THE EFFECTS OF NICOTINE. 
JAY W. SEAVER, A. M., M. D. 
The tobacco plant is well known by botanists as one of a 
large family, the Solanaceee, and a peculiarity of them all is 
the production, in larger or smaller quantities, of some nar- 
cotic drug, nicotine being the principal one of the group. 
This drug is found in the plant to the extent of from three 
to nine per cent, the latter being an excessively large amount. 
The larger part of the product put upon the market contains 
from three to five per cent. The last census report shows 
that the export to foreign nations is about $40,000,000 
worth, and that we produce 500,000,000 pounds per year. 
It becomes as important a subject with us as that of bread and 
butter, for our community spends about as much for tobacco 
as for flour. But its greatest importance relates to the 
possible physical effects it may have, especially as used by 
the young people in the community. Somebody has said 
that in the combustion of tobacco in smoking the nicotine is 
entirely destroyed, broken up into oils and acids, and that 
the nicotine itself is not taken into the system. The com- 
bustion of tobacco, under ordinary conditions, does not 
destroy the drug. Kissling recovered 52 per cent of it from 
the smoke of a sample containing 3.75 per cent of nicotine, 
and from a lower sample 84 per cent.1 
I speak of nicotine as a drug because, if you take up any 
book on materia medica, you will find that tobacco is dis- 
cussed in the same way as opium, quinine, or any of the 
drugs that are in common use by physicians, and that its 
physiological effects are stated there without prejudice. The 
amount of nicotine derived from a cigar in smoking is some- 
where in the neighborhood of one per cent, if we presume 
that one-half is destroyed by the process of combustion and 
the other half drawn in with the smoke; and this is espe- 
cially true in the use of a pipe, where the tobacco is com- 
pletely burned out. As to absorption, it is a very volatile 
oil-like material, soluble in water, glycerine, oils, alcohol, 
etc., so that that part which touches upon the mucous sur- 
1 Dingier's Polytechnic Journal, ccliv, 234-246. 
470 THE EEEECTS OE NICOTINE. 
471 
faces passes into solution and is pretty largely picked up. 
White 1 tells us that a dose of one-thirtieth of a grain will 
produce toxic symptoms in the body, so that we need absorb 
only a small proportion of the amount actually taken in dur- 
ing the process of smoking a cigar or a pipeful of tobacco 
to reach the limit of easy toleration by the system. Look- 
ing upon the matter from this standpoint, we can appreciate 
the fact that there is an immense amount of drug-taking in 
the community, and we might expect that there would be 
such physical effects as could be readily determined and 
stated. 
All through the history of the use of tobacco, which goes 
back some 300 years, different writers have abused it and 
praised it, until one who might attempt to gain information 
would be at a loss to come to a definite conclusion as to its 
merits or demerits. Burton, in the "Anatomy of Melan- 
choly," probably gives it its due when he says : " Tobacco, 
divine, rare, super-excellent tobacco! which goes far beyond 
all the panaceas, potable gold and philosophers' stones ; is a 
sovereign remedy in all diseases; a good vomit I confess: 
a virtuous herb if it be well qualified, opportunely taken and 
medicinally used; but, as it is commonly abused by most 
men, which take it as tinkers do ale, 'tis a plague, a mis- 
chief, a violent purge of goods, lands and health." 
Now, this is one of the peculiar drugs - opium is another 
- which, while they are to a certain extent harmful, have 
certain influences that are favorable, consequently a balance 
must be drawn between the good and bad influences. I 
wish to be fair in this matter, and say that the use of tobacco 
does not pass as entirely an evil, because we have plenty of 
people who are willing to bear witness to the fact that they 
get a certain amount of nervous comfort from it. Let us 
look upon it as it influences the human body, especially in 
the period of growth. 
It has been my privilege to spend the active part of my 
life in working with young men, and I naturally am inter- 
ested in that particular animal. The boy is always inclined 
to follow out those instincts to which we refer when we say 
that " he apes his elders." That is, if there is any act which 
he is in the habit of seeing a grown person do, the boy (or 
girl) wishes to imitate it, be it good or bad; and I fancy 
1 Materia Medica and Therapeutics, 1896. 472 
THE ARENA. 
this is the reason why we find so many hoys smoking, hoping 
thereby to gain a certain reputation for maturity among their 
mates. This desire to be mature is common to all of us. 
