STIMULANTS, NARCOTICS, AND POISONS 65 



and by adults. Just because his father seems to be using 

 tobacco without apparent harm is no reason why a boy can 

 safely smoke. We have already called attention to the com- 

 plex composition of protoplasm. During the whole period 

 in which the body is attaining its growth this living sub- 

 stance is affected far more appreciably and seriously by 

 the use of stimulants and narcotics than is the case later in 

 life. 



Tobacco is a narcotic in its effects, that is, it tends to 

 decrease activity and likewise growth. That such is its 

 effect during early life has been abundantly proven in 

 many ways. But perhaps the most conclusive facts are 

 those presented by actual measurements made in college 

 gymnasiums. Dr. Hitchcock of Amherst College, who has 

 made careful measurements of college students for a good 

 many years, finds that those who do not smoke increase in 

 height during their college course 37% more than those 

 who do smoke, and in chest girth this difference is 42% 

 or nearly one half as much again. Dr. Seaver of the Yale 

 Gymnasium finds also that in height and lung capacity 

 smokers are considerably inferior to those who do not use 

 tobacco. 



" Whatever difference of opinion there may be regarding 

 the effect of tobacco on adults and much difference of 

 opinion exists there is almost complete agreement among 

 those best qualified to know that the use of tobacco is in a 

 high degree harmful to children and youths. Physicians, 

 teachers, and others who have much to do with boys very 

 generally remark that those who begin to smoke at an early 

 age very seldom amount to much. Andrew D. White, former 

 President of Cornell University, sums up the matter as fol- 

 lows: ' I never knew a student to smoke cigarettes who did 

 not disappoint expectations, or, to use one expressive ver- 

 nacular, " kinder peter out." I have watched this class of 

 men for thirty years, and cannot recall an exception to this 

 rule. Cigarette smoking serves not only to weaken a young 



