CHEWING CORDITE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XII, Issue 1155, 31 December 1918, Page 5

CHEWING CORDITE.

WAR WORKERS' HABIT. Whsn a boy of sixteen working in a munitions factory Was taken ill it was thought that he bad been drinking, says a writer in London Answers. The suggestion was denied, however, and it was proved that the lad never touched alcohol; but the cause of the mistake lay in the fact that ha had the habit of chewing cordite —the smokeless explosive so largely used in the manufacture of small arms.

Cordite is a very stimulating drug, and quickly revives weary nerves, besides being extremely attractive to the taste; but the mere fact that it is composed chiefly of nitro-gly-cerine and gun-cotton makes it a most deadly and dangerous drug, and quickly enslaves its victims. There was rather a memorable instance of some soldiers discovering the stimulating effects of cordite during the South African war; but the drug was really unknown until the IBSt two-or three years.

To-day th« habit of chewing cordite is quite common, especially among all sections of munition workers whose work brings them into contact with the explosive. Medical men in munition areas know the prevalence of the habit, the hold it has over the workers, and the harm which it is doing its victims, particularly among women and girls. Many munition workers start chewing cordite in complete ignorance of the harm which it is likely to do them, while maoy who start the habit so quickly become dependent upon it that they have not sufficient strength of will to give it up. More than one munitioner has said that chewing a bit of cordite occasionally enables them to carry on at hard work when otherwise they would have had to give in.

It iB only afterwards, when the habit goeß from bad to worse, that they realise their foolishness. There is no denying the fact that cordite recreates force and energy in a way equalled by no other stimulant; but it is a wholly harmful drug, which eats away both the mental and physical systems—a drug which should never be allowed to gain the mastery. In many cases, too, cordite gives its victims the appearance of drunkenness: more than one person had been thought to be drunk when really they had been chewing cordite.