We did not lay aside the idea with our knickerbockers. 
Among boys in secondary schools the tobacco habit has 
become very general. In these schools the boys are for the 
first time away from home, and they are allowed to mature 
somewhat too rapidly for their future keeping qualities. I 
have spoken to the principal of one of our largest prepar a- 
tory schools within a year regarding the health of students 
who smoke, and, while he does not use tobacco himself, and 
says that " it is the bane of the school, and more boys break 
down in health and are sent home from its influence than 
from any other," yet there is no effort to control this use 
of the drug by the pupils. Unfortunately, in very many of 
these institutions there is an unpleasant condition of being 
dependent for financial income on the tuition of the students. 
In very few of these schools is there direct personal super- 
vision of the health of the students, and the physical 
influences that have affected their growth or health are not 
recorded until the young men reach college, where it is pos- 
sible, by comparing the measurements and tests of large num- 
bers of young men, to determine in a fairly exact manner 
what influences have tended toward physical deterioration, 
and what have tended toward growth and improvement. 
A tabulation of the records of the students who entered 
Yale in nine years, when all of the young men were examined 
and measured, shows that the smokers averaged fifteen 
months older than the non-smokers, but that their size - 
except in weight, which was one and four-tenths kilograms 
more - was inferior in height to the extent of seven milli- 
meters, and in lung-capacity to the extent of eighty cubic 
centimeters. The observed rate of growth at this age would 
lead us to expect that the smokers, from their greater age, 
would surpass the others by one kilogram in weight, two 
millimeters in height, and one hundred cubic centimeters in 
lung-capacity. 
The difference in age in the two groups points to an age 
limit to parental restraint, and raises the inquiry as to what 
might supplement this influence. The wide variation in lung- 
capacity demonstrates an influence on lung tissue that is also 
illustrated below. 
The study of the physiological influence of drugs on the THE EFFECTS OF NICOTINE. 
473 
muscular and nervous systems has led to certain valuable 
conclusions. Dr. Foster, in his " Physiology,"1 speaks of 
the influence of nicotine on the nervous tissues, especially on 
the vagi, as paralyzing their activity, thus allowing the heart 
muscle to wear itself out. With this information we can 
easily understand how, in the beginning of the habit of smok- 
ing, the influence of nicotine causes so much disturbance to 
the circulation, for the vagus is the great controlling nerve 
of the heart, and that organ first gives obvious response to 
the poison. The influence of nicotine may be counteracted 
by the administration of powerful heart stimulants, like 
strychnine, caffeine, alcohol, etc. The whole nervous system 
is affected to some extent by even moderate doses of nicotine. 
This may be seen by its effect upon the pupil of the eye, 
where there is temporary dilatation followed by prolonged 
contraction of the pupil, which behaves very much as it 
would under the local influence of pilocarpine or under the 
systemic influence of full doses of morphine. Where there is 
prolonged use of the drug the bad effects are disclosed in the 
optic disk, which is the end of the optic nerve, readily seen 
in an examination of the fundus of the eye, and which is the 
only large nerve that is laid bare to ocular observation. 
There appears to be less irritation of the brain structure and 
the efferent (motor) nerves than of the afferent (sensory) 
nerves, but the power of fine coordination is decidedly 
lowered by the drug. The muscle cells are also apparently 
only slightly affected by it, but, the nerve supply to the mus- 
cles being affected, the practical motor ability is greatly 
impaired. This has been thoroughly demonstrated by experi- 
ments carried out by Dr. W. P. Lombard,2 of the University 
of Michigan, who has shown that the administration of even 
moderate amounts of tobacco in the form of smoke lowers the 
working power of the human muscle by a high percentage, 
and there seemed to be no compensation for lowered tempo- 
rary ability in increased duration of it. His experiments 
were made with Mosso's ergograph, and his results may be 
crudely summarized as follows: In from five to ten minutes 
after beginning to smoke an ordinary cigar muscular power 
began to diminish, and in an hour, when the cigar was burnt, 
it had fallen io about 25 per cent of its initial value. The 
total work of the time of depression, compared with a similar 
normal period, was as 24.2 to 44.8. 
1 Edition 1888. 
2 Journal of Physiology, vol. xlil, p. 1 ei seg. 474 
THE ARENA. 
