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Show Drug Addicts Not Physical Weaklings NE of the impressions of drug addicts many of us have, is that they are thin, undersized, pale individuals. indi-viduals. And we are apparently justified jus-tified in this belief because of the pale appearance and "hollow eyes" present in so many of them. It is only natural, therefore, that we think of them as becoming addicted to drugs because they are weak physically, even if not weak mentally. men-tally. It may come as a surprise, therefore, there-fore, to learn that a study of the body build of drug addicts shows that they are not weak, delicate individuals in-dividuals but are of normal build. Dr. R. R. Brown, in Public Health Reports, Washington, D. C, reports the results of his studies of 400 native na-tive white addicts following their admission to the United States penitentiary pen-itentiary annex, Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Every case was definitely proved to be a drug addict, not just an "occasional" user of the drug. Measurements were taken of the unclothed un-clothed patients and a record made of appearances. It was found that these drug addicts ad-dicts were not of the weak, thin, undersized un-dersized type, but were slightly above the average in both height and weight. Under treatment at the institution, there was an average gain in weight of about 6 ',4 pounds, after 5? months. What does the above teach us? The lesson for all of us is that the temptation to use drugs is not due to "gross constitutional weakness" of the body. It is something wrong in our character or makeup that makes us want to use a drug to put us in a dream state so that we do not have to face difficulties and trials. QUESTION BOX Q. What causes mouth ulcers? A. If no infection of mouth, teeth, gums, etc., the ulcers may be due to some disturbance of stomach or intestine. in-testine. Q. What is leukoderma? What is leukemia? A. Leukoderma is simply white spots on skin due to loss of pigment (coloring matter). It is not serious. Leukemia a form of anemia is increase in-crease in white corpuscles in blood, 4 serious condition. |