142 TOBACCO: ITS HISTORY. 



every organ of the body, we are told, menace the 

 habitual smoker with premature decay or death ; 

 and we are given to understand that, unless we 

 give up smoking, Dr. Solly, at least, will not 

 report favourably upon us to the Victoria and 

 Crown Insurance Offices ! The mere threat of 

 premature decay by various diseases and death 

 might pass ; but it seems the height of impro- 

 priety for a medical man to lend himself to in- 

 surance companies to enable them to screw higher 

 premiums from the insured, which must be the 

 result, however conscientious (though misguided) 

 may be Mr. Solly's opinions. 



If the various positions of Mr. Solly and his 

 friends of the ' Lancet ' were well founded, it 

 would follow that every third man at least of our 

 population must have been suffering from all 

 manner of diseases for the last two centuries — 

 since the consumption of tobacco has kept pace 

 with the increase of population ; nay, it also 

 follows that, instead of increasing in population 

 at a great ratio, as proved beyond a doubt, we 

 have been suffering from sterility ! And this in 

 the face of the well-known fact that the popula- 



