Cigars, Pipes No 'Healthy' Alternative to Cigarettes

sightunseen

Interesting article

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/quit-smoking/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100254350&gt1=31020

Doesn't take a genius to know that there are still health risks with smoking cigars. However, I dislike this article because it is accusing tobacco companies of "pushing" cigars as healthier alternatives. I have not seen any such marketing efforts by the tobacco industry. Plus, I am almost certain that having one cigar a day is better than having 3 cigarettes.

ljl

sightunseen:

Interesting article

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/quit-smoking/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100254350&gt1=31020

Doesn't take a genius to know that there are still health risks with smoking cigars. However, I dislike this article because it is accusing tobacco companies of "pushing" cigars as healthier alternatives. I have not seen any such marketing efforts by the tobacco industry. Plus, I am almost certain that having one cigar a day is better than having 3 cigarettes.

I'm also not aware of any "pushing" of cigars as a healthy alternative to cigarettes. It would be interesting to see the author of the article establish this.

Sandman1am

I was talking to someone and they were saying that 1 cigar was like smoking a pack of cigarettes. I asked to see where they read that and I still have yet to get a response back. I think it is just what their opinon was not fact. Hummmm I think I will do some research now.

stephen_hannibal

I've read somewhere that one cigar contains as much tobacco as a pack of cigarettes.
But they aren't smoked in the same manner.
So I don't think it could be the same...
And hell everything is healthy one minute and not the next then it swings back.
I stopped caring long ago

sightunseen

Sandman1am:

I was talking to someone and they were saying that 1 cigar was like smoking a pack of cigarettes. I asked to see where they read that and I still have yet to get a response back. I think it is just what their opinon was not fact. Hummmm I think I will do some research now.

They probably did a quick calculation of the volume of tobacco in a cigar and compared it to cigarettes. I doubt they factored in the additional chemicals that are in cigarettes. I wouldn't be smoking cigars if they treated it with additional chemicals.

Sandman1am

Stephen and Sight I agree with you both. Now that I think about it that would make sense that the cigar did contain the same amount of tabacco. Def. not somked the same or have same contents. Good points that I will have to bring up in our next conversation. The other thing is that I don't think that I'm addicted to cigars I could quit if I wanted to.....lol ya right....but everyone that I know that smokes cigarettes say that they are addicted and can not quit even though they want to. I have never heard anyone say I can not quit smoking cigars.

illinoisgolf99

just tried to look at this article and msn said it wasnt available anymore. maybe people figured out that it was just opinion and pulled it.. either way I, like stephen, stopped caring a long time ago

zeebra

Here is a great site
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Tobacco/cigars

Sandman1am

Alright so I went to ACS (American Cancer Society) web page and read about their opinon on cigars. Some of the information on the site I can agree with other things I think is opinon based. I now understand where the pack of cigarettes came from. But even if it is smoking the same amount of tobacco it is not inhaled therefore in my logic it is not as bad. My chances are less because I do not inhale so I will have lower levels of toxians etc. or whatever. Granted it is smoked for longer but how fast can someone who smokes cigarettes smoke an entire pack (inhaling)? I persoanlly know people who are smoking 2 packs a day. I don't smoke everyday but I could and my chances of cancer or worse would be much lower then if I smoked a pack a day. IMO

clearlysuspect

I was in the ER last week because I got alcohol sprayed in my eye at work. The doctor said my blood pressure was elevated and wanted to know if I smoked? I told him that the main thing I smoke is cigars and that I usually smoke about 3 cigarettes a day on my breaks at work but never at home and never on the weekends. He told me that I should eliminate the cigarettes and it would dramatically reduce my blood pressure. When I asked him about the cigars, he said he wasn't the slightest bit worried about them!

Sandman1am

clearlysuspect:

I was in the ER last week because I got alcohol sprayed in my eye at work. The doctor said my blood pressure was elevated and wanted to know if I smoked? I told him that the main thing I smoke is cigars and that I usually smoke about 3 cigarettes a day on my breaks at work but never at home and never on the weekends. He told me that I should eliminate the cigarettes and it would dramatically reduce my blood pressure. When I asked him about the cigars, he said he wasn't the slightest bit worried about them!

Dang Phil you just made me remember something (sorry to hear about you having to go to the hospital). My cousin is a cardio vasc. surgeon (and he does other stuff too pretty amazing guy) and he smokes more cigars then I do. I would think that a doctor who deals with the heart, lungs, etc. wouldn't do it if it were that bad for you.

