For men in their 30s and 40s, smoking increases the risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) by about 50 per cent.
Erection can't occur unless blood can flow freely into the penis, so these blood vessels have to be in good condition.
Smoking can damage the blood vessels and cause them to degenerate: nicotine narrows the arteries that lead to the penis, reducing blood flow and the pressure of blood in the penis.
This narrowing effect increases over time, so if you haven't got problems now, things could change later.
Erection problems in smokers may be an early warning signal that cigarettes are already damaging other areas of the body - such as the blood vessels that supply the heart.
вторник, 11 марта 2008 г.
воскресенье, 2 марта 2008 г.
More than 3.1 million spend RM15,000,000 on smokes every day
MORE than 3.1million smokers nationwide are spending a whopping RM15mil daily on cigarettes, reported China Press.
Health Ministry parliamentary secretary Datuk Lee Kah Choon said the figure showed a worrying trend, adding that smokers should quit the habit and spend the money on something beneficial instead.
According to a report by the ministry’s Disease Control Unit, there was an upward trend in the number of young smokers.
Lee said there was one female smoker in every 33 who lighted up nationwide. Currently, the number of female smokers in the country stands at 274,000.
He said 1.1 million smokers were aged between 25 and 34 while 318,000 were between 55 and 64, adding that many smokers were parents. “If parents cannot lead by example, their children might follow their footsteps and pick up the habit,” he said.
The ministry had stepped up anti-smoking campaigns, as smoking was a public health problem.
Without such campaigns, the number of smokers was expected to soar to 3.8 million by 2015. It will reach the four million mark by 2020.
Health Ministry parliamentary secretary Datuk Lee Kah Choon said the figure showed a worrying trend, adding that smokers should quit the habit and spend the money on something beneficial instead.
According to a report by the ministry’s Disease Control Unit, there was an upward trend in the number of young smokers.
Lee said there was one female smoker in every 33 who lighted up nationwide. Currently, the number of female smokers in the country stands at 274,000.
He said 1.1 million smokers were aged between 25 and 34 while 318,000 were between 55 and 64, adding that many smokers were parents. “If parents cannot lead by example, their children might follow their footsteps and pick up the habit,” he said.
The ministry had stepped up anti-smoking campaigns, as smoking was a public health problem.
Without such campaigns, the number of smokers was expected to soar to 3.8 million by 2015. It will reach the four million mark by 2020.
четверг, 14 февраля 2008 г.
CIGARS
"The poet may sing of the leaf of the rose, And call it the purest and sweetest that blows; But of all the leaves
that ever were tried, Give me the tobacco leaf rolled up and dried."
The smoking of cigars is now considered the best as it is the most fashionable mode of using the weed. The
word cigar is from the Spanish cigarro, and signifies a cylindrical roll of tobacco leaves, made of short pieces
or shreds of the leaves divested of the stem and wound about with a binder, and enveloped in a portion of the
leaf known by the name of wrapper--acute at one end and truncated at the other. In the East Indies a sort of
cigar called cheroot is also made with both ends truncated. The smoking of tobacco in the form of cigars is
doubtless the most general as well as the most ancient mode of its use. When Columbus landed in Hispaniola,
the sailors saw the natives smoking the leaves of a plant, "the perfume of which was fragrant and grateful."
But while cigars are of very ancient origin in the West Indies, they were not generally known in Europe until
the beginning of the Nineteenth Century. In fact, of all the various works on gastronomy and the pleasures of
the table, written and published from 1800 to 1815, not one speaks of this now indispensable adjunct of a
good dinner. Even Britlat-Savarin, in his Physiologie du Gout, entirely ignores tobacco and all its distractions
and charms. Benzo gives the following account of the manufacture of a cigar in Hispaniola:--
"They take a leafe from the stalks of their great bastard corn (which we commonly called Turkie--wheat)
together with one of these tobacco-leaves and fold them up together like a coffin of paper, such as grocers
make to put spices in, or like a small organ-pipe. Then putting one end of the same coffin to the fire, and
holding the other end in their mouths, they draw their breath to them. When the fire hath once taken at the
pipe's end, they draw forth so much smoke that they have their mouth, nose, throat, and head full of it; and, as
if they tooke a singular delight therein they never leave supping and drinking till they can sup no more, and
thereby loose their breath and their feeling."
