HEAVY SMOKER'S DEATH.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 8795, 24 April 1907, Page 3

HEAVY SMOKER'S DEATH.

An inquest "was held recently at Beaufort (Victoria), touching the death of Andrew Lambert McOracken, aged 21, who had died suddenly in a paddeck where he had been woodcutting. He was boiling a biily for dinner, and after smoking i cigarette (not having eaten or 3runk anything) he fell over on his left side and expired. His father told the acting coroner that his sou was an inveterate cigarette smoker, having smoked six packets of cigarettes and a 4oz t.n of cut tobacco between Saturday aud Monday Young McOracken was apparently ■•veil on Sunday, when.he last saw him alivo, but had b?,d a cold for tsvo months. He had never con- j suited a doctor in his life. Dr. A. G. JackaoD, who made the postmortem, said there were evidences chat deceased was suffering from an acute attack of.pleurisy. The heart vva3 enormously "enlarged, weighing j 240 z, the usual weight being from 10oz to 12oz. The other organs of the body were healthy. In his opinion the cause of death was heart paralysis, probably the result of some exertion affecting the greatly enlarged heart. The pleuritic condition would probably have contributed to the sudden death. To anyone with heart trouble smoking was injurious. It was a kind of heart that did not show any symptoms, deceased being in just that condition that any exertion wa3 risky to him, and death would have occurred sooner or later.