1293

THE WHITE POPPY.

^Sed*^ bas been recently began to be entertained as to the al-to e ffccts of opium-eating on the health, and its tendency

' y l | ich ] Cn ’ an< ^ ^ must confessed that in several known casesI>r Ch 0CCHlre( t in this country, no ill effects have been observable.tb e ', ris tison {Treat. on Poisons) has given abstracts of eleven cases,<*«* th* Cra ^ resu b of whoso histories “ would rather tend to tlnwv doubt^tinc P°P}ff ar opinion.” A few years ago, a Life-Assurance Company,tile 011 general opinion, resisted payment of a sum of money, on^ lct! i a'rf- ^' a1 the insurer (the late Earl of Mar) had concealed from0oi a .. lal »t w’hich tends to -shorten life. But the case was ultimately^ 3 (}) 0mise d- Dr. Bumes ( Sketch of Hist, of Cutch, p. 9, Edinb.Ca tii)!? asserts that the natives of Cutch do not suffer much from opium-

of cases of disease (usually cancerous) in which enormous doses

Pati 0u 111 are taken to alleviate pain, I have invariably observed consti-a Produced. But Dr. Christison says, “ constipation is by no meanstw- 1 effect of the continued use of opium. In some of the cases^ x ati v 1U f a ^ ,ove ’ no laxatives have been required ; in others, a gentle

Qply ° nce a w r eek is sufficient.”

of 0)| j " l ~ sr noldng .—I have already referred to the enormous quantitieshy smdv 1 Cou sumed in China and the islands of the Indian Archipelagofile si^ e ln ^‘ s 'mokeable extract (see p. 1279) is made into pills about

jeetg a P e a. “ One of these being put into the small tube that pro-l ^e pin j? .^ lc side of the opium-pipe, that tube is applied to a lamp, anda *ff‘D(le ] bgbted, is consumed at one whiff or inflation of the lungs,tttouUi \ " ll ^ a whistling noise. The smoke is never emitted by the^ ? ut usually receives vent through the nostrils, and sometimes, bylrou gh the passage of the ears and eyes ” (Marsden, Hist, of- a ’ P- 278, 3rd ed.) The pipe employed is ' •

* • • ir.. T\.

through the passage of the ears anu eyta - ,

P* 278, 3rd ed.) The pipe employed is not like that of an or-^ °h a cco-pip e (see a figure of it in Mr. Davis’s work, entitled The{Just l’ 0 ’ . V °l' 11- P- 459). That the immoderate practice of opium-smoking1 highly detrimental to health, cannot for one moment be doubted.

• i-ns to nrove that a moderate

( ,S y

lll nese.

J hi t tj, 1 fghly detrimental to health, cannoL an vim. ........-...

,:| ijoy !lif G ls at present no evidence before us to prove that a moderate

l/ biriei ’ ^ ’ s injurious. On the contrary, the statements of Botta

■'I'Usden (°^ 2en > xxvi.) seem to negative such a supposition. Andj°P- supra cit. p. 278) observes that “ the Limun and Batang'Nulgc ' '^'Tders, who are an active and laborious class of men, but yetV U'o.st^V 101 ^' * n 0 Pl um as any others whatever, are, notwithstanding,

1 he jq ^..healthy and vigorous people to be met with on the island.”I'^liabk- tCls asci ‘lbcd to this practice, by Mcdhurst {China, 1838) apply^ x ce Ss w merely to cases where opium-smoking has been carried toU S opi^ n con clusion I would observe that a good account of the effectsfiller ~ s ui(>king, by- an unbiassed and professional witness, is still ai s tatei UlU ’ an< ^ unt ff we obtain this we should be cautious in adopting"ttliy,. „ lle nts of over-zealous anti-opium partisans. And we should beyhori by'?] 110t to assumc hastily, because opium in large doses, when

'•iurious t lG ) ltilH1 ^ 1 ’ a powerful poison, and wdien smoked to excess is( Warily ( ]° ! ea ffh, that, therefore, the moderate employment of it is ne-/ f s, Hok 0( i e ? llme nl a h Tobacco is an instance in point. Either swallowedir ^1) j to excess it is a violent poison; yet as I have before remarkedf0la tb e J 1 ®} not acquainted with any well-ascertained ill effects arising0 derate enjoyment of tobacco-smoking.