Sahagun, in his "History of New Spain," speaks of the natives as using the leaves of tobacco rolled into cigars,
which they ignite and smoke in tubes of tortoise-shell or silver. The following article from the New York
Times contains much valuable information in regard to cigars, especially Havanas:
that ever were tried, Give me the tobacco leaf rolled up and dried."
The smoking of cigars is now considered the best as it is the most fashionable mode of using the weed. The
word cigar is from the Spanish cigarro, and signifies a cylindrical roll of tobacco leaves, made of short pieces
or shreds of the leaves divested of the stem and wound about with a binder, and enveloped in a portion of the
leaf known by the name of wrapper--acute at one end and truncated at the other. In the East Indies a sort of
cigar called cheroot is also made with both ends truncated. The smoking of tobacco in the form of cigars is
doubtless the most general as well as the most ancient mode of its use. When Columbus landed in Hispaniola,
the sailors saw the natives smoking the leaves of a plant, "the perfume of which was fragrant and grateful."
But while cigars are of very ancient origin in the West Indies, they were not generally known in Europe until
the beginning of the Nineteenth Century. In fact, of all the various works on gastronomy and the pleasures of
the table, written and published from 1800 to 1815, not one speaks of this now indispensable adjunct of a
good dinner. Even Britlat-Savarin, in his Physiologie du Gout, entirely ignores tobacco and all its distractions
and charms. Benzo gives the following account of the manufacture of a cigar in Hispaniola:--
"They take a leafe from the stalks of their great bastard corn (which we commonly called Turkie--wheat)
together with one of these tobacco-leaves and fold them up together like a coffin of paper, such as grocers
make to put spices in, or like a small organ-pipe. Then putting one end of the same coffin to the fire, and
holding the other end in their mouths, they draw their breath to them. When the fire hath once taken at the
pipe's end, they draw forth so much smoke that they have their mouth, nose, throat, and head full of it; and, as
if they tooke a singular delight therein they never leave supping and drinking till they can sup no more, and
thereby loose their breath and their feeling."
Sahagun, in his "History of New Spain," speaks of the natives as using the leaves of tobacco rolled into cigars,
which they ignite and smoke in tubes of tortoise-shell or silver. The following article from the New York
Times contains much valuable information in regard to cigars, especially Havanas:
понедельник, 11 февраля 2008 г.
TOBACCO
TOBACCO should cheap cigarettes never be mentioned except cheap cigarettes as a poison, one of the most active and fatal of poisons; it is
the only herb known to possess two active deadly poisons, NICOTINA and NICOTIANIN: It is really so fatal
that doctors seldom administer it, and never internally. For an over dose of Opium, Arsenic, or Strychnine,
when taken in time, there is a cheap cigarettes cure, but for an over dose of tobacco there is none; its effect on the system is
Paleness, Nausea, Giddiness, Lessening of the heart's action, Vomiting, Purging, Cold-sweating, and utter
Prostration, such as no cheap cigarettes other poison can induce, then death! Its evils are numerous we will notice a few as
follows.
1. It impregnates the cheap cigarettes whole system with two of the most fatal poisons, NICOTINA, and NICOTIANIN.
2. With either of which the system is subjected to continuous repair, therefore Doctors seldom advise one to
quit it. It is too much like taking bread and butter from their babe's mouths.
3. It enslaves a man so that it requires a powerful exertion to break its chains and fetters to regain their
freedom.
4. It causes dyspepsia by spitting cheap cigarettes off the saliva that ought to go to digest the food, aid the digestive system,
and to regulate and heal the bowels.
5. When you breathe the smoke it produces asthma and lays the foundation for a train of other fatal diseases.
6. In breathing the two poisons into the lungs, cheap cigarettes , often produces paralysis of the lungs and consumption.
7. It gradually weakens and destroys the whole nervous system and is the cause of a large majority of cases of
Insanity, which can readily be found in all stages, cheap cigarettes ,among those who use tobacco.
8. It makes one appear to be ill-bred and extremely distasteful in society.
9. It is said by critics to entirely destroy a certain faculty of the mind.
10. It renders one's breath very repugnant to a companion. cheap cigarettes .
11. It is continually drawing on the pocket for the small change that might be laid up. cheap cigarettes .
12. When taken as snuff it wonderfully impairs and often paralyzing and destroys the Olfactory nerves and
deprives one of the sense of smell. cheap cigarettes .
