fact that such material may sub- 

 sequently be raised once more to the dignity of 

 a marketable commodity. Under these circum- 

 stances, it is of hygienic interest and importance 

 to ascertain whether disease germs, should they 

 have obtained access to this tobacco refuse, are 

 in a virulent or quiescent condition. 



Some experiments to decide this question in 

 connection with the tubercle bacillus have been 

 recently carried out in Padua by Dr. Peserico, 

 who, whilst extending our knowledge on the 

 subject of bacteria and tobacco, has also confirmed 

 the earlier results obtained by Kerez. 



Portions of cigar-stumps smoked by phthisical 

 persons in whose saliva the tubercle bacillus was 

 known to be abundantly present were inoculated 

 into guinea-pigs, with the result that fifty per cent, 

 of the animals thus treated succumbed to tuber- 

 culosis. Thus neither the fumes nor juice of the 

 tobacco had destroyed the consumption bacillus. 

 In these experiments the cigar ends were used 



