ALCOHOL AND DRUGS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 51, 23 November 1907, Page 13

ALCOHOL AND DRUGS.

"Hygieno of Nerves and Mind in Health and Diseases," by August l'Vol, M.D. Translated from tho German by Austin Ailcins, Ph.D. London: John Murray. 1907. This is the newest published volume of "Tho Progressive Science Series," edited by I<\ E. Beddard, M.N.F.It.S., and is by one of tho greatest "alienists" in tho world. Tho book, though popular in form, is mainly for those who havo to ■ consider 'nerves," and will bo > welcome _to practising physicians. Dr. Forcl, howover, thinks that ho has made his subject so plain that an intelligent layman with a fair education will bo able to appreciate his work. Tho most remarkable thing about the book is the way in which it deals with,the drug habit. No teetotal booK is ,so anti-alcoholic, and the use of all drugs is proscribed. Even tea and coffee aro only tolerated. Tobacco, it is said, is better avoided. Chapter jl deals with psychology; chapter II with the anatomy of the nervous system; chapter 111 with the relation of mind and brain, and chapter IV with 'tho physiology of the nervous system. T'varo is nothing new in these cnaptcrs, but the subjects are clearly treated and minutely dealt with. The remaining chapters are the truly interesting. In chapter V—"Embryology and Rally Notary of the Nervous System"— the importance of pre-natal conditions' and of horcdity is: 'omphasisod. Evolution is accepted, and there is a "strugglo for existence," which plays a most important part in human development.- He /points that there are two conceptions in "Darwinism." "(a) Tho fact now unconditionally proved, of tho transformation or evolution of species, which aro thus ancestrally related; and (b) Darwin's special .hypothesis that this transformation has taken place exclusively or almost exclusively through natural selection." Enemies of science and "worshippers of mysticism" 'confuse theso two proportions aud uso them "to persuade those who are incapablo of judging that (a) itself is incorrect, saying, 'Darwinism is no longer accepted,' 'has shown itself to.bo false,' etc. Of course the only truth in this-is that hypothesis (b) no longer suffices for tho explanation of (a)." The part of the book that to the non-medi-cal reader will -be the most interesting is in the last chapter of Part ll:"Causes of Mental and Nervous Disturbances," (Chapter VIII), and Part lII,' dealing in four chapters with nervous hygiene." \Vc will let our author deal with this question:—"What now has DXpbribjvpft > \ s h.P'w.fl o jj6 o^en i;ha-,.'.principal poisons for:-ilia;-.nervous;.svstcm?.'L TIo; ans.wers tho -question'by!classifying' poisons-un-der two heads, 1 those easily or decomposed, and those hard to dissolve or decompose. Under the first head are poisons like coal gas,'or poisonous mushrooms, but I those are unimportant: "Under the second class are iucludod lead, silver, quicksilver, etc., but to use his own words: Tremendously important, on tho contrary, is tho whole class'of narcotic poisons, especially thoso amongst them whoso habitual uso has unfortunately become or threatens to become a custom! The worst of these are alcohol, opium, recorfstiva,- other, cocaine, and Indian hemp. At first they all cause a pleasant acute poisoning of the brain, which dulls or inhibits strong, painful sensations, gives the illuusion of happiness or good fortunoj in its first period ofton causes a certain excitation 'in the motor field, agreeably titillates lower impulses and feelings, • but at the same time injures the, associations, the juugment and discretion, coiisistcnt willing, and the finer ethical and .aesthetic feelings. Moreover all these poisons in common have the property of engendering an appotito or pathological desire, of different strength with different people, for repeated poisoning and larger doses. .... Their repeated use produces a slow degeneration of tho central nervous system, and ofton of other tissues too, etc. . . . With strongor doses the chronic poisoning leads to deep changes of character, amounting sometimes to complete • mental alienation or even dementia. The chronic use of narcotics (such as alcohol, morphia or opium) makes peoplo more or less cowardly, brutal, and ethically defective according to tho nature of the poison; while tho acuto poisoning drunken fit) is like a temporary insanity. 'Yet tho jvorst of all is tho fact that acuto and chronic poisoning from alcohol in particular, assuredly affects tho reproductive glands and makes the germs thoro degeneratb, so that tho next generation is more or less crippled according to the oxtout of tho social poisoning." Ho proceeds to give instances of tho effect of alcohol poisoning. Ho says: "There has < also been observed a serious mental disturbance (Korsakow's pychosis) which arisos from so-called polyneuritis, i.e., from repeated nervous in- . ilammations almost always caused by al- ■ cohol. More than half the crimes are per- , formed under tho. influence of alcoholic poiss oning, especially indecent assaults. . . In tho fifteen largest cities of Switzerland, a third of tho suicides amongst males and a tenth of tho fatal accidents to males ovei ' twonty-years old nro duo to alcohol." |'_ Dr. Forelis the director of the Burgholzl

Insano Asylum at Zurich,* and lie states, "that from 1870 to 1900, 7720 patients were admitted into that asylum, including U'7'2 cases of poisoning of the nervous system. With 925 of these latter cases (95.2 per cent., or, 12 por cent, of all'admitted) it was a matter of alcoholic poisoning; in 38 cases (3.9 por cent.) of morphia poisoning. ... Of tobacco, tea, and coffeo poisoning, about which there is so much twaddle, there was not a single case observed. In 1900, according to tho federal statistics, 1424 men were admitted into the Swiss lunatic asylums.- Of these 294 (20 por cent.) were direct alcoholic cases. . . . But, wo see tho true significance of these figures only when wo think, that of the remaining patients a largo number, hard to ascertain exactly, have also alcoholicism (on tho part of their ancestors if not on their .own) to thank for tho origin of their disease';"' Thero are many similar statements dealing with tho effects of alcoholic poisoning. Ho deals with what ho calls our "misguided humanitarianism" in nursing tho unfit and sending the "strongest, healthiest, and most pioral people, partly as food lor cannon in war, partly tied up as soldiers and servants in peace, kopt for a long time from marrying, and consequently given over vto prostitution and alcoholism, etc." After reforring to the indirect clfects he goes on: "But the worst of all, and what increases the bad selection wo have pictured to the highest power, is the systematic alcoholising of mankind on tho strength of a bad custom, which is old enough to be sure, but which has becomo an acute pestilence in modem civilisations. .' '• ■ Tho easy profit wnich tho State and private capitalists draw from the industry mako both these powers deaf to tho social injury. Tho last quotation space allows us to make is the following:—"Unfortunately, drinking habits and customs aj-ja so rooted in our culture and supported by such powerful prejudices and moneyed interests that nothing short of a giganaic organised' campaign ovor the whole surface of the earth can do away with this social pest." This appears to us the most forceful indictmont'of alcohol that has appeared in any medical book, and the fact that it has appeared in one of the progressive science

scries, published by the conservative publisher John Murray, shows the changed attitude of scionco to one of our oldest and most popular social customs, namely,' tho drinking of alcohol. It is, wo thiiut, somewhat surprising that our local tomperanco folks scorn ignorant of so much anti-alcohol material as Dr. Forol has provided for them. There arc, howovor, no doubt, many medical men who do not agree with' Dr. Forel.