INFLUENZA AND ALCOHOL

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 140, 10 December 1918, Page 8

INFLUENZA AND ALCOHOL

10 Til IDl'tOR.

Sir,—Tlm letter of pr W. Kington Fyffe in Mondays-paper reveal* another case of a medical man who has not kept abreast of the latest and best: scientific light on the question of alcohol and medicine. That is no disparagement to Dr. Fyffe, because .a busy man cannot keep up with the latest facts in every department—but it does disqualify him for poeing as a safe guide to public opinion on Prohibition; It is ratuer to the men who'have had a long experience in the great .hospitals of large cities that we must look for guidance. Such a man ie the celebrated medical authority,' Dr, Johnstone of "Edinburgh. He says of alcohol: ''This so-called. stimulating, effect of alcohol is presumed /because of the quickened action 6f the heart, and increased rapidity of the circulation, as shown by the flushing of the face; the quickened activity of the brain, and the loosening of the tongue. But these results are not due to an. increased supply of'force or energy toi the body, but simply to the liberation of its existing BUP.P Iy. from paralysis of , the nerve which keeps it in check, like lifting the governor of the engine which controls the supply of steam to the ,■ cylinder,'or removing the brake so that' ihe.engine, rune away Thus the increased activity-, of the alcoholised individual is due, not to ' the stimulation of the energiser 'of the heart, but to the paralysis of its regulator. Hence, alcohol must be regarded not as a stimulant, but as;, asedative, a paralyser, a;narcotic, and in truth this is its action from firet xto last." A multitude of first-rate authorities can be quoted to support the above, but the surest indication of the change in medical opinion is the rapidly-declin-ing use of alcohol in the large hospitals. For instance, the figures for seven large' hospitals in England show 1 that while/ in 1862 they spent three times as much oh alcohol as they did/on milk,' in 1902 the exact'reverse was the case. Milk is superseding liquor. The Cook County • Hospital, the great hospital in Chicago, in 1897, with nearly 20,000 patients,; spent only £16 for alcohol.;. The Gin-' cinnati Hospital in wards E,F, andt Q, used in 1895 575 pints of beer, 695 of : whisky, 7, of brandy, 48 of pbrt wine, and 5 of,skerry. In 1914 whisky was,the• only alcoholic used, and instead' of the 595 pinte used in 1895, only 7.V.pints were.used. . „'.■...■..'■ ■'.'.,'

. The United States Parmacoppeia isa standard authority upon drugs] It has been recently revised by the National Pharmacopoeia Committee, composed of 51 of the leading physicians of the nation. After careful consideration, these well-informed scientists- 'have decided that in view of all that has been proved concerning their nature and effects, whisky and brandy must be'eliminated from the list of useful medical preparation* which is the standard of the profession.

The American Medical Association at its annual session in 1917 in New York adopted this resolution: "Whereas we believe that the use of alcohol: as a beverage is detrimental to the human economy, and whereas its use in thera'peutice, as a tonic or stimulant, or as a food, has no scientific basis; therefore Tesolved that the American Medical Association opposes the use of alcohol as a beverage; and be it further ' resolved 'the the use of alcohol as a therapeutic agent should be discouraged.

As against Dr. Fyffe'B opinion, let m» say that one of Wellington's leading physicians who attended a case of pneumonia known to me said that he (the doctor) had ceased taking any liquor as soon as the strain of,the epidemic had come, and he felt, better for it, being able, to attend to some 70 pneumonia patients. He further assured the patient', who is now completely recovered, that if he (the patient) had been a drinking m*n he would not have pulled through. But even if Dr. Fyffe -were right .in his contentions, he would not be making * any case against Prohibition, for the use of alcohol as ; ,a medicine is not forbidden. 'Of course, to prevent abueo it is safeguarded by a' doctor's prescription. [It is indeed very generous of Dr. Fyffe to oppose this further monopoly for his profession.]

As' to the Doctor's heart-touching der scription of ,a loved one lost because alcohol would be hard, to get, let it be said that for one such possible event, there are now thousands of premature deaths due to the ease of access to liquor. ■■ Prohibitionists are indebted to Dr. Fyffe for knocking out that old cry of the Moderate, "Oh,' I can take it or; leave it." The learned Doctor affirms that even a moderate use of' alcohol ' establishes a necessity for its continuance, , and yet": he proposes to oppose Prohibition and thus curse all future generations with an \appetite that so gets hold "of a person's system. The Doctor is quite right when he.says the epidemic has , opened our eyes to the effect of alcohol;,. but it has failed to open his eyes. -Any one who in these days says that "alcohol is a valuable food" is not only.' blind but has deliberately turned his face from the light of facto known to even children of our public schools. The great Sir Victor Porsley, who gave up his life in Mesopotamia, says in his standard work ("Alcohol and the Human Body]'—p. 182): "Alcohol cannot: from any. point be regarded as a food. The physiological effects of real foodstuffs .and alcohol are totally different." ,Dr. Fyffe's final word is that Prohibi- '■'{ tion is a "phantom." It has closed, gaols all over Canada, reduced' night accidents, redeemed thousands of homes, purified politics, increased savings .depoeits, boomed business, and lifted the whole moral tone of city life. If it is * "phantom" then by all means let us have a "phantom" in place of the present reality of staggering men,.ruined homes and poverty.—l am, etc., '.-,.■'' ■■w.-d: bayley. [We cannot possibly find space.for all. 'the letters we have received on this subject from correspondents, most of whom adopt a norn de plume. We prefer toconfine the issue to correspondents who: .write over their own signatures.—Ed.: Post.] ■ ■ ". •;. ■.:■ : . .•,