Cigarettes | AdventAI

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jun 3, 1886

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 21.

Cigarettes.

CIGARETTES are largely used by boys; but cigarette smokers, both young and old, usually regard with skepticism the statements made by physicians concerning the evil consequences of the habit. The smokers say that their cigarettes are made of the "purest Virginia;" but if they want to know what this "purest Virginia" is, they should read what a large manufacturer of tobacco recently said to a New York reporter. "The quantity of drugs used in cigarettes is appalling," he declared, "and the commonest of these is valerian and tincture of opium. An experienced tobacconist can detect the presence of valerian by the smell. The drug imparts a sweet, soothing effect, that in a little time obtains a fascinating control over the smoker. The more cigarettes he smokes, the more he desires to smoke, just as is the case with one who uses opium. The desire grows into a passion. The smoker becomes a slave to the enervating habit.

"By the use of drugs it is possible to make a very inferior quality of tobacco pleasant. Cigarettes are put on the market at such a price that the poorest can easily procure them, and boys go in swarms for them."

"What is this Havana flavoring that is so much used?"

"It is made from the tonca bean, which contains a drug called melolotis, a deadly poison, seven grains being sufficient to kill a dog. It has become quite an article of commerce, and is extensively used in the manufacture of cigarettes."

"Does the paper wrapper of a cigarette add a great deal to its injuriousness?"

"Certainly. There are three sorts of paper in common use, made respectively from cotton, from linen rags, and from rice straw. Cotton paper is made chiefly in Trieste, Austria, and the linen and rice paper in Paris.

"The first, manufactured from the filthy scrapings of rag pickers, is bought in large quantities by the manufacturers, who turn it into a pulp, and subject it to a bleaching process to make it presentable.

"The lime and other substances used in bleaching have a very harmful effect upon the membrane of the throat and nose.

"Cotton paper is so cheap that a thousand cigarettes can be wrapped at a cost of only two cents. Rice paper is rather expensive. Tobacconized paper is also manufactured.

"It is common paper saturated with tobacco in such a way as to imitate the veins of the tobacco leaf very nearly. It is used in making all tobacco cigarettes. Arsenical preparations are also used in bleaching cigarette papers, and oil of creosote is produced naturally as a consequence of combustion. The latter is very injurious to the throat and lungs, and is said to accelerate the development of consumption in any one predisposed to the disease."—Youth's Companion.