Feb. 3, 1882.] 



KNOWLEDGE 



203 



the inqmrcr ; bat in the present paper I intend to narrow my con- 

 sideration of the subject to one special point, viz., the foo<l action 

 of tobacco ; and, in order to show yoa that I am not fightinj^ against 

 a man of straw, permit mo to quote the words of one of our most 

 eminent writers on the subject of narcotics — the late Dr. Anstie, 

 who, in " Stimulants and Narcotics," says : — 



" Next, perhaps, to coca in its power of replacing ordinary food, 

 we must reckou tobacco. The power of this substance to com- 

 pensate, to a certain extent, for the want of fcod, is very well 

 known, but, strangely enough, it is generally assumed that this 

 property of tobacco is dependent npon its powi r to disgust the 

 apjietite, by prostmting the nervous power of the stomach. A very 

 little reflection should be sufficient to entirely discountenance such 

 a view. There are very many substances capable of destroying 

 appetite by a depressing influence upon the nervous system ; such, 

 for instance, as the salts of antimony, or the preparations of ipecacu- 

 anha; yet no one will pretend that the action of any such drugs would 

 relieve the seuse of faintness produced by fatigue, endured in the ab- 

 sence of food — an effect which tobacco undoubtedly produces in per- 

 sona with whose .^jystem it agrees. The experienced sportsman, accus- 

 tomed to tram]) long hours over the heather in quest of game, woiild 

 laugh at such an explanation of the effect of his favourite " cuttj-." 

 Ho knows very well that it is by no mere disgusting of his appetite 

 that he comforts himself for the indefinite removal of the prospects 

 of dinner. By the time he had succeeded in depressing his stomach 

 to the level of indifference to food, he may be sure he would have 

 rendered himself incapable of continued strenuous exertion were 

 tobacco effective only in this way. That tobacco is not an exact 

 equivalent for roast beef, nobody knows better than the smoker; 

 at the same time, it would be impossible to persuade anyone 

 who had practical exjjerience of the use of it to believe that 

 its only effect is to depress nervous power. The fact is, 

 that all such statements arc made on the authority of persons 

 either practically ignorant of the effects of smoking, or else 

 naturally incapable, as some are, of deriving benefit from it. There 

 are a few people whom no amount of care and skill exercised in the 

 taking of tobacco, nor any moderation in the dose used, can save 

 from unmistakable poisoning, whenever they indulge in it. These 

 cases are rare, and they ought to be carefully separated from the 

 evil results which are produced by mere unskilfulness in smoking, 

 such as causes the trouble of beginners in the art.'* 



Now in order to enter intelligently into the discussion of such an 

 utterance as the above, we must pursue a line of argument like the 

 following : — 



1 . What constitutes any substance a food ? Does tobacco possess 

 those attributes ? If not, 



2. Are there no substances of advantage in nutrition other than 

 those properly termed foods ? If not, 



3. To what class of agents does tobacco belong, and what is its 

 exact influence upon nutrition ? 



1. What constitutes any substance a food ? We answer, what- 

 ever can be used either to build up the body or add energy to it is 

 a true food. The human body, like the steam-engine, requires two 

 classes of materials for its efficiency. It requires nitrogenous 

 material, by which the machinery is built up, just as the steam- 

 engine is made of iron, brass, &c. ; and it requires carbonaceous 

 and other material, whose combustion gives motive power, just as 

 the steam-engine requires coal and water for i>urposes of motion. 

 Every nerve and muscle in the body is a vast assemblage of 

 cells, and each cell is filled with explosive material, ready 

 to burst on the application of the slightest stimulus, and thereby to 

 Kberate its pent-up energy in order to conduct the vital functions 

 for which it is adapted. The vital processes are thus conducted by 

 a continued series of explosions, and so great is the heat generated 

 by such explosions, that unless the hum-in body were mostly com- 

 posed of water, it would go off in smoke like a bombshell, or quickly 

 disappear by spontaneous combustion. When one end of a nerve is 

 irritated, a series of e.xplosions runs along its entire length. If 

 this nerve leads to the brain, it excites thought ; if to a muscle, 

 it excites movement by originating a series of explosions in 

 ■'■' brain or in the muscle. Those of you who, as boys, 

 .1 '■ amused youi-selves by setting fire to an end of a long train of 

 '1 powder, and watched with delight the glowing force gliding, 

 - ingly, along its course, will at once .appreciate this explanation 

 nervous communication. When once the cell contents have 

 ' rated their energy by explosion, they are henceforth as useless 

 the washings of a gun or the spent ashes on the hearth, and 

 -i be swept out of the body as waste matter, to make room for a 

 >h snp])Iy of storcd-up energj-. It is through the medium of the 

 • ' r-circulating blood that a continuous supply of such material is 

 u'.ight within reach of every cell in the organism : and it is by means 

 that same current that the waste matter is carried away which 



would otherwise as effectually extinguish life as an accumulation of 

 ashes will extinguish the kitchen-fire. This waste matter we call 

 poison, because of its power to interfere with vitality. I may mention, 

 in passing, that it is among this waste matter that alcohol is found 

 in the body of every man, be he the most ardent teetotaller or the 

 most ardent spirit-drinker in these realms. Alcohol is the ashes 

 which remain after the explosion of sugar in the body, and, like all 

 other ashes, it is rapidly thrown out of the system. 



