482 
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM OF MAN 
cytoplasm. It is also probable that some of the nerve cells 
are actually destroyed. These physical changes explain 
why the results are so great and why complete recovery of 
mental efficiency in the drunkard is so doubtful. The 
modern point of view and the one which is becoming firmly 
established in the treatment of drunkards by physicians 
is that alcoholism is a disease. 
Anything which can destroy all the higher and finer 
emotions, take away ambition, destroy shame, modesty, 
pride in personal appearance, render one especially liable 
to common diseases, or lead unerringly to insanity is to be 
avoided by all. 
368. Tobacco. — “ Training starts to-morrow, no more 
smoking/’ is part of the athletic coach’s orders at the begin¬ 
ning of each season. He knows that the boy who smokes 
cannot reach his highest efficiency or be relied upon at critical 
times in the contest. He would rather have boys who do 
not smoke, because they are stronger, larger, and steadier 
than those who smoke. The cigarette habit has spread 
until it threatens the health of thousands of boys of America 
to-day. How is it known that their health is not good? 
. The charts on “ smoker’s heart ” prove this point. 
369. How the Smoker’s Heart Is Affected. — The follow¬ 
ing illustrations on the rate of the heart beat and the 
strength of the pulse, by W. A. McKeever, for thirteen 
years professor of philosophy in Kansas University, show 
what really happens when we smoke. There is much in 
these illustrations to warrant the conclusion that the 
heart of the habitual cigarette smoker is weak and feeble, 
except for the few minutes during which he is indulging 
the habit, and that the pulsations at this time are un¬ 
duly excited. Figure 421 shows three records of a young 
man nineteen years old who began smoking cigarettes 
at the age of fifteen and who inhaled the fumes. The 
three records were taken without removing or readjusting 
