66 STUDIES IN PHYSIOLOGY 



man's body, but also to undermine his will and to weaken 

 his ambition.' r ' 



Tobacco and Athletics. One of the rules rigidly enforced 

 in athletic contests is that all candidates must abstain from 

 the use of tobacco while in training. The reason for this 

 insistence is the fact that tobacco seriously interferes with 

 the action of the lungs and heart; hence, those who smoke 

 are found to be easily " winded " in the games. 



4. ALCOHOL 



Alcohol as a Possible Food. Like the carbohydrates 

 and fat, alcohol is composed of carbon, hydrogen, and 

 oxygen. 1 Since it contains no nitrogen, it has no value 

 in the processes of growth and repair; in other words, it 

 cannot be made into protoplasm. It cannot, therefore, in 

 any sense, like meat, milk, and eggs, answer as a complete 

 food. 



Alcohol we know can be burned or oxidized in stoves or 

 lamps for the production of heat, and doubtless in a few 

 years this kind of fuel will be widely used for generating 

 mechanical energy in various kinds of engines. Professor 

 Atwater has shown that alcohol also, if used in sufficiently 

 small amounts, may produce within the human body a cer- 

 tain amount of heat and muscular power. Indeed, in some 

 cases of extreme weakness, especially in diseases, alcohol is 

 regarded by some eminent physicians as necessary for sav- 

 ing life. 



Not all the leading writers on physiology, however, are in 

 agreement as to any possible food value of alcohol, and 

 the following quotations will show a wide diversity of 

 opinion. 



Professor Adolph Tick: "We may unhesitatingly desig- 

 nate as a poison any substance which, introduced into the 

 blood in comparatively small amounts, causes disturbances 



1 Its chemical composition is represented by the symbol CaHgOH. 



