Dr. Drysdale has been delivering before the Medical Associa- tion
a counterblast against tobacco. He says that the weed produces blindness, palpitation of the heart, diarrham, and diseases of the mouth, and holds that its nearly universal use is contrary to true laws of hygiene. He evidently, however, dislikes smoking as a nasty habit quite as much as an un- healthy one, and entirely fails to show that Englishmen -who smoke suffer more than Englishwomen who .do not. bideed he admits that Turks and Germane, scarcely suffer
at all, and is obliged to account for the fact by stating that German and Turkish tobacco is almost devoid of noxi- ous properties. His whole argument, therefore, comes to this,—that a smoker should not smoke too much or too strong tobacco. As everybody admits these propositions, Dr. Drysdale would have done more service, both to medical science and the public, by stating how much tobacco is found to be enough, and what kind of preparation is too strong for health. Ten people are killed by gluttony for one who is hurt by tobacco, but food is, nevertheless, not very bad for man.
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