13. It creates a craving for Alcoholic drinks, it prostrates the system to such an extent that nature calls for aid
by stimulants, cheap cigarettes , hence the craving for drinks, peppers, mustards, &c., &c.
the only herb known to possess two active deadly poisons, NICOTINA and NICOTIANIN: It is really so fatal
that doctors seldom administer it, and never internally. For an over dose of Opium, Arsenic, or Strychnine,
when taken in time, there is a cheap cigarettes cure, but for an over dose of tobacco there is none; its effect on the system is
Paleness, Nausea, Giddiness, Lessening of the heart's action, Vomiting, Purging, Cold-sweating, and utter
Prostration, such as no cheap cigarettes other poison can induce, then death! Its evils are numerous we will notice a few as
follows.
1. It impregnates the cheap cigarettes whole system with two of the most fatal poisons, NICOTINA, and NICOTIANIN.
2. With either of which the system is subjected to continuous repair, therefore Doctors seldom advise one to
quit it. It is too much like taking bread and butter from their babe's mouths.
3. It enslaves a man so that it requires a powerful exertion to break its chains and fetters to regain their
freedom.
4. It causes dyspepsia by spitting cheap cigarettes off the saliva that ought to go to digest the food, aid the digestive system,
and to regulate and heal the bowels.
5. When you breathe the smoke it produces asthma and lays the foundation for a train of other fatal diseases.
6. In breathing the two poisons into the lungs, cheap cigarettes , often produces paralysis of the lungs and consumption.
7. It gradually weakens and destroys the whole nervous system and is the cause of a large majority of cases of
Insanity, which can readily be found in all stages, cheap cigarettes ,among those who use tobacco.
8. It makes one appear to be ill-bred and extremely distasteful in society.
9. It is said by critics to entirely destroy a certain faculty of the mind.
10. It renders one's breath very repugnant to a companion. cheap cigarettes .
11. It is continually drawing on the pocket for the small change that might be laid up. cheap cigarettes .
12. When taken as snuff it wonderfully impairs and often paralyzing and destroys the Olfactory nerves and
deprives one of the sense of smell. cheap cigarettes .
13. It creates a craving for Alcoholic drinks, it prostrates the system to such an extent that nature calls for aid
by stimulants, cheap cigarettes , hence the craving for drinks, peppers, mustards, &c., &c.
четверг, 7 февраля 2008 г.
TOBACCO-PIPES, SMOKING AND SMOKERS, CIGARETTES
The implements used in smoking tobacco, from the rude pipe of the Indian to the elaborate hookah of the
Turk, show a far greater variety than even the various species of the tobacco plant. The instruments used by
the Indians for inhaling the tobacco smoke were no less wonderful to Europeans than the plant itself.
The rude mode of inhaling the smoke and the intoxication produced by its fumes suggested to the Spaniards a
better method of "taking tobacco." Hariot, however, found clay pipes in use by the Indians of Virginia, which
though having no resemblance to the smoking implements discovered by Columbus, seem to have afforded a
model for those afterward manufactured by the Virginia colony. The sailors of Columbus seemed to have first
discovered cigar, rather than pipe-smoking, inasmuch as the simple method used by the natives, consisted of a
leaf of maize, which enwrapped a few leaves of the plant.
The next instruments discovered in use among the Indians were straight, hollow reeds and forked canes. Their
mode of use was to place a few leaves upon coals of fire and by placing the forked end in the nostrils and the
other upon the smoking leaves, to inhale the smoke until they were stupified or drunken with the fumes. Their
object in inhaling the fumes of tobacco seemed to be to produce intoxication and insensibility rather than a
mode of enjoyment, although the enjoyment with them consisted of seeing the most remarkable visions when
stupefied by its fumes. Such were the modes of smoking among the Indians when Columbus planted the
banner of Spain in America.
