TOBACCO 87 



continued, may become dangerous to the health. One of 

 these narcotics is tobacco, the other opium. 



Tobacco. — This very commonly used substance owes 

 its narcotic effect to the presence of a substance called 

 nicotine. In a pure state nicotine is a colorless liquid. 

 When heated in burning tobacco, the nicotine turns to 

 vapor and is given off in the smoke. Nicotine is a pow- 

 erful narcotic poison, two or three drops being sufficient 

 to kill a man. In ordinary usage very tiny amounts actu- 

 ally enter the system. Its action when taken into the 

 body for the first time is to produce sickness of the stomach 

 (nausea) and general discomfort. In this way (by the 

 nausea) the body tries to tell us of the presence of a 

 poison. If, however, the use is persisted in, the body 

 gradually becomes accustomed to its presence, the nerves 

 which tell of fatigue are gradually dulled, and a grateful 

 sense of restfulness is produced, which continues until the 

 effect of the narcotic wears off. It is this pleasing sensa- 

 tion that constitutes its danger, for when the effect wears 

 off the sense of weakness returns, and with it a desire for 

 more, which if yielded to often results in the introduction 

 into the body of amounts of nicotine great enough to 

 injure the tissues permanently. The fact that the body 

 is able to overcome the results of moderate use without 

 permanent injury, and that pleasant sensations accompany 

 such use, is responsible for the wide-spread use of tobacco. 



Of the various methods of use those will evidently be 

 least dangerous which introduce the least amount of nico- 

 tine. In this respect, smoking, when the smoke is not 

 inhaled, is the least dangerous, and chewing, where more 

 or less of the juice is swallowed, most dangerous. Fortu- 

 nately, the frequent spitting which the chewing habit 



