The Muscles 63 



This is evident from the unsteady hand, the staggering 

 gait, and the lack of general muscular control of those 

 who are under the influence of strong drink. 



Men under the influence of alcoholic liquor may do an 

 increased amount of muscular work for a very few minutes, 

 but such an increase is produced at the expense of energy 

 which is needed in enduring sustained exposure or work. 

 Men who are trained for athletic contests are strictly for- 

 bidden to use alcoholic beverages. 



In brief, while a certain amount of energy may be 

 derived from the oxidation of alcohol in the body, both 

 experiment and observation seem to show that the sum 

 total of benefit in the form of sustained muscular work is 

 more than counterbalanced by the paralyzant effect of the 

 alcohol upon the nervous system. 



91, Effect of Tobacco on the Muscular Tissues. Tobacco 

 tends to impair the energy of the muscular tissues as alco- 

 hol does, by its paralyzing effect upon the nervous centers. 

 This applies especially to the young, in the growing age 

 between twelve or fourteen and twenty, the very time 

 when the healthy body is being well knit and compacted. 



Hence many public and private schools, as well as our 

 national naval and military academies, rigidly prohibit the 

 use of tobacco by their students. 



For the same reason, the statute laws in many states 

 prohibit the sale of cigarettes to minor children. 



Several directors of physical education in our colleges 

 have clearly demonstrated by personal examination and 

 recorded statistics that the use of tobacco among college 

 students checks growth in weight, height, chest-girth, and, 

 most of all, in lung capacity. 



