306 RESPIRATION AND EXCRETION 



" An American medical writer (Journal of American Medical Asso- 

 ciation) points out the reason why the use of alcohol makes one liable to 

 consumption. He mentions the use of alcohol among various other things 

 which cause the natural vital resistance of the healthy body to be impaired. 

 Among those other things mentioned with alcohol, which produce this 

 impairment of vital resistance, are : ' Living in overcrowded, ill- ventilated 

 houses, on damp soils, or insufficient clothing and outdoor exercise.' ' 

 Hall, Elementary Physiology. 



" Alcohol interferes with the Respiration of the Cells. Alcohol is 

 quickly absorbed from the stomach and intestine and as quickly disap- 

 pears. After it is taken, little or no alcohol, or any substance like alcohol, 

 or any substance containing so little oxygen as alcohol, can be found in any 

 waste of the body. Hence the inference is that it must be oxidized, al- 

 though the exact point and the manner of its oxidation may not be known. 

 But the evidence for its oxidation is the same as that for the oxidation of 

 sugar. 



" Every ounce of alcohol requires nearly two ounces of oxygen to 

 oxidize it fully. Taking twenty-five ounces of oxygen gas as the amount 

 used in a day, there will be only one ounce used in an hour. So to oxidize 

 an ounce of alcohol takes an amount of oxygen equal to the whole supply 

 of the body for two hours. Three or four drinks of whisky contain this 

 ounce of alcohol. If this amount is drunk, there will soon be a lessened 

 action and a narcotic effect throughout the body, due mainly to the 

 lack of oxygen. A noticeable degree of uncertain action is called intoxi- 

 cation. 



" Using alcohol in the body is like burning kerosene in a coal stove. 

 By taking great care a little kerosene can be made to give out some heat 

 from the stove, but the operation is dangerous. Some people seem to 

 oxidize alcohol within the body with but little harm ; but they run great 

 risks of doing themselves harm, and the result is not nearly so good as if 

 they had used proper food. 



" Effects of Tobacco on Respiration. Tobacco smoke contains the 

 same kind of poisons as the tobacco, with other irritating substances 

 added. It is usually sucked into the mouth and at once blown out again, 

 but cigarette smoke is commonly drawn into the lungs and afterwards 

 blown out through the nose. It is irritating to the throat, causing a 

 cough and rendering it more liable to inflammation. If inhaled into the 

 bronchi, it produces still greater irritation, and the vaporized nicotine is 

 more readily absorbed if the smoke is inhaled the more deeply. Cigarettes 

 contain the same poisons as other forms of tobacco, and often contain 

 other poisons which are added to flavor them." Overton, Applied 

 Physiology. 



" The throat, bronchial tubes, and lungs of a tobacco smoker are all 

 liable to irritation by the poisonous smoke, and chronic inflammation is 

 often caused. The nicotine of tobacco is a deadly poison, and in cigarettes 