Hays

There are two major studies that have been done regarding the health effects of cigars, one of them done by the American Cancer Society. What they concluded was that if the death rate of a non-smoker is 1, the death rate of a person who smokes 1-2 cigars a day has a death rate of 1.2. In other words, it's not going to make a dramatic difference in when you die. The thing is, however, is that there's other effects - there's still the increased risk of oral cancer, and despite what many people say, I have still felt effects on my breathing (and I do not actively inhale). In addition, I have felt a draw of nicotine addiction, though it has not been of a level that dramatically affected my life. All in all, I still love my cigars, and indulge pretty much daily - I just believe in knowing exactly what I'm involved in.

YankeeMan

Getting out of bed in the morning is risky! After 30 years in law enforcement, I'm not going to worry about what a few cigars a week (if I'm lucky!) is going to do to me.

lilwing88

YankeeMan:

Getting out of bed in the morning is risky! After 30 years in law enforcement, I'm not going to worry about what a few cigars a week (if I'm lucky!) is going to do to me.

30 years? God bless...... I've got 20 more to go!

I try to stay healthy. Eat right. Exercise regularly. 2-3 cigars a week is a fair trade-off in my book.

bacon.jay

Sandman1am:

clearlysuspect:

I was in the ER last week because I got alcohol sprayed in my eye at work. The doctor said my blood pressure was elevated and wanted to know if I smoked? I told him that the main thing I smoke is cigars and that I usually smoke about 3 cigarettes a day on my breaks at work but never at home and never on the weekends. He told me that I should eliminate the cigarettes and it would dramatically reduce my blood pressure. When I asked him about the cigars, he said he wasn't the slightest bit worried about them!

Dang Phil you just made me remember something (sorry to hear about you having to go to the hospital). My cousin is a cardio vasc. surgeon (and he does other stuff too pretty amazing guy) and he smokes more cigars then I do. I would think that a doctor who deals with the heart, lungs, etc. wouldn't do it if it were that bad for you.

Yeah, i've never known a doctor to turn down a good cigar, and neither have both my parents.

urbino

Sandman1am:

Dang Phil you just made me remember something (sorry to hear about you having to go to the hospital). My cousin is a cardio vasc. surgeon (and he does other stuff too pretty amazing guy) and he smokes more cigars then I do. I would think that a doctor who deals with the heart, lungs, etc. wouldn't do it if it were that bad for you.

Docs are people, too. Like all people everywhere, they don't always do what's best for their health. I'm not saying I think cigars are terribly dangerous. If I thought that, I obviously wouldn't smoke them. I'm just saying I don't think the argument from what doctors do really gets you very far.

Krieg

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, totally worn out and proclaiming, 'WOW, WHAT A RIDE!!!'"

Sandman1am

urbino:

Sandman1am:

Dang Phil you just made me remember something (sorry to hear about you having to go to the hospital). My cousin is a cardio vasc. surgeon (and he does other stuff too pretty amazing guy) and he smokes more cigars then I do. I would think that a doctor who deals with the heart, lungs, etc. wouldn't do it if it were that bad for you.

Docs are people, too. Like all people everywhere, they don't always do what's best for their health. I'm not saying I think cigars are terribly dangerous. If I thought that, I obviously wouldn't smoke them. I'm just saying I don't think the argument from what doctors do really gets you very far.

Very true I should have qualified it in saying that he is very health conscious (sp) and don't think that he would do anything that would be terribly dangerous. Esp. considering that he has to maintain with military standards. LOL kind of funny he keeps healthy so he can smoke cigars and put his life on the line (so to speak) in the military. With that said I would agree with your post for the most part.

firetruckguy

Krieg:

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, totally worn out and proclaiming, 'WOW, WHAT A RIDE!!!'"

LOL! I agree!

fla-gypsy

Krieg is right. My Dr. questioned me about my smoking habits and I told him cigars only, he looked at me and said, Oh, OK. hey if the Doc says it is alright, I'm good, right?

clearlysuspect

fla-gypsy:

Krieg is right. My Dr. questioned me about my smoking habits and I told him cigars only, he looked at me and said, Oh, OK. hey if the Doc says it is alright, I'm good, right?

Absolutely! If you're not following his advice then you're just wasting your money!