So far as the alimentary tract is concerned, there is a 
decided stimulation of the flow of peptic fluids. For this 
reason tobacco has been recommended as a sort of gastric 
stimulant after eating, and it undoubtedly acts in this par- 
ticular way. If this be true, however, the ordinary use of 
the drug must be extremely destructive to the digestive pro- 
cess. We have all chewed gum before dinner until, when 
we came to eat and tried to chew dry food, there was no 
saliva to mix with it, and we ate with discomfort. In this 
case exactly the same thing has happened to the salivary 
glands that would happen to the peptic glands if one were 
to smoke before meals during the period of rest for the stom- 
ach, for the gastric glands would be depleted, the fluids 
poured forth into the stomach under the stimulation, not 
being retained in that organ by food to be digested, would 
pass on into the intestinal tract, and when food; was finally 
taken the peptic cells would be unable to pour forth ade- 
quate solvents for the proteid mass, and digestion would be 
delayed until such solvents could be formed by cellular 
metabolism. Meanwhile the food would be retained in the 
stomach in a warm and moist condition, favorable for the 
development of decomposition germs, which must always be 
present in the food we eat. The result of the decomposition 
process is the production of acids that are extremely irritat- 
ing and cause the discomforts that are so familiar to the 
dyspeptic. Not only has the food been manufactured into 
chemicals hostile to the organism, but, so far as future nutri- 
tion is concerned, it is actually lost, for the physiological cost 
of reducing these decomposition products to available forms 
for absorption and use is more than the available heat that 
can finally be produced in their oxidation. 
Regarding glandular activity, it may be said that nicotine 
stimulates secretion in general, as is illustrated by the influ- 
ence upon the mucous glands of the mouth and general ali- 
mentary tract. This over-stimulation of the mucous area 
would naturally lead to the development of catarrhal affec- 
tions, and it would seem that this drug was contra-indicated 
in all forms of tendency to catarrhal diseases. This must 
mean, if the popular estimate of the condition of the New 
England nose is correct, that few Yankees, at least, should 
use tobacco. 
Now I ought to speak of one quality of tobacco smoke that 
seems to be sanitary to a certain extent, and that is, that it THE EFFECTS OF NICOTINE. 
475 
has a considerable antiseptic value. If a person is so slovenly 
that he does not care for his teeth as he ought, it may be a 
preservative of them; and in certain catarrhal conditions one 
could almost be pardoned for the offensive fumigation on this 
same ground. I speak of this because I wish to give what- 
ever credit is due, and this seems a fair statement of the 
result of experiments in the matter.1 
What is known of the influence of nicotine upon the 
blood may be briefly summarized. Some physiologists have 
claimed that the blood corpuscles seemed to assume a notched 
appearance ; but this is believed now to have been due to the 
handling of the corpuscles while on the microscopic slide, 
and the influence of nicotine upon the blood corpuscles is 
believed to-day to be comparatively slight, although the 
spectrum of the blood is altered, showing that they are 
affected in some way. It is true that anaemia is a constant 
accompaniment of chronic nicotine poisoning, but this is due 
to the disastrous results of the poison upon the digestive 
system, which does not prepare abundant nutriment for the 
blood current, and the anaemia should therefore be referred to 
starvation rather than to corpuscular degeneration. 
Another proof of the physical deterioration produced by 
'chronic nicotine poisoning is found in a report by R. L. 
McDonnell, regarding the family life of cigar-makers in New 
York City.2 He reports that in 337 families there was an 
average of but 1.63 children to a family. The conclusions 
to be drawn from this need not be pointed out. 
The effect of nicotine on growth is very measurable, and 
the following figures are presented as a fairly satisfactory 
demonstration of the extent of the interference with growth 
that may be expected in boys from 16 to 25 years of age, 
when they are believed to have reached full maturity. 
For purposes of comparison the men composing a class in 
Yale have been divided into three groups. The first is made 
up of those who do not use tobacco in any form ; the second 
consists of those who have used it regularly for at least 
a year of the college course; the third group includes the 
irregular users. A compilation of the anthropometric data on 
this basis shows that during the period of undergraduate life, 
which is essentially 3| years, the first group grows in 
weight 10.4 per cent more than the second, and 6.6 per cent 
1 Thesis, Yale Med. 1891, P. S. Robinson. 
2 Wood's Medical Reference Handbook, vol. v, 283. 476 
THE ARENA. 
more than the third. In height the first group grows 24 per 
cent more than the second, and 11 per cent more than the 
third; in girth of chest the first group grows 26.7 per cent 
more than the second, and 22 more than the third; in capa- 
city of lungs the first group gains 77 per cent more than the 
second, and 49.5 per cent more than the third. 
