43. Harmful eating.—Men often eat for the fun of eating, and sometimes they eat harmful things. They chew tobacco and drink strong drinks, because they like their taste, just as a child eats candy.

44. Tobacco.—Men have always drunk strong drink. Within the last four hundred years, men have learned another way to please a wrong taste. When Columbus discovered America, the Indians were using tobacco. They taught the Spaniards how to smoke it, and since then almost the whole world has used it.

Tobacco is the leaf of a tall plant. It needs a better soil than any other crop. It takes the richness from the ground, and spoils it for other crops.

45. Nicotine.—About 1/30 of each tobacco leaf is a strong poison. This poison is called nicotine. A drop or two of it, or as much of it as is in a strong cigar, will kill a man. It gives the tobacco its smell and taste. Men use tobacco for the sake of a poison. 46. Why men use tobacco.—Men give queer reasons for using tobacco. One smokes for its company, another because he is with company. One smokes to make his brain think better, and another to keep himself from thinking. Some use tobacco to help digest their food, and others use it to keep themselves from eating so much. Boys smoke to make themselves look like men. The real reason for using tobacco is that men learn to like its taste, and do not care if it harms them.

47. Spitting.—Tobacco in any form makes the saliva flow. Men do not dare swallow it, for it makes them sick. So they spit it out. No one likes to see this. It is a dirty and filthy habit. Besides, the saliva is lost, and cannot help digest food.

Tobacco stains the teeth brown. You can always tell a tobacco chewer by his teeth. His breath will smell of tobacco, and even his clothes are offensive to the nose.

48. Tobacco lessens strength.—Tobacco always makes a person sick at the stomach, at first. After a while, he becomes used to it, and an ordinary chew or smoke does not make him sick. But a large chew or smoke will always make him sick again. When a person is sick from tobacco he is very weak. Even if he is not sick, the tobacco poisons his muscles and makes his strength less. When a man trains for a hard race he never uses tobacco.

49. Tobacco hinders digestion.—Tobacco and its smoke both have a burning taste. This makes the throat sore, and causes a cough. Tobacco does not help the stomach to digest food. Smokers and chewers often have headaches and coated tongues. These are signs of a poor digestion.

50. Effect upon the young.—Tobacco is more harmful to boys than to men. If boys smoke they cannot run fast or long. They cannot work hard with their brains or hands. They do not grow fast, and are liable to have weak hearts.

51. Tobacco harms others.—Many persons do not like the smell of tobacco, and no one likes the spit. No one should use it in the presence of others. The tobacco user's pleasure should not spoil the comfort and happiness of others.

52. Snuff.—Powdered tobacco is called snuff. Snuff causes sneezing. No one should harm the nose and the whole body for the pleasure of a sneeze. Years ago snuff was used much more than it is now.

53. Chewing.—Chewing tobacco is the most poisonous way of using it, for it keeps most of the nicotine in the mouth. Chewing will make any one very sick, unless he spits out all the saliva.

54. Smoking.—Men smoke pipes, cigars, and cigarettes. The smoke has nicotine, and is poisonous. Pipe stems get dirty and full of nicotine. After a while they smell bad and are very poisonous. An old smoker's pipe will make a young smoker sick.

55. Cigarettes.—Cigars are not so poisonous as a pipe, for more of the nicotine is burned up. Cigarettes are often made of weak tobacco. A cigarette does not contain so much tobacco as a cigar. Hence a cigarette does not cost much. It can be smoked in a hurry. It does not make a boy so sick as cigars do. Boys and men use a great many cigarettes where they would not touch a cigar. This makes the use of cigarettes the most dangerous form of smoking. Selling cigarettes to young boys is forbidden by law.

56. Habit.—When men have used tobacco for some time, they like it and feel bad without it. So they get into the habit of using it, and find it hard to stop. The tobacco seems to help them, but it does not do so. It cheats men, and they do not know it.

57. Chewing gum.—Chewing gum is made from pitch or paraffin, for these substances will not dissolve in the mouth. The gum is flavored with sugar and spices. The gum and its flavors are not harmful in themselves, and yet chewing them is harmful. Chewing makes a great deal of saliva flow. All this saliva is wasted, and when we eat our meals we may have too little. Then our food will not digest well, but we shall have dyspepsia and headaches.

By pulling and handling the gum while chewing it, you may get some poisonous dirt into your mouth, and make yourself very sick.

Even if your gum should not harm you, there is a good reason for letting it alone. When you are chewing gum, you look as if you were chewing tobacco. No one likes to see a boy or girl even appearing to chew tobacco. If you form a habit of chewing gum you will be more likely to chew tobacco when you are grown.

WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED