Smoking 3 cigarettes a day - OK?

[Krynj]

One of my buddies claims that he read an article that said 3 cigarettes a day is not bad for human beings. He claimed the rejuvenation process of our lungs could adequately offset the effects of 3 cigarettes a day; as if there was no real harm to be done by 3 cigarettes a day. Keep in mind, that's an average of 1,095 per year, or 21,900 over the course of 20 years.

I'm fairly certain that a set of lungs that smoked 21,900 cigarettes over 20 years would be much worse off than lungs that were never subjected to cigarette smoke and its toxins.

Has anybody read any articles about this?

 

[BoomerD]

Well, IMO, you're right in that a person would certainly be better off having NOT smoked those 21,900 cigarettes, but I also think your friend is right in that 3 per day shouldn't cause any long-term health problems. You probably inhale more pollution walking down the street/driving in rush hour traffic in most major cities than you'll get from 3 cigarettes...

 

[sandorski]

At that rate, I think the problem is how to maintain it. Once Addiction sets in, there's an increased desire to Smoke more.

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: BoomerD
Well, IMO, you're right in that a person would certainly be better off having NOT smoked those 21,900 cigarettes, but I also think your friend is right in that 3 per day shouldn't cause any long-term health problems. You probably inhale more pollution walking down the street/driving in rush hour traffic in most major cities than you'll get from 3 cigarettes...

Yea, that's pretty much my take on it. There's lots of things people would be better off not doing, but in the end it isn't that big a deal. Tobacco isn't as bad as the anti tobacco zealots want everyone to believe. Moderation in everything ;^)

 

[TruePaige]

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Originally posted by: BoomerD
Well, IMO, you're right in that a person would certainly be better off having NOT smoked those 21,900 cigarettes, but I also think your friend is right in that 3 per day shouldn't cause any long-term health problems. You probably inhale more pollution walking down the street/driving in rush hour traffic in most major cities than you'll get from 3 cigarettes...

Yea, that's pretty much my take on it. There's lots of things people would be better off not doing, but in the end it isn't that big a deal. Tobacco isn't as bad as the anti tobacco zealots want everyone to believe. Moderation in everything ;^)

Exactly, it's the same thing as taking in too much sugar or caffeine. In small quantities many things, even if they aren't good for you, won't necessarily kill you.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

3 smokes a day will do little or no damage from what I've read, but I agree with the above, don't start. I'm 3 days into quitting, it's not much fun.

 

[rhino56]

may help to deal with pollution.

 

[Eli]

That's ridiculous. Tell your friend he is an idiot.

Edit: People are agreeing with said friend? WTF?

It doesn't matter how fast your lungs rejuvenate. You are being exposed to carcinogens. If you have genes that make you prone to lung cancer, this is not a good thing.

Yes, there are plenty of carcinogens in the air.. That doesn't matter. Now said person is exposed to the carcinogens in the air + the amount that 3 cigarettes/day produce.

This isn't rocket science.

 

[fustercluck]

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Tobacco isn't as bad as the anti tobacco zealots want everyone to believe. Moderation in everything ;^)

Aren't people more against all the chemicals and stuff and not the tobacco itself? I dunno, just asking. PS Even your avatar is smoking...you're addicted!

 

[Leros]

I've known several people who started out with few a day and then just couldn't resist the urge to add another and another and another. Every single one of them now smokes a pack a day.

 

[TheVrolok]

Originally posted by: Eli
That's ridiculous. Tell your friend he is an idiot.

Edit: People are agreeing with said friend? WTF?

It doesn't matter how fast your lungs rejuvenate. You are being exposed to carcinogens. If you have genes that make you prone to lung cancer, this is not a good thing.

Yes, there are plenty of carcinogens in the air.. That doesn't matter. Now said person is exposed to the carcinogens in the air + the amount that 3 cigarettes/day produce.

This isn't rocket science.

Absolutely this. There is absolutely no way that smoking X cigs (where X > 0) is the same as smoking 0. Period.

 

[Nik]

There used to be a Youtube video of this guy "smoking" 100 cigs through basically a bong with a vacuum hose. He took the then-blackened bong water and boiled it down until it was this black, sticky, tar mess -and there was A LOT of it.

You want that shit in your lungs?

 

[BeauJangles]

Originally posted by: TheVrolok

Originally posted by: Eli
That's ridiculous. Tell your friend he is an idiot.

Edit: People are agreeing with said friend? WTF?

