ALCOHOLOGY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 153, 7 October 1910, Page 3

ALCOHOLOGY.

| AlXXffiuL and consumptives.- \ (Publi»lii-d b Arrangement), j Dr. Hardwick Smith, of Wellington, supported by Dr. Valintine, is drawing the attention of tlie authorities to the need that more should be done towards the cure ami prevention of this "whit* man's scourge.' 1 In consequence of this it may be well in this column to enquire how alcohol bears on tuberculosis—its propagation and its cure. Long before the discovery of the tubercle baceillus, medical men were enquiring into this question, and arrhed at very different conclusions. Some thought that alcohol favored the formation of connective tissue in the tubercle of the lungs and thus promoted healing. Some leading men, notably in France, took this view. Dr. Todd, a name well known in medical circles, actually introduced the use of alcohol as a remedy; and a period of •heavy dosing with the drug followed. Dr. Koch, in his great discovery of the tubercle baceillus, showed tuberculosis to be an infectious disease, and that the best remedy and preventive was sunlight and fresh air. Both laboratory experiment and hospital practice proved the truth of his remedy,. but later research has thrown doubts on the "infection" theory. One thing was proved: that tuberculosis is the disease of the poor, the overcrowded dwellings and workrooms, the ill-nourished system. Professor S. E. Henschen, of Stockholm, has gone into this very fully, and the above is the verdict.' If, and there can be very little doubt of thus, alcohol is the most potent cause of poverty, and poverty leads to overcrowded dwellings and deficient nourishment, then it is plain that thus indirectly alcohol is a cause of consumption. Dr. Brouardil, of Paris, says: "Alcoholism is, in fact, the most powerful factor in the propagation of tuberculosis. The most vigorous man who become alcoholic ds without resistance before it." Liebe, in a German sanatorium for consumptives, found that of all the sufferers only C per cent, were abstainers, and 94 per cent, used more or less alcohol, 40 per cent, being termed alcoholic — using it freely. A most instructive table was prepared showing the deaths from consumption per 10,001) of the population in Prussia, showing males and females separately. From this we notice that up to about 1.6 years of age the female deaths were in excess of the male deaths —more girls died than boys; from this on to old age more males died than females, and this is most noticeable be-' tween the ages of 30 and 70. Now, a reasonable conclusion is that the high death-rate of men is coincident with the time of life when men do their hardest] drinking; they do not drink much in boyhood, but in early manhood they often' learn the habit. Another valuable table \ is that prepared by Tatham, showing j the relative deaths from tuberculosis j among persons in various callings and I showing that those engaged in the liquor trades die from three to seven times as j fast as clergymen, and from two to three and a-half times as fast as "'all professions." Professor Henschim's con-l elusion is: "We must combat alcoholism as a potent cause of poverty and suffer-] ing which are the deeper social causes of tuberculosis." Here might be quoted the advice given to patients by the Swedish National Anti-Tuberculosis Association: "Avoid every indulgence in alcohol, beer and tobacco." One thing is quite certain: the use of alcohol reduces the powers of the body to resist all diseases; hence it indirectly causes consumption. Quite recently in France Dr. Bauderon, by careful observation, found that in those districts where alcohol was used very moderately' (12.5 Litres per head per annum) the deaths from tuberculosis were onlv 3.31 per VCM. On the other hand where much ] alcohol was consumed (35.4 litres per head per annum) the deaths from the I same disease were 10.8 per 1000; that is' t'iiree times as g.r;at as in some other; parts of France. Many ot I .' r facts point-! jn;j in the same direction.—that the use! of alcohol favors consumption—might be! given. The whole made so profound an I impression in the International Congress on Tuberculosis, which met at Paris ini 1905, that the following resolution was 1 passe;!:—That in view of the close con-i nection between alcoholism and tuberculosis, this Congress stronjly empha-' sises the importance of combining the j fight against tuberculosis with the struggle against alcoholism."