These results are essentially the same as those obtained by 
Dr. E. Hitchcock, of Amherst College, who observed a similar 
group of young men in a manner entirely independent. He says: 
" In separating the smokers from the non-smokers, it appears 
that in the item of weight the non-smokers have increased 24 
per cent more than the smokers; in growth in height they have 
surpassed them 37 per cent, and in chest girth, 42 per cent. 
And in lung capacity there is a difference of 8.36 cubic inches 
[this is about 75 per cent] in favor of the non-smokers, which 
is three per cent of the total average lung capacity of the class." 
The widely differing growth in capacity of lungs points to 
the influence of tobacco on respiration. Inspiration is essen- 
tially a muscular act and as such would be seriously impeded 
by nicotine. But even farther than this must act the irritat- 
ing substances of a smoke which readily causes inflammation 
and soreness of any mucous membrane. Now, to fully ex- 
pand the lungs under such conditions is uncomfortable if not 
impossible, and respiration degenerates into an incomplete act. 
I do not know how we can compare the work of the 
users of tobacco with that of the non-users in mental lines as 
we can in physical lines. I can tell you absolutely whether 
a man has gained a pound in weight during the year, but I 
cannot tell you by any such definite means the mental prog- 
ress that has gone on in that time. We must always be 
exceedingly careful in handling statistics of the mental pro- 
cess. Out of our highest scholarship men only a very small 
percentage (about five) use tobacco, while of the men who do 
not get appointments over 60 per cent are tobacco-users. But 
this does not mean that mental decrepitude follows the use of 
tobacco, for we may read the results in another way, viz.: the 
kind of mind that permits its possessor to become addicted to a 
habit that is primarily offensive and deteriorating is the kind 
of mind that will be graded low on general intellectual tests. 
If the whole period of physical growth be divided into 
seven or eight year periods, according to the physiological 
phases of our development, we should have the third period, 
devoted to the rounding-out processes, begin at about the THE EFFECTS OF NICOTINE. 
477 
time when the most strenuous mental application is begun, 
and when the opportunities for outdoor recreation are decidedly 
curtailed. It is at this period that the tobacco habit usually 
is begun, if it is begun at all. This is the period of the 
development of high muscular coordination, and it is well to 
note that in mental processes it is the period of the develop- 
ment of the logical faculties. Whether we believe, with 
some psychologists, that there is a direct relation between 
muscular ability and mental power, or not, we must believe 
that any curtailment of the activity of the great blood-con- 
taining and heat-producing tissue (the muscles) must react 
unfavorably upon the nerve structure, which depends so 
largely upon outside sources for its material for work, if not 
for its method of work. Furthermore, the young animal 
seems to be especially susceptible to this poison, but the sys- 
tem can adjust itself so as to counteract the ordinary influ- 
ence of it and go on with comparatively little interference. 
As a machine that is obstructed to a certain extent, can 
nevertheless apply a part of its energy to the sweeping away 
of the obstruction, so the organic machine can divert a certain 
amount of its energy to the elimination of this poisonous ele- 
ment, but only the residuum is available for normal processes 
of growth and functional activity. 
Whenever it is desired to secure the highest possible work- 
ing ability by the organism, as in athletic contests, where the 
maximum of effort is demanded, all motor-depressant influ- 
ences are removed as far as possible, tobacco being one of the 
first substances forbidden. As a large part of the functional 
activity during this rounding-out period pertains to growth, 
would it not seem logical to remove from the system all 
motor depressants, in order that this line of activity may find 
its highest resultant in increased size and improved activity ? 
This position has been taken by the directors of government 
schools, not only in this country, but in Europe, where the 
highest efficiency of the pupils is made the object of the 
schools, and where efficiently trained inspection, freed from 
personal appeals and special considerations, leaves the direc- 
tors at liberty to manage the pupils upon the most approved 
scientific principles. It is satisfactory to note also that many 
private schools have taken this advanced position within the 
last ten years. May we not believe that, with a higher grade 
of intelligence among the patrons of schools, the same higher 
standard will be demanded soon in all similar institutions ?