We are sometimes told that alcohol must be a food, because it is 

 found in the body. We might as well be told that spent ashes are 

 good fuel because they are found in the fire. 



Now. it is not maintained by an}' scientific authority that tobacco 

 either assists iu building up the tissues or in supplying them with 

 explosive material ; but such authorities do assert that it is u.seful 

 in some other way. This brings us to our second consideration, 

 viz. : — 



2. Are there no substances of advantage in nutrition, other than 

 those properly termed foods ? We answer that there are. Just as 

 the engine-driver cannot attain express speed without a liberal use 

 of the poker, so the human machine cannot be kept in healthy 

 activity without the administration of stimuli. Observe, I do not 

 say stimulants, because that word has been corrupted, and now 

 refers to a class of compounds which ought properly to be termed 

 alcoholic narcotics. Alcohol is almost entu-ely used for its narcotic 

 properties, and where thus used, cannot be admitted under the 

 head of a stimulus. A stimulus is an agent which makes life 

 more active, although it adds no energy whatever to the system ; 

 just as the poker will make the lire burn brighter, although it adds 

 no heat or brightness of its own. Stimixli may be applied exter- 

 nally, or administered internally, and the more stimulus the body 

 encounters among its surroundings, the less does it require mixed 

 with its food. The man who takes a cold bath every morning 

 before going to business does not require strong coffee to goad his 

 nervous system to its daily toil. Those who have abundant open- 

 air exercise may live entirely on vegetable diet, which contains but 

 little stimulus ; while those whose life is monotonous and sedentary 

 require a more stimulating diet. But the healthiest stimulus is 

 unquestionably the external. Open-air exercise, cold bathing, 

 and pleasurable mental excitement will give sounder and 

 better stimulation than the most savoury diet. Internal 

 stimuli must only be resorted to when the external cannot be 

 secured. There is one criterion by which you can always dis- 

 tinguish whether or not any agent is a stimulus, viz., by its power 

 to increase the demand for food. The more you employ your poker, 

 the more coal you burn ; and just as yon can extinguish your fire by 

 a too vigorous application of the poker, and without adding fresh 

 supplies of coal, so you may extinguish life by using too much 

 stimulus without giving, at the same time, an increased supply of 

 food. For example, if you feed a dog entirely on Liebig's extract 

 of meat, which contains the stimulating properties of beef without 

 much of the nutrient property, it will not live so long as if yon fed 

 it npon water alone. This proves that the extract of meat is a true 

 stimulus, because it induces a greater necessity for food. It is thus 

 useful for invalids with failing appetite, provided that true food be 

 given at the same time. Now, tobacco is not a true food, neither is 

 it a stimulus ; for it rather diminishes the desire for food. Indeed, 

 the boast of its advocates is, that it enables a man to do with less 

 food, and even to do without food altogether for considerable 

 periods. 



3. How, then, does tobacco affect the animal tissues ? It is not 

 equivalent to the coal of the fire, nor to the poker. Where, then, 

 can we find an analogous agent ? Tobacco has the same effect upon 

 the nerve-cells that water has upon a coal fire. Apply water iu 

 small quantity, and your fire will burn more slowly ; apply a large- 

 enough bucketful, and it will cease to exist. When the cook rakes 

 up the ashes, and covers her fire before going to bed, she performs 

 the same physical experiment as her master, who soothes his nerves 

 with tobacco before retii'ing for the night. The cook wishes her tire 

 to smoulder during the night. She therefore applies an .agent which 

 will check combustion by partially excluding oxygen from her fuel ; 

 her master applies to his nervous system an agent which diminishes 

 oxidation, and thus seriously interferes with vital action. In both 

 cases there will be less material burned, less coal and less explosive 

 food. But is this a real advantage to the usefulness of the fire or of 

 the human machine ? The cook would be very late with bieakfast 

 if she trusted such a fire to boil the kettle, and the work accom- 

 plished by a brain much affected by tobacco is both small in quan- 

 tity and inferior in (juality. It is as difficult to send proper 

 messages along a nerve which is under the influence of tobacco as 

 it is to fire a train of damp gunpowder. " Praise God, and keep 

 your powder dry," said the great Oliver Cromwell ; " Praise God 

 and keep your brain clear," wotild have been his burning advice had 

 he lived in these latter days. 



