The war against consumption: a popular handbook of the proceedings of the British Congress on Tuberculosis, London, 1901 / by Dennis Vinrace ; revised by John H. Vinrace.

  • Vinrace, Edward Dennis.
Date:
1902
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The war against consumption: a popular handbook of the proceedings of the British Congress on Tuberculosis, London, 1901 / by Dennis Vinrace ; revised by John H. Vinrace. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

    39/224 (page 31)
    (2) From tJie unavoidable expectoration by persons suit'ering from certain stages of consumption. In the first case, the obvious remedy is, if possible, to put an end to a fiabit wfiicb is as senseless as it is. dangerous; in the second case, all tliat can be done is to treat tfie sputum in suck a way asi to reduce to a minimum tke risk of infection being conveyed by it. Taking, to begin witk, tke question of spitting in public places—tke street, tke railway station, in carriages, omnibuses, trams, etc.—tkere are two ]iossibie ways in wkick an endeavour may be made to abolisk tke practice, one being by making spitting in places of public resort a puniskable offence, and tke otker by bringing koine to tke public mind tke real nature and consequence of an act wkick is frequently committed ligktly and untkinkingly, witk no con- ception of tke results wkick may accrue. In some countries tke law kas already been put into action against tke practice of spitting. Tkis is tke case, for instance, in tke United States, wkere, accord- ing to Professor Brouardel, no less a person tkan a millionaire was recentlv fined for committing tkis offence, and, on repeating it, was imprisoned for twenty-four kours. In Sydney, too, we are fold by tke same autkority, spitting in tke street is. punisk- able by a fine of £1. In Europe no suck stringent measures kave yet been adopted, and possibly public opinion kas not yet been educated up to a point wkick would reconcile it to tkeir adoption. As Professor Brouardel very wisely remarked, “ It is only possible to bring into force a law wkick interferes witk our daily life, wkick dis- turbs inveterate kabits, wken it is called for by public opinion, wken all are convinced of its benefits, and everv^one recognises tke danger of kis vicious kabits, and is ready personallv to reform them, and to require his neighbour to do tke same.” Short of legislative action, however, tkere is no doubt that a great deal