"Tobacco drieth the brain; dimmeth the sight, vitiateth the smell, hurteth the stomach, destroyeth the concoction, disturbeth the humors and spirits, corrupteth the breath, induceth a trembling of the limbs, exsiccateth the windpipe, lungs, and liver, annoyeth the milt, scorcheth the heart, and causeth the blood to be adjusted." - Tobias Venner, 1620. Written more than 300 years before the U.S. Surgeon General warned us about the dangers of smoking, the words of Tobias Venner seem aptly prophetic. But if the gentleman who penned this quotation were alive today, he would undoubtedly add to the list: "Polluteth thy neighbor's air and annoyeth him greatly." The wicked weed is still very much with us, and it has become one of the "burning" issues of our day.
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