548 APPLIED BIOLOGY 



blood-vessels, and nervous organs are frequently involved in 

 disease changes. All medical men recognize that alcoholic 

 intemperance leads to an immense amount of sickness. A 

 large number of deaths are due to the diseases known as 

 chronic alcoholism and delirium tremens; and many cases 

 of Bright's disease of the kidneys, paralysis, pneumonia, 

 tuberculosis, and other diseases are believed by eminent 

 physicians to have been hastened to a fatal issue by the pre- 

 vious use of alcohol. 



It should be noted that no reputable physician claims that 

 even excessive use of alcohol will always lead to diseased 

 conditions. There are exceptional individuals who are 

 almost constantly intoxicated, and yet show no external 

 evidences of diseased organs. However, no sane person who 

 has learned of the great liability of excessive drinkers to 

 diseases will care to take his chances of being one of the few 

 who appear to escape the most serious consequences. More- 

 over, it should be noted that in recent years there have been 

 found many cases of diseases in " moderate drinkers " which 

 are probably due to long use of alcoholic liquors. 



It is well known that the excessive use of alcohol leads to 

 obesity \ or storing of fat. This is most dangerous when in 

 the muscles of the heart. Gout is often, not always, caused 

 by alcoholic liquors. 



474. " Pure " Alcoholic Beverages. Manufacturers of 

 alcoholic liquors often advertise that their products have 

 been " purified " so that they have no poisonous action. 

 This is an absolutely false claim, for scientific studies have 

 shown that while the so-called " impurities " in alcoholic 

 drinks are poisonous, they are present in such small amounts 

 that their effect is slight, and that the poisonous effect of 

 alcoholic liquors is chiefly due to the alcohol they contain. 

 Even absinthe and other highly flavored French liqueurs, 

 containing extracts of wormwood, anise, and other aromatic 

 herbs, certainly owe most of their decidedly poisonous action 



