STIMULANTS, NARCOTICS, AND POISONS 69 



either a stimulant or a narcotic, and it is for this purpose 

 that it is taken, not for its possible fuel value. 



In later chapters we shall discuss the affects of alcohol on 

 various organs of the body. One fact should, however, be 

 continually emphasized, namely, that even if it should be 

 proved that alcohol, when used by adults in moderation, 

 may generate a certain amount of energy, still this is an 

 exceedingly dangerous compound to introduce in any form 

 into the diet of a boy or girl. In the first place, even 

 more than tobacco, it interferes with the healthy growth of 

 protoplasm ; and in the second place, the use of liquors in 

 moderation by a great many people, both young and old, is 

 absolutely impossible. Men never become drunkards, pau- 

 pers, and criminals by taking the real nutrients, starch- 

 sugar, fats, or proteids, nor does the taste for any of these 

 foods become uncontrollable, as is so often the case with 

 alcohol. " Till he has tried it, no one can be sure whether 

 he can control his appetite or not. When he has ascer- 

 tained the fact, it is often too late. The child should be 

 taught to avoid alcohol because it is dangerous to him. 

 The only certain safety for the young lies in. total ab- 

 stinence." 



We have found, then, that the effects of alcohol on the 

 body depend very largely upon the quantity taken ; if the 

 amount is small, .alcohol may possibly be regarded as a 

 source of energy, and hence, in a limited sense, as a food ; 

 in larger amounts it increases temporarily the activity of 

 the organs of the body, and then it becomes a stimulant ; if 

 still larger quantities are taken, the narcotic effects of alco- 

 hol are shown in complete intoxication ; and finally, a suffi- 

 cient amount may be consumed to poison the organs and 

 cause death. 



No one who begins the use of alcohol expects to take such 

 an amount that it will act like a poison, or even as a nar- 

 cotic. There is, however, a constant danger that he will do 

 so. But even if he does not, the following quotations will 