A writer in The Tobacco Plant has given a very interesting description of Indian pipes in use among the
natives of both North and South America. He says:
"In the tumuli or Indian grave mounds of the Ohio and Scioto valleys, large quantities of pipes have been
found, bearing traces of Indian ingenuity. That their burial mounds are of great antiquity, is proved by the fact
that trees several centuries old are to be found growing upon them. About twenty-five years ago, two
distinguished archeologists Squier and Davis--made extensive exploration of these mounds, the results of
which were published in an elaborate memoir by the Smithsonian Institution. The mounds indicate that an
immense amount of labor has been expended upon them, as the earthworks and mounds may be counted by
thousands, requiring either long time or an immense population; and there is much probability in the
supposition of Sir John Lubbock that these parts of America were once inhabited by a numerous and
agricultural population. It may be asked, have the races who erected these extensive mounds become extinct,
or do they exist in the poor uncivilized tribes of Indians whom Europeans found inhabiting the river valleys of
Ohio and Illinois? Many of these mounds are in the form of serpents and symbolic figures, and were evidently
related to the sacrificial worship of the mound builders."
Turk, show a far greater variety than even the various species of the tobacco plant. The instruments used by
the Indians for inhaling the tobacco smoke were no less wonderful to Europeans than the plant itself.
The rude mode of inhaling the smoke and the intoxication produced by its fumes suggested to the Spaniards a
better method of "taking tobacco." Hariot, however, found clay pipes in use by the Indians of Virginia, which
though having no resemblance to the smoking implements discovered by Columbus, seem to have afforded a
model for those afterward manufactured by the Virginia colony. The sailors of Columbus seemed to have first
discovered cigar, rather than pipe-smoking, inasmuch as the simple method used by the natives, consisted of a
leaf of maize, which enwrapped a few leaves of the plant.
The next instruments discovered in use among the Indians were straight, hollow reeds and forked canes. Their
mode of use was to place a few leaves upon coals of fire and by placing the forked end in the nostrils and the
other upon the smoking leaves, to inhale the smoke until they were stupified or drunken with the fumes. Their
object in inhaling the fumes of tobacco seemed to be to produce intoxication and insensibility rather than a
mode of enjoyment, although the enjoyment with them consisted of seeing the most remarkable visions when
stupefied by its fumes. Such were the modes of smoking among the Indians when Columbus planted the
banner of Spain in America.
A writer in The Tobacco Plant has given a very interesting description of Indian pipes in use among the
natives of both North and South America. He says:
"In the tumuli or Indian grave mounds of the Ohio and Scioto valleys, large quantities of pipes have been
found, bearing traces of Indian ingenuity. That their burial mounds are of great antiquity, is proved by the fact
that trees several centuries old are to be found growing upon them. About twenty-five years ago, two
distinguished archeologists Squier and Davis--made extensive exploration of these mounds, the results of
which were published in an elaborate memoir by the Smithsonian Institution. The mounds indicate that an
immense amount of labor has been expended upon them, as the earthworks and mounds may be counted by
thousands, requiring either long time or an immense population; and there is much probability in the
supposition of Sir John Lubbock that these parts of America were once inhabited by a numerous and
agricultural population. It may be asked, have the races who erected these extensive mounds become extinct,
or do they exist in the poor uncivilized tribes of Indians whom Europeans found inhabiting the river valleys of
Ohio and Illinois? Many of these mounds are in the form of serpents and symbolic figures, and were evidently
related to the sacrificial worship of the mound builders."
среда, 6 февраля 2008 г.
Effects of Tobacco upon Animal Life.
the products of the vegetable kingdom.[1]
[Footnote 1: This is proved by applying it to these organs in infancy, among those children whose parents do
not use tobacco. Caspar Hausser, who was fed wholly on farinaceous food and water, from infancy to the age
of sixteen or seventeen years, was made sick to vomiting by walking for a "considerable time by the side of a
tobacco field."]
Dr. Franklin ascertained, that the oily material, which floats upon the surface of water, upon a stream of
tobacco smoke being passed into it, is capable, when applied to the tongue of a cat, of destroying life in a few
minutes.
Mr. Brodie applied one drop of the empyreumatic oil of tobacco to the tongue of a cat; it occasioned
immediate convulsions and an accelerated breathing. Five minutes after, the animal lay down on the side, and
presented, from time to time, slight convulsive movements. A quarter of an hour after, it appeared recovered.
The same quantity of the oil was applied again, and the animal died in two minutes.
