Other Narcotics. 287 



Cocaine. Cocaine is an extract of a shrub native to the 

 Andes. Its effects are similar to those of coffee, but are 

 more intense. Large doses have a narcotic effect. Its 

 long-continued use is followed by sleeplessness, decay of 

 moral and intellectual power, emaciation, and death. It 

 produces loss of sensibility in a limited area of surface to 

 which it is applied; hence is valuable for minor surgical 

 operations, such as those performed on the eye. 



Soothing Syrups. Probably all of the soothing syrups 

 contain some form of opium. The frequent use of such 

 drugs on children is dangerous. None of them should be 

 used except under the advice of a physician. They do 

 stop pain, but they are not likely to cure the trouble that 

 caused the pain, and are of doubtful benefit, even where 

 they are not actually harmful. By their continued use 

 many sickly children are really soothed to death. 



Narcotics reduce Strength. " Such narcotics as opium, 

 cocaine, and tobacco, by lessening the sensibilities of 

 the nervous structures, correspondingly lessen muscular 

 activity, both voluntary and involuntary, and thereby 

 lessen the depth and frequency of respiration. Conse- 

 quently, the individual who uses any one of these agents, 

 even within the limits of so-called moderation, from day to 

 day, through months and years, inevitably dulls his nervous 

 energy, uses a less amount of oxygen, and slowly but surely 

 impairs the vital properties of his tissues and invites early 

 old age." N. S. Davis, M.D. 



The Use of Narcotics. The use of anesthetics and 

 narcotics may all be represented by alcohol. They all act 

 on the nervous system. They produce at first a pleasing 

 effect or they bring relief from pain. The use of many of 

 them is begun during illness, when they are administered 



