TEMPERANCE COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 3853, 17 January 1928, Page 16

TEMPERANCE COLUMN.

[The matter under this heading 1. pubueheu at the request of, and is supplied by. the United Temperance Reform Council in. pursuance of the desire to inculcate th. principles of temperance.)

THE RELATION OF ALCOHOL TO ■physical deterioration AND NATIONAL EFFICIENCY

By

W. M'Adam Eccles., M.S. F.R.C.S.

IV. CONCLUSION OF THE INTERDEPARTMENTAL COMMITTEE. So impressed were the members of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Physical Deterioration with the evidence laid before them concerning the relationship of alcohol to deterioration that they place the con sumption of drink next to urbanisation as a causative factor.

Their emphatic words:—“The committee is convinced that the abuse of alcoholic ‘stimulants is a most potent and deadly agent of physical deterioration ” should be pondered over by all who have the welfare of the nation at heart. And this abuse of stimulants commences to act oven before the birth of th e child continues its effects in infancy, and is often perpetuated in youth and adult life, i therefore, can it be, otherwise than debility in the earliest days, stunted growth before maturity, and deterioration and mental inefficiency at the time when the nation demands the finest and most productive output from those who should be its grandest asset?

ACTION OF ALCOHOL ON ADULT TISSUES.

So far as the effect of alcohol indirectly and directly upon growing tissues has been discussed, all the facts adduced point to its being a strong factor in the production of physical deterioration. It is necessary now to review the action of alcohol upon the tissues of the adult. Here again it is only needful to make a passing allusion to the effects of large doses of the drug upon the physical and mental constitution of the individual. The inebriate as a rule carries his infirmity written upon his face, or dictates the same by his words and actions. He is unstable in thought and precision, and his muscular as well as his mental powers soon become inefficient.

It is wise to reiterate some facts which are not often given their due significance. ALCOHOL A SELECTIVE POISON Alcohol i s a selective poison and acts very differently on different individuals, and upon different tissues in the same individual.

There are many poisons which act in a similar manner some of them being wellknown drugs, and others less-known products of the activity of bacteria, or micro organisms. Strychnine is an example of the former, and this drug has a peculiarly selective action towards the central nervous system and the spinal chord in particular. The toxin produced tj the “drumstick ” bacillus of tetanus, ir lockjaw, illustrates the second, for again 'the ’spinal chord is the tissue chiefly affected. Alconol on the other hand i s a poison which tias a distinctive action upon the cells of the blood and upon the cells of the vessels through which the blood circulates.

Every part of the body s dependent upon the blood for its nourisnment. and any factor .which interferes with the proper composition or circulation of this fluid is a factor in the production of imperfect nutrition and consequent deterioration. There are two ways in which alcohol plays havoc with the tissues of the adult. The blood itself by carrying jhe poison is rendered abnormal. Its constituent cells cannot do their proper work; in fact, they are intoxicated.

ffhe amoeba, the beautiful unicellular animal, is profoundly affected oy even smaJ doses of alcohol, actually by one drop of alcohol in one thousand drops of normal saline solution, the fluid in which it i s best at home. By alcohol it is irritaTed, “ stimulated,” if you Tike, just at first, but quick’y numbed, then paralysed aid finally killed The white blood-cell ;s practically an amoebe. Alcohol taken ’nto the stomach is rapidly absorbed through T he mucous membrane into the blood-vessels There it come s into contact with tlie white corpuscles of the blood, and they likewise are irritated, numbed, paralysed. and even killed. Thus these cells, which should be alert, discriminating, and efficient like any well-trained constable, become lazy, inert, and altogether inefficient, when any desirables in the shape of bacteria cause “ riot in the veins.” ACTION OF ALCOHOL ON THE ARTERIES.

Iftit. in addition to the constituents of the circulating fluid being thus interfered with, the walls of the tubes through which it passes are liable to be damaged. A condition which is known as arteriosclerosis is brought about. This terni indicates a hardening and thickening of the walls of an artery. In the healthy state, an artery i s an elastic tube which by’ its very elasticity forces the blood, pumped into it by the heart, _ to the remotest parts of the body. Even if the heart “ beats ’ normally, blood would not as a rule reach the toes without the further propelling power of the elastic arterial waifs.

Given, then, arteries which have lost their natural _ elasticity, and many parts of the body will in consequence suffer from malnutrition.

Alcohol produces this hardening effect upon the arteries. In fact, some authorities be<.cve that alcohol shares with one other toxin the evil repute of being the most potent cause of arterio-sclerosis. It does not, moreover, require large quantities of alcohol to produce this effect: even socalled “ moderate ” doses, if sufficiently long continued, will cause the arterial wall to become so changed that the vessel will be rigid, and often actually a brittle, tube Added to this, there is a serious resultant effect upon the heart itself. This organ, because of fhe loss of the nelp normally given to it by the elasticity of the blood vessels, has now an increased amount of work to do in endeavouring to urge the life-preserving fluid to every part of the system. Sooner or later the heart will be unable to stand this, extra strain, and it will ( give way under it with dire, results. ‘‘ A man is as old as his arteries ” is a witty saying, but none the less it is a true one. Tf the arteries in childhood

are elastic, supple, and soft, those of an °. . ma, , 1 1 „ ar0 Ba-ble to be hard, firm, and rigid, lhey have deteriorated they havi* begun to wear out. or to become ” furred ” nke a water pipe. If a young man take 9 alcohol, and it has this deteriorating effect upon his arteries, an effect which is often yery insidious and almost unrecognisable in its earlier stages, he will become prematurely old; he will deteriorate before his time, and the nation will lose his efficient service before he ha 3 given his proper quota to the nation’s work. He will become, in fact, as old as hi s “ aged ” arteries are, and he has thereby to all intents defrauded society. While, then, alcohol may act directly, upon the elastic tissue of the arterial wall, this i s not all, for it may also act indirectly. ATculkl retards tho excretion of toxins and other poisons from the blood. It is a fact worthy of notice that muscular activity causes the formation of a peculiar waste product. termed hypoxanthin. Thia ha s to be eliminated as quickly as possibl-3 if the individual wishes to keep fit. It is absorbed by the lymphatics and passed into the blood, by it carried to the kidneys, and by them excreted. It is a definite poison, and like alcohol, tend s to produce arterio-sclerosis.