SOME ASPECTS OF THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

White Ribbon, Volume 44, Issue 522, 18 May 1939, Page 7

SOME ASPECTS OF THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

] ave l>een asked to s|**ak about the exp* nditure of health which is awocl* at*d with the taking of alcohol. y.w we who are actively engaged jn . ►mliating this evil have been items* 1 in the j>ast of talking in sen* nil terms rliout the harm alcohol does to the herlth of the individual, and of choosing the parts of medical literature which tit in with an opinion ae already have decided to hold. So 1 determined that 1 would find out at first hand what the latest medical authorities have to say aUmt alcohol as a cause of disease, and here is what 1 found: — In a “Text Hock of Medicine/' edited by I>r. J. J. Conybeare in 193 H. the artii le on "Alcoholism" is written by )>r. fonybeare himself. and he says the list of diseases which may lx* due to chronic alcoholism include the followinu: fhronlc (iastritis (mtlammatiou of the lining cf the stomach). Enteritis (inflammation of the lining of the bowel) Cirrhosis of the Liver (hardening of the I'.ver), Arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). Disease of the Myocardium, or mrscle of the heart. Chronic Disease of the Kidney, and Peripheral Neuritis (or Inflammation of the surface nerves). This is surely a formidable list, and when one reflects that alcohol is entires unnecessary in the scheme of life, or.e is forced to the conclusion that •tie prevention of then** troubles rightly tielongs to the department of preventive medicine. But these actual physical diseases caused by alcohol are not the whole storj . then* are many diseases which are not primarily due to alcohol which ma\ overtake the most healthy people, but if the victim has iie**n in the habit of tiking alcohol regularly his chance of recovery is greatly reduced. A typical example lR pneumonia. Doctors You ig and Beaumont —both Fellows of the Hoyai College of Physicians in London in an article in “Price's

EX PEN I )ITUHE OF HEALTH

Medicine." state that “chronic alcoholism" doubles the risk of a fatal issue in pneumonia." Nor is the tale yet told. The chronic alcoholic may e*ea|»e the diseases we have mentioned, and la* may never get pneumonia, hut the alcohol itself brings changes in the man or woman; here is a picture of the severer t>i*» of chronic alcoholic; 1 quote the text-hook description in full; — "Tiie long-continued abuse of alcohol, however, produces a typical clinical picture Irritability and a progressive deterioration of Intellect and character become ap|>arent, especially in the domestic circle; among friends and strangers the chronic alcoholic may tie tolerable enough, but in the Ikisoiii of his family, he is quite prepared to make the life of those* around him a misery by his callous disregard of the welfare of anyone but himself, bis irritability, and sometimes, even his violence. In his business or profession the quality of his work deteriorates; he is careless and unpunctual, and lacks the mental concentration to complete an uncongenial task; often only under the (temporary) stimulus of alcohol is he aide to carry on a normal life. Depression may alternate with excitement and suicide is not uncommon. He has but little insight into his condition and strongly resents any suggestion that his failings an* due to alcohol; he is suspicious, ready to see affronts, and pick quarrels. He is |x*rsistently untruthful and promises to reform are invariably broken." There can be no tragedy In life greater than to see the liody and mind of a friend gradually hut surely disintegrating under the alcohol habit. 1 have he«*n unable to get recent statistics atsiiit the admissions to mental hospitals, but Dr. (Houston In 1922 gives the actual figures for the Royal Kdinlairgh Asylum for 3ft years. During these 30 years, out of 11,316 cases admitted, 1,614 oases were definitely

diagnosed as the insanity of alcoholism ~this is a percentage of 11.5, or one cue in every* seven, and that, mind you, only takes count of the cases of actual alcoholic insanity. Again I would like to make it clear that the foregoing facts and figures are taken from standard text-hooks of medicine. I do not know what the private habits of the authorities I have mentioned nay lie, hut their standing in the medical world is indisputable. Also. I nave not gone Into the indirect ex|**nditure of health due to alcohol the unuernourished wife and child —the neglected family—the t»> - products, so to speak, of alcohol. Dr. Conybeare, whom I have already quoted, states that "the problem of alcoholism, with its far-reaching effects both in the liodies and minds of those who indulge in an excessive use of the drug (that is the word he uses) fs one of the greutest difficulties which lieset the way of both the social reformer and the doctor." Well, what do we do with other drugs which create a habit and ruin the health? You cannot buy morphia or Cocaine, or even the less jwtent “medlnal" or “hutrdnal" without a doctor's prescription. Quite recently a Ikingerous Drug Act was passed to keep you from buying them* things, and a staff of lnsj>ectors was appointed to see that the chemists of this Dominion were complying with the law. Hut you can buy whisky by the gallon, and »»*er by the barrel, and nave It delivered to your door without question, and drink it till you tuin your liody or mind, or Isith; and only if you make a nuisance of yourself is any notice taken; then a prohibition order is taken out against you. and instead of having the stuff delivered at the door, a friend (mark the won!) brings it to you on the quiet. A final question—Why should we restrict the liberty of the subject who wants his morphia or cocaine, and leave free the alcoholic to ruin himself, and to make himself a burden on the community? I wonder why? —M. PATKRSON.