394 THE HUMAN MACHINE 



Not all the products of burning pass into the water. Notice 

 matter collected in the coiled tube at B. After the fish shows the 

 effects of the smoke, transfer it to a bowl of fresh water. Note 

 the appearance and odor of the liquid at B. What becomes of 

 this product when one smokes a cigarette ? 



What a Great Athletic Director Has to Say about To- 

 bacco. The following letter which was sent by A. A. Stagg 

 to a teacher in the Wellesley Junior High School, Wellesley, 

 Mass., speaks for itself. Anyone who has followed his 

 teams on the west coast knows that he is still a coach 

 whose teams play the game as good sportsmen should. 



The University of Chicago l 

 Department of Physical Culture and Athletics 

 Office of the Director 



December 9, 1931 



From personal observation of athletes who have been addicted to the 

 use of tobacco, I can speak with confidence, that, as a rule, they do not 

 possess the endurance of athletes who have grown up free from the use 

 of it. Few people smoke without inhaling, which means that eight 

 times as much of the nicotine poison goes into their systems, according 

 to recent experiments by a German scientist, than from the use of 

 tobacco without inhaling. One of the leading physicians of Chicago 

 has personally told me that since he started smoking, his pulse has 

 gone up ten to twelve beats, and another physician, to whom I told 

 this, has confirmed it by his personal experience. 



Outside of the matter of endurance, I have no exact data, but I am 

 strongly of the opinion that athletes who have used tobacco would not 

 have as steady nerves in tight pinches as non-users. 



The Danger from the Narcotic Poison, Nicotine. Just 

 as fatigue poisons damage the human machine so do other 

 poisons damage it. You have often heard older people 

 say when they were tired, that a good smoke rested them. 

 It seems to rest them, for tobacco contains a narcotic 

 poison called nicotine. Any narcotic deadens the senses 

 and soothes a person into believing he is rested, but along 

 with this comes the effect of the poison in the body. 



1 From Manual for Teaching Effects of Alcohol, Stimulants and Narcotics 

 upon the Human Body. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department 

 of Education, 