In December, 1833, aided by several gentlemen of the medical class, and occasionally in the presence of other
individuals, I made a number of experiments upon cats and other animals, with the distilled oil of tobacco.
EXPERIMENT 1.
A small drop of the oil was rubbed upon the tongue of a large cat. Immediately the animal uttered piteous
cries and began to froth at the mouth.
In 1 minute the pupils of the eyes were dilated and the respiration was laborious. " 2-1/2 do. vomiting and
staggering. " 4 do. evacuations; the cries continued, the voice hoarse and unnatural. " 5 do. repeated attempts
at vomiting. " 7 do. respiration somewhat improved.
At this time a large drop was rubbed upon the tongue. In an instant the eyes were closed, the cries were
stopped, and the breathing was suffocative and convulsed. In one minute the ears were in rapid convulsive
motion, and, presently after, tremors and violent convulsions extended over the body and limbs. In three and
an half minutes the animal fell upon the side senseless and breathless, and the heart had ceased to beat.
Slight tremors of the voluntary muscles, particularly of the limbs, continued, more or less, for nineteen
minutes after the animal was dead. Those of the right side were observed to be more and longer affected thanthose of the left.
Half an hour after death the body was opened, and the stomach and intestines were found to be contracted and
firm, as from a violent and permanent spasm of the muscular coat. The lungs were empty and collapsed. The
left side of the heart, the aorta and its great branches were loaded with black blood. The right side of the heart
and the two cavæ contained some blood, but were not distended. The pulmonary artery contained only a small
quantity of blood. The blood was every where fluid.
EXPERIMENT 2.
A cat was the subject of this experiment. The general effects were very much like those in the last, excepting,
perhaps, that the oil operated with a little less energy. This cat was said to have lived for several years, in a
room almost perpetually fumigated with tobacco smoke. The history of the animal employed in Experiment 1,
was unknown.
EXPERIMENT 3.
Three drops of the oil of tobacco were rubbed upon the tongue of a full-sized, but young, cat. In an instant the
pupils were dilated and the breathing convulsed; the animal leaped about as if distracted, and presently took
two or three rapid turns in a small circle, then dropped upon the floor in frightful convulsions, and was dead in
two minutes and forty-five seconds from the moment that the oil was put upon the tongue.
EXPERIMENT 4.
To the tongue of a young and rather less than half-grown cat, a drop of the oil of tobacco was applied. In
fifteen seconds the ears were thrown into rapid and convulsive motions,--thirty seconds fruitless attempts to
vomit. In one minute convulsive respiration; the animal fell upon the side. In four minutes and twenty seconds
violent convulsions. In five minutes the breathing and the heart's motion had ceased. There was no evacuation
by the mouth or otherwise. The vital powers had been too suddenly and too far reduced to admit of a reaction.
The tremors, which followed death, subsided first in the superior extremities, and in five minutes ceased
altogether. The muscles were perfectly flaccid.
EXPERIMENT 5.
In the tip of the nose of a mouse, a small puncture was made with a surgeon's needle, bedewed with the oil of
tobacco. The little animal, from the insertion of this small quantity of the poison, fell into a violent agitation,
and was dead in six minutes.
EXPERIMENT 6.
Two drops of the oil were rubbed upon the tongue of a red squirrel. This animal, so athletic as to render it
difficult to secure him sufficiently long for the application, was in a moment seized with a violent agitation of
the whole body and limbs, and was perfectly dead and motionless in one minute.
EXPERIMENT 7.
To the tongue of a dog rather under the middle size, five drops of the oil of tobacco were applied. In forty-five
seconds he fell upon the side, got up, retched, and fell again. In one minute the respiration was laborious, and
the pupils were dilated. In two minutes the breathing was slow and feeble, with puffing of the cheeks. In three
minutes the pupils were smaller but continually varying. The left fore leg and the right hind leg were affected
with a simultaneous convulsion or jerk, corresponding with the inspiratory motions of the chest. This
continued for five minutes.In nine minutes alimentary evacuations; symptoms abated; and the animal attempted to walk. At ten minutes
two drops of the oil were applied to the tongue. Instantly the breathing became laborious, with puffing of the
cheeks; pupils much dilated. The convulsive or jerking motions of the two limbs appeared as before, recurring
regularly at the interval of about two seconds, and exactly corresponding with the inspirations. In twelve
minutes the pupils were more natural; slight frothing at the mouth, the animal still lying upon the side. At this
time a drop of the oil was passed into each nostril. The labor of the respiration was suddenly increased, the
jaws locked.
