deadly poison in connection with their ordinary work, will they not
wear out sooner than if they could be left to do their ordinary work
quietly? To illustrate: A particle of tobacco dust no sooner comes
into contact with the lining membrane of the nose, than violent
sneezing is produced. This is the effort of the besieged nerves and
blood vessels to protect themselves. A bit of tobacco taken into the
mouth causes salivation because the salivary glands recognize the
enemy and yield an increased flow of their precious fluid to wash him
away. Taken into the stomach unaccustomed to its presence, and it
produces violent vomiting. The whole lining membrane of that much-
abused organ rebels against such an Intruder, and tries to eject him.
Tobacco dust and smoke taken into the lungs at once excretes a mucous-
like fluid in the mouth, throat, windpipe, bronchial tubes, and in the
lungs themselves. Excretions such as this mean a violent wasting away
of vitality and power. Taken in large quantities into the stomach,
tobacco not only causes an excretion of mucus from the mouth, throat,
and breathing organs, but it produces an overtaxing of the liver; that is,
this organ overworks in order to counteract the presence of the poison.
But one asks, If tobacco is so injurious, why is it used with such
apparent pleasure? A small quantity of tobacco received into the
system by smoking, chewing, or snuffing is carried through the
circulation to the skin, lungs, liver, kidneys, and to all the organs of
the body, by which it is moderately resisted. The result is a gentle
excitement of all these organs. They are in a state of morbid activity.
And as sensibility depends upon vital action of the bodily organisms,
there is necessarily produced a degree of sense gratification or pleasure.
The reason why these sensations are pleasurable instead of painful is,
in this state of moderate excitement the circulation is materially increased
without being materially unbalanced. But as with every sense indulgence,
when the craving for increased doses becomes satisfied, when larger doses