Smoking question, GF, please respond.

[harpomx]

My Dad always rags on me for being a "smoker" - he is one of those born-again-non-smokers. Anyways, I asked him:

1. How long he smoked?
2. How much he smoked? And
3. How long did it take him to get to the "peak" of his smoking?

Well, he smoked for 20+ years, the most he smoked was 2 packs a day, and it took him 2 years to get to that "peak".

I've been buying my own smokes since I was 16 - 7 years. The highest I've ever been was 1/2 pack per day, and that was 4 years ago. Right now I'm at around 8/day. My questions are:

1. Is 8 smokes/day really so bad?
2. If I've been smoking for 7 years, and I haven't gotten any higher than 1/2 pack per day, do I really stand the chance of going any higher?
3. Is smoking 8 cigarettes a day REALLY detrimental to my health, or my wealth? I don't think so, right now. Please tell me if I'm wrong.

 

[yakko]

Don't know if you're right or wrong but why take tha chance?

 

[Eoin]

Smoking ONE a day is unhealthy. It's a matter of reducing your life REALLY fast, or just faster. BUT, only you will be able to decide when to quit. It never helps when people rag on you. It doesn't make you want to quit. Do what you want. And all people are different. You maybe able to smoke only one or two a day when someone else has to have more.

 

[jimmygates]

I forgot where I saw it but I thought it was 1 cigarette will take away 10 secs of your life. I guess you can do the math. You are basically paying for thing to kill you slowly.


-Jimbo

 

[DanC]

The whole thing is entirely up to you. If you like smoking.... smoke.
If you don't... quit.

There's a whole segment of the medical world that believes smoking does not cause cancer. Cancer is something your genetics determine, and if the right combination is in place - you're screwed anyway. Smoking may act as a catalyst.

BTW - I am a smoker.

I'm quitting... for the 4th time. Wish me luck. I hate it - and yet I do it. Really intelligent isn't it?

 

[harpomx]

Eoin, (PS, are you from Cape Breton? I never bothered to read your profile)


You sound like a non-smoker. When you talk about dying REALLY fast, or faster, are you talking about dying @ 70 vs. dying @ 72? If smoking 8 cigarettes a day is going to cut off those two years, then that's fine - they're not very good years anyway, as I've seen from relatives, and, of course, on TLC (Trauma in the ER Kicks a$$!)

 

[harpomx]

DanC, that is my whole point - I DO like smoking, and as far as I'm concerned, I don't do it that much (8/day). Soooo, I could either keep smoking now, stay calm, and cut off "10 seconds for every smoke", or I could qiut cold turkey, lose the one thing that calms me down, send my blood pressure through the roof, and have a heart attack before I'm 40?

I'm not trying to start any smoking/non-smoking thread here. I have absolutely NO doubt in my mind that I cannot quit. I've tried, there's no use. What I'm trying to figure out is, will it make a big difference if I just keep smoking the way I have been? Where's GirlFriday when you need her!!!!!!!

 

[Yeeny]

Ok, I am here. I am not an expert on smoking by any means, but one cigarette a day is bad for you. And you always stand the chance of increasing the amount you smoke. None of us started off as two pack a day smokers.

But what I can tell you first hand, is that when I did smoke and became pregnant, my doctor told me if I absolutely COULD NOT quit, then please to cut down to under ten a day. If you stay under ten you drop the chances of damage greatly. If you can quit though, do it. It is not a healthy habit at all, and think of all the people who love you. I have been smoking for sixteen years, and I did it. Now, I am off my soap box.

 

[Eoin]

No I don't smoke. I'm very active and I think it would effect that. But it doesn't bother me if other people do. I'm not about to tell someone what they can or can't do...as long as it is legal. No, I live in Denver.

 

[Napalm381]

<< There's a whole segment of the medical world that believes smoking does not cause cancer. >>

Errrrrrr....uhhhhhh....sure DanC. And there's a whole segment of the population that believes Alan Greenspan is the Anti-christ too.

