HOW THE SMOKER'S HEART IS AFFECTED 227 



beginning of eacli season. lie knows that the boy who 

 smokes cannot reach his highest efficiency <>r be relied 

 upon at critical times in the contest. He would rather 

 have boys who do not smoke, because they an- stronger, 

 larger, and steadier than those who smoke. The cigarette 

 habit has spread until it threatens the health of thousands 

 of boys of America to-day. How is it known that their 

 health is not so good ? The charts on "smoker's heart' 

 prove this point. 



171. How the Smoker's Heart is Affected. — The follow- 

 ing illustrations on the rate of the heart beat and the 

 strength of the pulse, by W. A. McKeever, show what 

 really happens when we smoke. There is much in these 

 illustrations to warrant the conclusion that the heart of 

 the habitual cigarette smoker is weak and feeble, except 

 for the few minutes during which he is indulging the 

 habit, and that the pulsations at this time are unduly 

 excited. Figure 235 shows three records of a young man 

 nineteen years old who began smoking cigarettes at the 

 age of fifteen and who inhaled the fumes. The three 

 records were taken without removing or readjusting the 

 instrument, as follows : No. I, immediately before smok- 

 ing ; No. II, during the indulgence of the habit, and No. 

 Ill, fifteen minutes later, after the effect of the narcotic 

 had become apparent. Now, by reference to Figure -3»>, 

 No. Ill, we may observe how this young man's heart 

 should record itself, for the latter is the tracing of the 

 heart pulsations of a normal young man of the same age 

 and temperament. Nos. IV to VI ( Figure -'■).'>) are repre- 

 sentative of another inhaler twenty years old, who began 

 the practice at thirteen. He now uses a strong pipe. 



In Figure 236, Nos. I and II, taken respectively before 

 and after smoking, are tracings of a sensitive youth of eigh- 

 teen who has been smoking only two years. Observe the 



