PALMERSTON NORTH W.C.T.U. SCIENTIFIC TEMPERANCE COMPETITIONS.

White Ribbon, Volume 20, Issue 235, 18 January 1915, Page 11

PALMERSTON NORTH W.C.T.U. SCIENTIFIC TEMPERANCE COMPETITIONS.

PRIZE ESSAY, SENIOR DIVISION, HIGH SCHOOL. ‘ EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON THE BODY.” (Essay written by Ivy \\ illis., Dux Girl .i*)d Gold Medallist, 1914.) Alcohol belongs to the class of drug? known as narcotics, whi<h are stimulating for a shore time, and depressing tor a longer time. Alcohol is jU't a> much a poison as are opium, strychnine, and chloroform. Alcohol has a great affinity for water. If substances, such as meat and vegetables, which contain water, are soaked in alcohol, they lose this water, and become tough and hard. Thus, the presence of alcohol 111 the stomach makes the work ot digestion more difficult, and this tends to the imperfect nourishment of the body. If we consider, in detail, the organs of the body, and how each is affected, we find, lirst, that the stomac h is alloc ted to a great extent, even if alcohol is taken in small quantities. 1 he effect of alcohol on the stomach is to cause an excessive flow of digestive juice, which is of no use to a healthy individual. This juice is wasted in the absence of food to digest. Acute inflammation may result from the excessive use of alcohol. Another very impoitant digestive organ which becomes affected is the liver. The liver will become slow, congested, and torpid, and will not, consequently, carry out its proper functions. The liver may ultimately harden and shrivel, thus offering great resistance to the* passage of blooo through it. The lungs become affected, and otter les- resistance* to disease germs. Thus affection of the lungs may be come a very serious matter. In con junction with the effect on the lungs, let us consider the effect of alcohol on the heart and on the circulation The pumping powers of the heart are temporarily strengthened, but permanently weakened. The heart become-. unduly dilated, and fat tends to be deposited about the muscles of the heart, and thus the muscles become partly paralysed. The functions of the t ire ulaton system are impaired; the waste products are not

properly removed, nor are the waste tissues repaired. The white corpuscles in the blood help us by fighting against gern.s of disease. These corpuscles arc so effectually damaged by the use ot alcohol that they lose this function. The oxidising properties of the red corpuscles arc* seriously impaired by the action of alcohol. Owing to excess of alcohol, the* kid neys lose their filtering power. \ ari ous serious ailment', even to Blight’s disease, are the result. Alcohol ha' a very bad effect on the brain. The b r aiu becomes so dis eased that it can no longer receive impressions or form ideas. It i' an appalling fact that prolonged indul gence in alcohol leads to insanity and to paralysis. Yon Moltke, the* distinguished German leader, has declared that “Beer is a far more dangerous enemy to Germany than all the armies of France.” Excessive use of alcohol, as it were, saps the 1 very strength out of man; consequently, a nation whose men are constitutionally ruined by the c urse of drink become' inferior to .» nation whose men are sober, stalwart, and steadfast. We should, then, strive to keep our Dominion a> free from the drink evil .i' pos'iblc, so that we may continue to be worthy sons of grand old mother England.