in the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, 
Vol. 162, p. 856, 1910: 
“There is not one scintilla of evidence that 
malignant disease of the throat is due in any 
way to the use of tobacco; and if it be admitted 
that carcinoma (cancer) of the lip or tongue 
has been produced by smoking, it is clearly 
not tobacco, but traumatism (i. e., injury) from 
the stems of the pipe or other tobacco con- 
tainer that is responsible. 
“It does not appear or at least has not been 
proven that tobacco causes any definite charac- 
teristic lesions of the nose, throat or ear.” 
Dr. Reik is a man of high standing in the 
medical profession. His opinion is clear and 
unmistakable and it is presumed he has seen 
thousands of cases of nose and throat diseases 
and knows what he is talking about. 
Dr. Reik refers to the question of so-called 
smokers’ cancer. Cancer is a disease which at- 
tacks all kinds of people and may occur in 
widely different parts of the body. The causa- 
tion of this disease is not known to the medical 
profession but what is known about it is that it 
usually occurs on the site of some previous in- 
jury. Thus cancer may occur on the tongue 
as the result of the constant irritation of a 
jagged broken tooth. 
180 
