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Show V 'ALCOHOL IS A !' ,. MENACElTO HEALTH , ', 'i f In United StateS( Senate document I, (No. 48, 1909), Dr. George W. Web- '" iter, President Illltfpts State Board ,;' of health declares that alcohol Is a greater menace to the people than tuberculosis. He says: "The alcohol problem Is more Im- . portantthan the tuberculosis prob- lem as (1) It costs more lives and more money; (2) It costs the United States over $2,000,000,000 annually; ,(3) It porbably causes directly and In directly, at least 10 per cent of all deaths In the Uhlted' States ; (4) It predisposes to'tnfectlon destroys acquired ac-quired lmmunltyt, prevents the occurrence occur-rence or artificial Immunity, at least in rabies, lessons resistance, leads to an Lncreased mortality In all Infectious Infect-ious diseases and after surgical operations; opera-tions; (5) it lessons the power of the Individual to resist the Injurious Influences In-fluences of extreme heat and cold; (6) it causes a deterioration of the quality of mental work; (7) It diminishes dimin-ishes thepower to, withstand fatigue and lessens the general efficiency of the individual; (8) It is a poison and shoud he classed as such, Instead of ' as food stimulant; (9) when the physicians take hold of the question In the samo spirit as they have shown concerning yolow fever, materia, and small pox, Instead of treating It as a moral question and leaving it to clergmen, temperance worker.s and enthusiastic reformers, we may expect ex-pect better results (10) more may bo accomplished by teaching the people the truth In regard to (jae fatal effects of alcohol upon mental and phsyical efficiency than by expatiating ex-patiating on the moral wickedness of drinking." |