In twenty-two minutes no material change; the jaws were separated and five drops of the oil were rubbed on
the tongue. In one minute the pupils were entirely dilated, with strong convulsions. In one and an half
minutes, in trying to walk, the animal fell. In three minutes the eyes rolled up, and convulsions continued. In
six minutes, the plica semilunaris so drawn as to cover half the cornea. In seven minutes, slight frothing at the
mouth. In forty minutes the inspirations were less deep, the convulsions had been unremitted, the strength
failing. From this time he lay for more than half an hour nearly in the same state; the strength was gradually
sinking, and as there was no prospect of recovery, he was killed. In this case, the true apoplectic puffing of the
cheeks was present the greater part of the time.
[Footnote 1: This is proved by applying it to these organs in infancy, among those children whose parents do
not use tobacco. Caspar Hausser, who was fed wholly on farinaceous food and water, from infancy to the age
of sixteen or seventeen years, was made sick to vomiting by walking for a "considerable time by the side of a
tobacco field."]
Dr. Franklin ascertained, that the oily material, which floats upon the surface of water, upon a stream of
tobacco smoke being passed into it, is capable, when applied to the tongue of a cat, of destroying life in a few
minutes.
Mr. Brodie applied one drop of the empyreumatic oil of tobacco to the tongue of a cat; it occasioned
immediate convulsions and an accelerated breathing. Five minutes after, the animal lay down on the side, and
presented, from time to time, slight convulsive movements. A quarter of an hour after, it appeared recovered.
The same quantity of the oil was applied again, and the animal died in two minutes.
In December, 1833, aided by several gentlemen of the medical class, and occasionally in the presence of other
individuals, I made a number of experiments upon cats and other animals, with the distilled oil of tobacco.
EXPERIMENT 1.
A small drop of the oil was rubbed upon the tongue of a large cat. Immediately the animal uttered piteous
cries and began to froth at the mouth.
In 1 minute the pupils of the eyes were dilated and the respiration was laborious. " 2-1/2 do. vomiting and
staggering. " 4 do. evacuations; the cries continued, the voice hoarse and unnatural. " 5 do. repeated attempts
at vomiting. " 7 do. respiration somewhat improved.
At this time a large drop was rubbed upon the tongue. In an instant the eyes were closed, the cries were
stopped, and the breathing was suffocative and convulsed. In one minute the ears were in rapid convulsive
motion, and, presently after, tremors and violent convulsions extended over the body and limbs. In three and
an half minutes the animal fell upon the side senseless and breathless, and the heart had ceased to beat.
Slight tremors of the voluntary muscles, particularly of the limbs, continued, more or less, for nineteen
minutes after the animal was dead. Those of the right side were observed to be more and longer affected thanthose of the left.
Half an hour after death the body was opened, and the stomach and intestines were found to be contracted and
firm, as from a violent and permanent spasm of the muscular coat. The lungs were empty and collapsed. The
left side of the heart, the aorta and its great branches were loaded with black blood. The right side of the heart
and the two cavæ contained some blood, but were not distended. The pulmonary artery contained only a small
quantity of blood. The blood was every where fluid.
EXPERIMENT 2.
A cat was the subject of this experiment. The general effects were very much like those in the last, excepting,
perhaps, that the oil operated with a little less energy. This cat was said to have lived for several years, in a
room almost perpetually fumigated with tobacco smoke. The history of the animal employed in Experiment 1,
was unknown.
EXPERIMENT 3.
Three drops of the oil of tobacco were rubbed upon the tongue of a full-sized, but young, cat. In an instant the
pupils were dilated and the breathing convulsed; the animal leaped about as if distracted, and presently took
two or three rapid turns in a small circle, then dropped upon the floor in frightful convulsions, and was dead in
two minutes and forty-five seconds from the moment that the oil was put upon the tongue.
EXPERIMENT 4.
