THE BENEFICIAL QUALITIES OF 

 TOBACCO 



In the previous chapters the possible harm- 

 ful effects of using tobacco have been dealt with 

 at length. In this chapter we shall deal shortly 

 with some positive beneficial effects. 



There is very little doubt that tobacco is a 

 strongly protective agent against infection 

 from disease. Its germicidal qualities are well- 

 known and recognized. It is now recognized by 

 medical writers that the mouth is one of the 

 principal, if not the principal channel of in- 

 fection for many infective diseases. The cavi- 

 ties of the teeth are the breeding places of hosts 

 of pathogenic bacteria, of which there are about 

 100 different varieties arising from decaying 

 food and other sources. These destructive 

 agents, many of them highly pathogenic, easily 

 find their way from the mouth through various 

 channels to the inside of the body. Many in- 

 fective organisms floating in the air are drawn 

 into the mouth in the act of respiration and this 

 is a common method of falling a victim to con- 

 tagion. 



The effect of tobacco juice on the bacteria of 

 the human mouth was investigated by Dr. W. 

 D. Fullerton and is reported by him in the 

 Cleveland Med. Journal 1912, page 585. 



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