author
Charles Barnes Towns
b. 1862
Raised on a Georgia farm and later drawn into New York business life, this self-made writer became a striking early voice in the fight against addiction. His work links personal ambition, controversial treatment ideas, and the first wave of American drug-control reform.
1 Audiobook
Habits that Handicap: The Menace of Opium, Alcohol, and Tobacco, and the Remedy
by Charles Barnes Towns
About the author
Charles Barnes Towns (1862–1947) was an American writer, entrepreneur, and addiction-treatment advocate best known for his work on alcoholism and narcotic dependence. Sources found in this search describe him as born in LaGrange, Georgia, in 1862, later working as a farm hand, in railroading, and in life insurance before moving into business in New York.
He became widely associated with efforts to treat alcohol and drug addiction, especially through the institution known as the Charles B. Towns Hospital in New York. He also wrote Habits that Handicap, a book arguing for stronger public attention to the dangers of alcohol, opiates, tobacco, and other addictive substances.
Accounts of his career present him as an influential but controversial figure: a determined reformer who helped shape early drug-control thinking in the United States, while also promoting treatment methods that have been debated. That mix of social reform, medical history, and personal drive makes his story especially interesting to modern readers.