 

[kami]

<< I forgot where I saw it but I thought it was 1 cigarette will take away 10 secs of your life. I guess you can do the math. You are basically paying for thing to kill you slowly. >>


err, isn't that 10 minutes per cigarette? i could of swore that's what it was.

it worked out to something like...say you smoked 12 cigs a day for 10 years, you would take 1 year away from your life. totally forget where i heard this but it seems right considering how toxic they are.

but don't worry, lungs heal quickly as soon as you stop. you haven't been smoking for too long (at least compared to some) so if you quit now, your body should be clean in a few years. quit while it's easier...don't let your body get even MORE dependent on the nicotine.

 

[DanC]

<< And there's a whole segment of the population that believes Alan Greenspan is the Anti-christ too. >>


Don't know many doctors personally do you?

I didn't say it was true - I don't know that. I merely pointed out the opinions of some M.D.'s that I know.

The AMA isn't GOD. There's a reason they call it &quot;practicing&quot; medicine.

 

[kami]

<< There's a whole segment of the medical world that believes smoking does not cause cancer. Cancer is something your genetics determine, and if the right combination is in place - you're screwed anyway. Smoking may act as a catalyst. >>


I agree genetics plays a big part in whether or not you get cancer, but take a look at the ingredients of a cigarette. You can't tell me that cigs can't be responsible for some of the cancer and disease out there. It's not just cancer either...heart disease too.

But for proof that it can be genetics, all four of my grandfather's brothers died of heart attacks before they were 55. All were non-smokers and in general good health. My grandfather is now 67 and thankfully still living.

 

[Windogg]

Hey it's your life and many of us can care less what you do with it. You seem to be set in your ways so there is no point in me giving a &quot;Quit now son and live longer&quot; speech since it'll just be a waste of bandwidth.

IMHO, many smokers like yourself have deluded themselves into justifying their habit with all sorts of excuses. I once tried to date a beautiful girl who smoked but couldn't get past the smelly clothes, smelly hair, stained teeth, and breath that could knock out a yak. Call me shallow but I just couldn't get past all that see her inner person (probably because it was behind a haze of smoke).

Windogg

 

[nippyjun]

Any smoking potentially can cause harm to you and the people around you. Personally, I can't figure out why anyone smokes. There is absolutely no reason for it. It's a filthy disgusting harmful habit.

 

[Napalm381]

<< Don't know many doctors personally do you? >>


I know quite a few personally, but that's besides the point. I've never brought up smoking with them, because anybody with half a brain can see that smoking does nasty, nasty things to your body.

Casual conversations with a few doctors, vs evidence from the AMA, the American Heart Association, and the American Cancer Society? Puh-leese.

 

[Napalm381]

I pulled this from Yahoo Health


<< Some of the chemicals identified in the gas phase of tobacco smoke include:
Acetone
Acetonitrile
Acethylene
Ammonia
Carbon Dioxide
Carbon Monoxide
Dimethylinitrosamine
Hydrogen Cyanide
Methane
Propane Propene
Pyridine
Methylchloride
Methylfuran
Nitrogen Oxides
Nitrospyrrolidine
Propionaldehyde
2-Butane
3-Picoline
3-Vinylpyridine
Some of the chemicals in the particulate phase:
Aniline
Benz(a)pyrene
Catechole
Hydrazine
Napthalene
Methylnapthalene
Methylquinolines
Nicotine
N'-Nitrosonornicotine
NNK
Phenol
Pyrene
Quinoline
Stigmasterol
Toluene
&quot;Tar&quot;
Water
2-Naphthylamine
4-Aminopiphyenyl
>>


Ugly stuff. Check the MSDS sheets if you don't believe me.

 

[kami]

<< Any smoking potentially can cause harm to you and the people around you. Personally, I can't figure out why anyone smokes. There is absolutely no reason for it. It's a filthy disgusting harmful habit. >>


You obviously never smoked and felt what true addiction can be like. Give them some credit...at least some of them are trying to kick the habit. It may take a few times for them to get it right but don't think smokers are smoking because they enjoy harming themselves and harming other people...that's ridiculous and unfair. They probably got started for stupid reasons, but that's in the past. So let them concentrate on quitting now and support anyone you know who is trying to. Don't just criticize them.

