SMOKING STUNTS THE GROWTH OF BOYS.
Whatever difference of opinion there may be upon the advisability of smoking for men, there is none as to its pernicious effect upon boys. It affects the action of the heart and reduces the capacity of the lungs. Young men who are being trained for athletics are not permitted to smoke by their trainers because, as they say, “it is bad for the wind.” The argument that will appeal most forcibly to your boy is that smoking will stunt his growth. It has been proved that youthful smokers are shorter and weigh less than their comrades who do not smoke. Cigarettes are particularly injurious. Nicotine the active principle of tobacco is said by chemists to be, next to prussic acid, the most rapidly fatal poison known. The tender tissues of a growing boy can not absorb even a very small quantity of it without most injurious results.—Ladies’ Home Journal.