It doesn't matter how fast your lungs rejuvenate. You are being exposed to carcinogens. If you have genes that make you prone to lung cancer, this is not a good thing.

Yes, there are plenty of carcinogens in the air.. That doesn't matter. Now said person is exposed to the carcinogens in the air + the amount that 3 cigarettes/day produce.

This isn't rocket science.

Absolutely this. There is absolutely no way that smoking X cigs (where X > 0) is the same as smoking 0. Period.

:thumbsup:

 

[lxskllr]

Originally posted by: fustercluck

Originally posted by: lxskllr

Tobacco isn't as bad as the anti tobacco zealots want everyone to believe. Moderation in everything ;^)

Aren't people more against all the chemicals and stuff and not the tobacco itself? I dunno, just asking. PS Even your avatar is smoking...you're addicted!

Yes, and no. Certainly cigarette additives make them worse, but anyone who thinks smoking natural cigarettes is substantially safer is deluding themselves. It's the quantity that really matters. A couple a day won't hurt that much, and if you enjoy it, why not? Life's here to enjoy....

 

[Gothgar]

nope

 

[BUTCH1]

Originally posted by: sandorski
At that rate, I think the problem is how to maintain it. Once Addiction sets in, there's an increased desire to Smoke more.

That's it, I have known a FEW people who were "closet" smokers, a pack lasts a week or more but for those who were/are full time smokers smoking just 3/day won't happen. Yesterday I completed 6 weeks without smoking, I know if I have just one it's over and I'll be right back to pack/day within a week..

 

[FoBoT]

we can all choose how many cigarettes to smoke, i select zero as my number

 

[IGBT]

no safe exposure level for huffed products of combustion.

 

[BUTCH1]

Originally posted by: IGBT
no safe exposure level for huffed products of combustion.

Exactly..

 

[Zedtom]

I was talking to my insurance agent about my life insurance when I happened to mention that I occasionally might smoke a cigar with my pals when playing cards. He said that if I smoke even one cigar a year that I would be considered a smoker. I quickly said that I was referring to something that I used to do years ago.

 

[TridenT]

Originally posted by: BeauJangles

Originally posted by: TheVrolok

Originally posted by: Eli
That's ridiculous. Tell your friend he is an idiot.

Edit: People are agreeing with said friend? WTF?

It doesn't matter how fast your lungs rejuvenate. You are being exposed to carcinogens. If you have genes that make you prone to lung cancer, this is not a good thing.

Yes, there are plenty of carcinogens in the air.. That doesn't matter. Now said person is exposed to the carcinogens in the air + the amount that 3 cigarettes/day produce.

This isn't rocket science.

Absolutely this. There is absolutely no way that smoking X cigs (where X > 0) is the same as smoking 0. Period.

:thumbsup:

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: I one up you,sir.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: BUTCH1

Originally posted by: IGBT
no safe exposure level for huffed products of combustion.

Exactly..

Correct. Three smokes a day is a hell of a lot better than a pack a day, but it's a hell of a lot worse than no smokes a day. When you're intentionally inhaling a carcinogen no amount is safe. If a person can control himself to the point of only three cigarettes daily he *should* be able to quit pretty easily.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: BoomerD
Well, IMO, you're right in that a person would certainly be better off having NOT smoked those 21,900 cigarettes, but I also think your friend is right in that 3 per day shouldn't cause any long-term health problems. You probably inhale more pollution walking down the street/driving in rush hour traffic in most major cities than you'll get from 3 cigarettes...

Not that that kind of pollution is healthy either.
I'm also not going to go find a uranium pellet and give myself a daily exposure to an amount of radiation that's just below the threshold for harm, nor will I inhale industrial epoxy* fumes until I almost-but-not-quite pass out.

It sounds like just another way of rationalizing an addiction to a toxic stew.




* Some industrial epoxies have some pretty damn nasty chemicals in them.

 

[SlitheryDee]

3 cigs a day probably wouldn't cause any serious problems, but it's plenty to get an addiction going that will make it hard to keep that limit. If you don't need more than that you might as well not smoke. Still, you're trying to slant things a bit by listing how many cigarettes that makes over the course of 20 years. I'm willing to bet that you'd be shocked by the number and amounts of other more toxic things than cigarettes the human body would likely be exposed to in the same time.

 

[surfsatwerk]

3 cigs a day is fine, you inhale more carcinogens on your commute to work and back.