To the tongue of a young and rather less than half-grown cat, a drop of the oil of tobacco was applied. In
fifteen seconds the ears were thrown into rapid and convulsive motions,--thirty seconds fruitless attempts to
vomit. In one minute convulsive respiration; the animal fell upon the side. In four minutes and twenty seconds
violent convulsions. In five minutes the breathing and the heart's motion had ceased. There was no evacuation
by the mouth or otherwise. The vital powers had been too suddenly and too far reduced to admit of a reaction.
The tremors, which followed death, subsided first in the superior extremities, and in five minutes ceased
altogether. The muscles were perfectly flaccid.
EXPERIMENT 5.
In the tip of the nose of a mouse, a small puncture was made with a surgeon's needle, bedewed with the oil of
tobacco. The little animal, from the insertion of this small quantity of the poison, fell into a violent agitation,
and was dead in six minutes.
EXPERIMENT 6.
Two drops of the oil were rubbed upon the tongue of a red squirrel. This animal, so athletic as to render it
difficult to secure him sufficiently long for the application, was in a moment seized with a violent agitation of
the whole body and limbs, and was perfectly dead and motionless in one minute.
EXPERIMENT 7.
To the tongue of a dog rather under the middle size, five drops of the oil of tobacco were applied. In forty-five
seconds he fell upon the side, got up, retched, and fell again. In one minute the respiration was laborious, and
the pupils were dilated. In two minutes the breathing was slow and feeble, with puffing of the cheeks. In three
minutes the pupils were smaller but continually varying. The left fore leg and the right hind leg were affected
with a simultaneous convulsion or jerk, corresponding with the inspiratory motions of the chest. This
continued for five minutes.In nine minutes alimentary evacuations; symptoms abated; and the animal attempted to walk. At ten minutes
two drops of the oil were applied to the tongue. Instantly the breathing became laborious, with puffing of the
cheeks; pupils much dilated. The convulsive or jerking motions of the two limbs appeared as before, recurring
regularly at the interval of about two seconds, and exactly corresponding with the inspirations. In twelve
minutes the pupils were more natural; slight frothing at the mouth, the animal still lying upon the side. At this
time a drop of the oil was passed into each nostril. The labor of the respiration was suddenly increased, the
jaws locked.
In twenty-two minutes no material change; the jaws were separated and five drops of the oil were rubbed on
the tongue. In one minute the pupils were entirely dilated, with strong convulsions. In one and an half
minutes, in trying to walk, the animal fell. In three minutes the eyes rolled up, and convulsions continued. In
six minutes, the plica semilunaris so drawn as to cover half the cornea. In seven minutes, slight frothing at the
mouth. In forty minutes the inspirations were less deep, the convulsions had been unremitted, the strength
failing. From this time he lay for more than half an hour nearly in the same state; the strength was gradually
sinking, and as there was no prospect of recovery, he was killed. In this case, the true apoplectic puffing of the
cheeks was present the greater part of the time.
вторник, 5 февраля 2008 г.
THE SUCKER.
The offshoots or suckers as they are termed, make their appearance at the junction of the leaves and stalk,
about the roots of the plant, the result of that vigorous growth caused by topping. The suckers can hardly be
seen until after the plant has been topped, when they come forward rapidly and in a short time develop into
strong, vigorous shoots. Tatham describing the sucker says:
"The sucker is a superfluous sprout which is wont to make its appearance and shoot forth from the stem or
stalk, near to the junction of the leaves with the stems, and about the root of the plant, and if allowed to grow,
injuring the marketable quality of the tobacco by compelling a division of its nutriment during the act of
maturation. The planter is therefore careful to destroy these intruders with the thumb nail, as in the act of
topping. This superfluity of vegetation, like that of the top, has been often the subject of legislative care; and
the policy of supporting the good name of the Virginia produce has dictated the wisdom of penal laws to
maintain her good faith against imposition upon strangers who trade with her."
The ripening of the suckers not only proves injurious to the quality of the leaf but retards their size and
maturity and if allowed to continue, prevents them from attaining their largest possible growth.
[Illustration: Suckers.]
On large, strong, growing plants the growth of suckers is very rank after attaining a length of from six to ten
inches, and when fully grown bearing flowers like the parent stalk. After growing for a length of time they
become tough and attached so firmly to the stem of the leaf and stalk that they are broken off with difficulty,
frequently detaching the leaf with them. The growth of the suckers, however, determines the quality as well as
the maturity of the plants.