 

[Yeeny]

Thanks kami, nice post.

 

[Dee67]

I'm not a doctor, but I am a smoker (for a couple more days at least).

My opinion is that a smoker is a smoker. If you smoke 2 a day or 2 packs a day you're still a smoker and are purposely directly ingesting toxins. I'm sure your 8 a day aren't doing as much harm as 80 a day. But if our bodies wanted smoke, we'd be born with a chimney in one of our nostrils

As for the excuses to smoke, calming, etc.. hell, I've used them all.. nothing a little meditation can't duplicate. There's surely enough evidence to show it's harmful, but we know that and do it anyway.

I think no matter what anyone says, a person will ultimately do what they want anyway. So live your life, make your decisions.. if you wanna do it, do it. If not don't. (Granted the don't part isn't that cut and dry when you've got a chemical addiction, but)..

 

[eyor]

I have read that some effects of smoking exist no matter how much you smoke... ie smoking a cigarette could cause a harmful effect that is no different if you smoked 17 cigarettes.

 

[DanC]

<< vs evidence from the AMA, the American Heart Association, and the American Cancer Society? Puh-leese. >>


We're not brainwashed by the government are we?

This whole thing amuses me. I was once interviewing for a piddly $20 per hour job with some &quot;earth-people&quot; insurance firm in &quot;Gig Harbor&quot; Washington.

They went through the whole rigamarole of the application, blah, blah - and then - the statement you had to sign about smoking.... That you could be fired for it.

I looked at the 230 lb. broad behind the desk (surrounded by 3 bowls of junk food)and laughed. My EXACT words were... oh... you can discriminate against smokers, but you're healthy even though you EAT LIKE A FSCKING PIG, right?

and walked out.
Didn't hurt the career in the least. They still are looking for competent IT people.

Moral of the story is this: You can find almost infinite reasons to hate, or despise, or look down on people. Does any particular thing cause cancer? - not even the &quot;All-knowing&quot; AMA can't answer that question. It's like the &quot;SUV's is suck&quot; thread - it's opinion... nothing else. Get over it.

 

[kami]

<< They went through the whole rigamarole of the application, blah, blah - and then - the statement you had to sign about smoking.... That you could be fired for it.

I looked at the 230 lb. broad behind the desk (surrounded by 3 bowls of junk food)and laughed. My EXACT words were... oh... you can discriminate against smokers, but you're healthy even though you EAT LIKE A FSCKING PIG, right?

and walked out. >>


That was kind of unfair unless she was directly responsible for making that policy, then she'd be a hypocrite...but what if this was just her job? Man, I'm sure that made her day.

 

[Napalm381]

Last time I checked the AMA, AHA, and ACS were not government organizations. I have not been brainwashed by the government, I have looked at the evidence and logically concluded that smoking is just about the worst thing you can do to your body.

I have both seen the medical studies and first hand, anecdotal evidence of the negative effects of smoking, from a 17 year old friend who couldn't run 200 yards without hacking his lungs up to my grandfather dying of heart disease which was almost certainly caused by long term cigarette smoking.

Want statistical evidence that smoking fvcks you up? Ask an actuary. Insurance companies don't set their rates by opinion, they set them using statistical evidence that they have compiled. And the statistics show that smokers have a higher mortality rate.


<< You can find almost infinite reasons to hate, or despise, or look down on people. >>

Nowhere have I stated that I look down on smokers. I am merely arguing that smoking ruins your body, which any competent doctor would agree with.


<< Does any particular thing cause cancer? >>

No, but study after study has shown that their is a statiscally significant correlation between smoking and the incidence of lung cancer, heart disease, and a host of other ugly things. I pulled a quick stat from the American Cancer Society-lung cancer mortality rates are about 23 times higher for current male smokers and 13 times higher for current female smokers compared to lifelong never-smokers. Numbers are not opinions. While the conclusions are of course open to interpretation, such a massive difference in mortality rates would point any logical person to the conclusion that there is a definite statistical correlation between smoking and lung cancer.

I sincerely hope you go to a real doctor who will convince you to quit your vile habit, and not one of those wacko friends, after you have your first heart attack.