CLARKE (Adam). [A] Dissertation on the Use and Abuse of Tobacco. Wherein The Advantages and Disadvantages attending the consumption of that entertaining weed, are particularly considered. humbly addressed, to all the tobacco-consumers in Great-Britain and Ireland, but especially to those among religious people.1797

London: Printed for G. Whitfield, First edition, iv, 32pp., upper margin of title and 'To the readers' leaf closely shaved by the binders knife (excising the word "A" from title), some light foxing and staining, inoffensive waterstain to lower gutter margin, new endpapers, recent cloth with printed paper label on upper cover. Adam Clarke (1762-1832) was an Irish born Wesleyan divine. He is probably best known for his Bibliographical Dictionary and commentary on the Bible, but I believe that his first published work is his Dissertation on the Use and Abuse of Tobacco. This was a popular anti-tobacco tract which was also reprinted several times during his life. It was one of the bitterest attacks on the habit, and became the textbook of the oppositionists. The work highlights the respiratory and muscular risks of using tobacco, and tells of the results of tests carried out on pigeons and a cat.