Weak, spindling plants rarely produce large, vigorous shoots, the leaves of such suckers are generally small
and of a yellowish color. When the plants are fully ripe and ready to harvest the suckers will be found to be
growing vigorously around the root of the plant. This is doubtless the best evidence of its maturity, more
reliable by far than any other as it denotes the ripening of the entire plant. Suckering the plants hastens the
ripening of the leaves, and gives a lighter shade of color, no matter on what soil the plants are grown. Having
treated at some length of the various parts of the tobacco plant--stalk, leaves, flowers, capsules and suckers we
come now to its nicotine properties. The tobacco plant, as is well known, produces a virulent poison known as
Nicotine. This property, however, as well as others as violent is found in many articles of food, including the
potato together with its stalk and leaves; the effects of which may be experienced by chewing a small quantity
of the latter. The New Edinburgh Encyclopedia says:
"The peculiar effect produced by using tobacco bears some resemblance to intoxication and is excited by an
essential oil which in its pure state is so powerful as to destroy life even in very minute quantity."
Chemistry has taught us that nicotine is only one among many principles which are contained in the plant. It is
supposed by many but not substantiated by chemical research that nicotine is not the flavoring agent which
gives tobacco its essential and peculiar varieties of odor. Such are most probably given by the essential oils,
which vary in amount in different species of the plant.
An English writer says:
"Nicotine is disagreeable to the habitual smoker, as is proved by the increased demand for clean pipes or
about the roots of the plant, the result of that vigorous growth caused by topping. The suckers can hardly be
seen until after the plant has been topped, when they come forward rapidly and in a short time develop into
strong, vigorous shoots. Tatham describing the sucker says:
"The sucker is a superfluous sprout which is wont to make its appearance and shoot forth from the stem or
stalk, near to the junction of the leaves with the stems, and about the root of the plant, and if allowed to grow,
injuring the marketable quality of the tobacco by compelling a division of its nutriment during the act of
maturation. The planter is therefore careful to destroy these intruders with the thumb nail, as in the act of
topping. This superfluity of vegetation, like that of the top, has been often the subject of legislative care; and
the policy of supporting the good name of the Virginia produce has dictated the wisdom of penal laws to
maintain her good faith against imposition upon strangers who trade with her."
The ripening of the suckers not only proves injurious to the quality of the leaf but retards their size and
maturity and if allowed to continue, prevents them from attaining their largest possible growth.
[Illustration: Suckers.]
On large, strong, growing plants the growth of suckers is very rank after attaining a length of from six to ten
inches, and when fully grown bearing flowers like the parent stalk. After growing for a length of time they
become tough and attached so firmly to the stem of the leaf and stalk that they are broken off with difficulty,
frequently detaching the leaf with them. The growth of the suckers, however, determines the quality as well as
the maturity of the plants.
Weak, spindling plants rarely produce large, vigorous shoots, the leaves of such suckers are generally small
and of a yellowish color. When the plants are fully ripe and ready to harvest the suckers will be found to be
growing vigorously around the root of the plant. This is doubtless the best evidence of its maturity, more
reliable by far than any other as it denotes the ripening of the entire plant. Suckering the plants hastens the
ripening of the leaves, and gives a lighter shade of color, no matter on what soil the plants are grown. Having
treated at some length of the various parts of the tobacco plant--stalk, leaves, flowers, capsules and suckers we
come now to its nicotine properties. The tobacco plant, as is well known, produces a virulent poison known as
Nicotine. This property, however, as well as others as violent is found in many articles of food, including the
potato together with its stalk and leaves; the effects of which may be experienced by chewing a small quantity
of the latter. The New Edinburgh Encyclopedia says:
"The peculiar effect produced by using tobacco bears some resemblance to intoxication and is excited by an
essential oil which in its pure state is so powerful as to destroy life even in very minute quantity."
Chemistry has taught us that nicotine is only one among many principles which are contained in the plant. It is
supposed by many but not substantiated by chemical research that nicotine is not the flavoring agent which
gives tobacco its essential and peculiar varieties of odor. Such are most probably given by the essential oils,
which vary in amount in different species of the plant.
An English writer says:
"Nicotine is disagreeable to the habitual smoker, as is proved by the increased demand for clean pipes or
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