Alcohol: A Dangerous and Unnecessary Medicine, How and Why Part 41

"It is safer under all circ.u.mstances to do without alcohol or other dangerous drugs in treatment of these diseases."--DR.

LAURETTA E. KRESS, Was.h.i.+ngton, D. C.

NOTE--An experienced nurse says that prompt relief in painful menstruation may often be found by sitting upon a toilet water-jar half full or more of hot water. The steam rises and the heat relieves.

TOTAL ABSTINENCE AND LIFE INSURANCE.

Nothing shows more clearly and convincingly that alcoholic liquors have a tendency to shorten life than the figures published by life insurance companies. A most interesting and valuable paper upon this theme was read before the Actuarial Society of America, in 1904, by Mr. Joel G. Van Cise, actuary of the Equitable Life a.s.surance Society of the United States. In it he gives the experience of different life insurance companies which have separate sections for total abstainers and non-abstainers. The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York, one of the large companies, showed after a few years' experience with the two sections a death-rate 23 per cent. higher among the drinkers than among the abstainers. The Sceptre Life for the years from 1884 to 1903, inclusive, gave the following: Expected deaths of abstainers, 1,440; actual deaths, 792, being 55 per cent. of the expected. Expected deaths of non-abstainers, 2,730; actual deaths, 1,880, or 79 per cent. of the expected. The Scottish Temperance Life from 1883 to 1902 gave the following: Abstainers, expected deaths, 936; actual deaths, 420, or 45 per cent. of the expected. Non-abstainers, expected deaths, 319; actual deaths, 225, or 71 per cent. of the expected.

Mr. Van Cise goes on to show that the statistics which have been published from time to time, giving the percentages of mortality in the various occupations of life, invariably show a higher death-rate among those engaged in the liquor business than among those engaged in other lines of work, except such as are specially hazardous. He says: 'The higher death-rate among liquor dealers is so universally recognized by life a.s.surance companies that a number of them will not issue policies, even on the lives of the richest brewers, upon any terms, and not one of the companies, to my knowledge, admits liquor dealers upon as advantageous terms as those engaged in other ordinary occupations.' He then quotes from a circular sent to the agency force of a prominent United States company, in which attention is called to a rule which forbids the taking of any risks on bartenders: 'Saloonkeepers, generally, not taken, but best of this cla.s.s may be accepted on 10 or 15 year endowments only.'

Others connected more remotely with the liquor business might be taken with a charge of $5.00 per thousand extra. The circular of instructions adds that the limitations of liquor dealers are made necessary 'by the very excessive rate of mortality found to exist among persons so employed.'

Mr. Van Cise closed his address before the Actuaries' Society by saying: 'I contend that the facts given in this paper show conclusively that the effect of total abstinence is to lower the death-rate, and increase the average duration of human life.'

The Equitable Company had a section for total abstainers for a few years which was discontinued on account of the new insurance laws which came into effect in 1907. The actuary writes in response to inquiry: 'We are very careful in our selection of risks, and only those who drink in moderation will be accepted.

I think it safe to say that, other things being equal, all American life insurance companies would consider a total abstainer a more desirable risk than a moderate drinker.'

The United Kingdom Temperance and General Provident Inst.i.tution, of London, is a large and successful company which was organized in 1840, expressly for total abstainers, because at that time larger premiums were asked from abstainers than from drinkers, the common opinion then being that alcoholic liquors were necessary to health. In 1846, this company added a general section, in which carefully selected moderate drinkers were accepted, but each section was kept entirely separate from the other. This separation has continued to the present time, both cla.s.ses paying the same premiums, but sharing in profits according to the earnings of the section to which the members belong. From 1866 to 1900, for every 100 deaths in the temperance section there were 137 deaths in the moderate drinking section, based on a corresponding number of lives at risk. The dividends for a recent five years average $20 to the temperance members, and $17 to the drinking members.

The actuary of this English company, Mr. Roderick Mackenzie Moore, read a paper before the Inst.i.tute of Actuaries, in 1903, in which he reviewed the work of this company during its history of sixty years' experience with abstainers and over fifty with non-abstainers. He showed that there has been no marked difference in the number of policies in force in the two sections, and the average amount of the policies in each section has been about the same, so that the comparison is as fair as could possibly be made. He gives these figures: 'Non-abstainers, male, expected deaths, 8,911; actual deaths, 8,947; per cent. of actual to expected, 100.4. Abstainers, male, expected deaths, 6,899; actual deaths, 5,124; per cent. of actual to expected, 74.3.' This shows a difference of 26.1 per cent. between the actual and expected deaths of abstainers and moderate drinkers, and the full figures show the death rate among the drinkers to be 35 per cent. higher than among the abstainers.

The American Temperance Life Insurance a.s.sociation was organized in 1887. It gives a lower premium rate to members of the abstainers' section than to those in the general section. The circulars sent out by this company state that the average life of moderate drinkers is thirty-five and a half years; tipplers, fifty-one years; total abstainers, sixty-four and one-fifth years.

Very interesting is the result of an inquiry made of various insurance companies not long ago as to whether they consider the habitual user of intoxicating beverages as good an insurance risk as the total abstainer; 'if not, why not?' All but two out of forty-one companies answered, 'No.' The two answered, 'Depends on quant.i.ty used.' In answer to the 'Why not?' the Etna said, 'Drink diseases the system and shortens life'; Hartford Life, 'Moderate use lays foundation for disease'; Knights of the Maccabees, 'Drink tends to destroy life'; Knights Templar and Masons' Life Indemnity, 'Drink lessens ability to overcome disease'; Sun Life, 'Drink injures const.i.tution. Habit apt to grow'; Ma.s.sachusetts Mutual Life, 'Drink causes organic changes.

Reduces expectation of life nearly two-thirds.' The rest of the answers are much the same as these.--_M. M. A._