106 TOBACCO. 



tobacco is a narcotic poison, it will certainly des- 

 troy these organisms or their germs. So will 

 kerosene, carbolic acid, and other strong acids. 

 But no one regards these things as wholesome when 

 taken into the system. The effect sought is local, 

 and only their local use is justifiable. The per- 

 spiration of old tobacco users is so saturated with 

 nicotine that it will destroy the life of flies precisely 

 by the same poisonous properties by which it des- 

 troys fungi in the secretions of the mouth ; and 

 there is no more wisdom in poisoning the whole 

 body in order to destroy caries fungi of the teeth 

 than there would be in setting up our bodies as 

 manufactories of fly-poison to destroy flies in our 

 rooms. Any fungicide can unquestionably be 

 used more efficiently as well as harmlessly with 

 the brush and by rinsing the mouth than when 

 taken into the stomach and lungs. I believe 

 that no physiologist can, or does deduce from the 

 general laws of health and disease any conclusion 

 but that the use of tobacco in every form is mis- 

 chievous." 



HELPFUL STIMULANT. 



In regard to the arguments of those who have 

 raised the lance in defence of tobacco as a helpful 

 stimulant, quoting Dr. Anstie and his followers, I 

 have taken pains to consult many wise ones, and 

 will report from high authority a brief reply to 

 this defence. 



"Physiologists and the medical profession gen- 

 erally accept as axioms the principles that in 



