294 EXPERIMENTAL GENERAL SCIENCE 



Owing to the fact that it is a habit forming drug, the moderate 

 drinker little by little becomes more intemperate until he 

 ends a mental and physical wreck. Many States now forbid 

 the sale within their borders of alcohol for drinking and in 

 other States large areas have become "dry" territory. It 

 will probably be only a short time before the drinking of 

 alcohol will be entirely abolished. One of the most forceful 

 reasons for the total abstinence from alcohol is the fact that 

 practically all positions of responsibility are now barred to the 

 user of strong drink. The boy who begins life by indulging in 

 beer, wines, whiskey, and other liquors starts with a handicap 

 which he can scarcely hope to overcome. He voluntarily 

 undertakes to accept menial positions with small chance of 

 attaining the good salaries and easy positions of his fellows 

 who do not drink. After careful investigation, the life in- 

 surance companies have discovered that the average length of 

 life of even the moderate drinker is less than that of the ab- 

 stainer. This is partly due to the degeneration which alcohol 

 causes in the tissues, and partly because the drinking of alcohol 

 so lowers the vitality that the body repels disease with diffi- 

 culty. Whenever an epidemic of disease spreads through a 

 locality, it is the drinking man who first succumbs to it. 



253. Patent Medicines. The shelves of every drug store 

 are stocked with a vast array of patent medicines which mutely 

 testify to the widespread habit our people have of dosing 

 themselves. The labels on the bottles usually indicate that 

 the contents will cure a variety of diseases, though the regular 

 physician finds it necessary to prescribe separately for each 

 case. There may be some patent medicines that are valuable, 

 but the majority owe their reputed curative powers to the 

 effects of the alcohol which they contain. In several, the 

 percentage of alcohol is higher than it is in whiskey. Money 

 paid for patent medicines is usually wasted. It is a good rule 

 to take no medicine of any kind except upon the advice of a 

 physician. 



