Cigarettes 205 



cigarette plays no small part. The puffing of 

 cigarettes differs from smoking ; such it can scarcely 

 be considered. It is a form of slight excitement ; 

 it feeds rather than satisfies the appetite ; it is more 

 like, in its effects and practice, the smoking of opium 

 than of tobacco ; the cigarette is a variety of the 

 craving for absinthe and morphia. Its popularity is 

 a sign of the national craving for brevity, weakness 

 and mild excitement, and of dislike for all that is solid 

 and substantial, whether it be in food, clothes, litera- 

 ture, religion, or amusement. Indeed, the cigarette, 

 denounced by the ' honest smoker ' as mere flirtation 

 with Diva Nicotina, emphasizes in one aspect the most 

 striking phase of modern life and thought. 



As to the hygienic aspect of cigarette-smoking there 

 is much diversity of opinion. The subtle mildness 

 of, and constant craving for, the cigarette condemn 

 it in the eyes of some doctors, as drying up the 

 stomach and weakening the nerves and eyesight. 

 The passage of the shredded bits of tobacco into 

 the mouth and the inhalation of the smoke of the 

 burning paper are cited for its condemnation. Sir 

 Henry Thompson, however, regards the cigarette 

 with favour, especially if smoked through a holder. 

 He has invented one with a cavity for a wad of 

 cotton-wool to absorb the oils. ' Smoked simply,' 

 he concludes, 'or with cotton-wool interposed, I do 

 not hesitate to regard the cigarette as the least 

 potent, and therefore the least injurious, form of 

 tobacco-smoking.' 



