TOBACCO AND ITS EFFECTS. 97 



opinion formed of my o^vn work and views. The series 

 of questions given was sent to nearly all the prominent 

 medical men of Wisconsin, a very large majority of whom 

 responded at considerable length ; some who did not, 

 being prevented, not by any lack of interest in the sub- 

 ject, or by any failure to recognize its great importance, 

 but by the want of time to answer as fully as seemed 

 desirable. To all I offer sincere and hearty thanks, as 

 now I bring my own personal work to a close. 



Mr. Sally, of St. Thomas Hospital, uses the following 

 language : " It is my business to point out all the various 

 and insidious causes of general paralysis, and smoking is 

 one of them ; I know of no single vice which does so 

 much harm as smoking ; it is a snare and a delusion. I 

 believe that cases of general paralysis are more frequent 

 in England than they used to be, and I suspect that 

 smoking tobacco is one of the causes of that increase ; of 

 this being the case in America, there is no doubt." 



Dr. Williams Henderson, in his " Plain Law for Im- 

 proved Health," speaking of insanity from the use of 

 tobacco, refers to a gentleman who, from having been one 

 of the most fearless and healthy of men, became one of 

 the most timid. He became unable even to present a 

 petition ; much less could he say a word concerning it, 

 although he was a practised lawyer. He was afraid to be 

 left alone at night. Though perfectly temperate in other 

 respects he had used tobacco to excess. 



In the " Lancet " (January, 1857) Mr. Fenn thus describes 

 the result of his investigations : " On account of its 

 softening and relaxing effect upon the mucous membrane 

 of the bowels, tobacco is greatly resorted to in habitual 

 constipation, but the susceptibility of the nervous system 



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