Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 10, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 January 1911 — ROBACCO IS NOT BAD [ARTICLE]

ROBACCO IS NOT BAD

Professor of dolumbia University Makes Numerous Tests.

Physical Well-Being of Mature' Men Little Affected by Its Use—Appreciable Differences Between and Smokers. New York.—The results of an Investigation of the effects of smoking on students of Columbia university, which wgs made by Dr. George L. Meylan, head of the Columbia gymnasium; have been made public in the Popular Science Monthly.

They Bhow that on the whole those who smoke are not injured seriously. If at all. Dr. Meylan “experimented" on something more than 200 students, about 53 per cent, of whom smoked. Dr. Meylan points out at the beginning of his article that his chief aim was to determine If smoking exerted any influence upon the. physical and mental characteristics of college Btudents. He does not try to present the moral ,or economic sides of the question. He examined 223 students, 115 of whom smoked. The age at which they acquired tie habit varied from one at seven years to 18 at sixteen years, 30 at seventeen, 16 at nineteen and one at twenty-one. The average physical measurements of 146 students form the basis for a table of their development over a period of two years. Sixty-six students who smoked gained about eight pounds in weight, against a gain of six pounds by 77 non-smokers.

The same students made a net -Increase of 1.2 centimeters in height for the smokers and 1.1 for the non-smok-ers. In lnng„ capacity, however, the non-smokerß surpassed the smokers, gaining .20 as against .0&. In total strength the smokers were ahead again, however, having an increase of 103 units, as against 401. “It appears from the tables,” says Dr. Meylan, “that there Is no appreciable difference between the measurements of smokers and non-smokers in the matter of age, where the smokers are the older. The slight advantage In the average measurements of the smokers is undoubtedly due to the fact that they are eight months older. The slightly larger gain made by smokers in weight, height and total strength during the first two years in college is really too small to have any significance.”

In scholarship the non-smokers had k distinct advantage. The smokers averaged 80 per cent. In-their studies at entrance, 62 per cent, during the first two years, and 7 per cent, of failures. The non-smokers got 91 per ettnt, in their entrance examinations -and 69 per cent. In their first two years in college, while only 4 per cent were failures. In this respect Dr. Meylan thinks there la.a distinct relation between smoking and scholarship. Of the same set of students 47 per cent, of the smokers won places on varsity athletic teams, while only 37 per cent of the non-smokers could get places. It was discovered that 56 per cent, of all the varsity athletes at Columbia were smokers, as compared with 52 per cent, of all students. In 'conclusion Dr. Meylan says: “All scientists are agreed that the use of tobacco by adolescents is Injurious; parents, teachers and physicians should strive earnestly against its use. “There Is no scientific evidence that the moderate use of tobacco by healthy, mature men produces any beneficial or Injurious physical effects that can be measured. “It has been shown that the use of tobacco by college students is closely associated with Idleness, lack of ambition and application, and how scholarship”