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Love vs Health ...

What is more detrimental to your health cigarettes or cigars and why?

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  • JFJF Posts: 54


    Cigarettes. Cigarettes deposit smoke and associated compounds (like oleoresins, or "tars") directly onto the tissue of the lungs - the lungs are made up of very delicate tissue, and the beginning part of the respiratory system contains very complex apparatus for filtering and conditioning incoming air. This includes sets of hairs (in the nose) to trap larger particles, mucous-coated membranes to help grab smaller particles, and air-passageways constructed in such a way to bring incoming air very close to the same temperature and humidity level as the lungs before it comes in contact with them. The mutagenic properties of tar absolutely wrecks this delicate tissue, causing mass die-offs just from contact with the smoke (which is why smokers' lungs appear "shriveled" - due to mass aveolar die-off), and mutations into cancer cells.

    Cigars, in contrast, only result in a small exposure of the lungs to this smoke (still more than you would have walking around on the street). The primary damage from cigars is to the tissues of the mouth, tounge, lips, and lyranx (early part of the throat, that smoke which DOES get into the repiratory tract tends to deposit here because of PH issues). Lyranx cancer is the single highest risk, but is a fraction of the risk of lung cancer associated with cigarette smoking. Oral and Lip Cancer are lesser risks, more common in multi-cigar-a-day smokers.
  • Alex_SvensonAlex_Svenson Posts: 1,224 ✭✭✭
    Cigarettes no doubt. I read a study done in england that compared life span of cigarette smokers vs non smokers, vs cigar smokers. Obviously, cigarette smokers had significantly shorter life span relative to non smokers, but surprisingly, cigar smokers outlived everyone. I tend to think it is because stress is the No. 1 cause of heart disease etc and most cigar smokers I know really know how to relax. Just my .02
  • LukoLuko Posts: 2,003 ✭✭
    Alex Svenson:
    Cigarettes no doubt. I read a study done in england that compared life span of cigarette smokers vs non smokers, vs cigar smokers. Obviously, cigarette smokers had significantly shorter life span relative to non smokers, but surprisingly, cigar smokers outlived everyone. I tend to think it is because stress is the No. 1 cause of heart disease etc and most cigar smokers I know really know how to relax. Just my .02
    I would posit that many of us here may be doubly protected against stress then cause we also know how to relax with a nice beer/bourbon/rum/wine.

    Add in a daily bj and we all just may live forever.
  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    Alex Svenson:
    Cigarettes no doubt. I read a study done in england that compared life span of cigarette smokers vs non smokers, vs cigar smokers. Obviously, cigarette smokers had significantly shorter life span relative to non smokers, but surprisingly, cigar smokers outlived everyone. I tend to think it is because stress is the No. 1 cause of heart disease etc and most cigar smokers I know really know how to relax. Just my .02
    i made a reference to this in another thread. im glad to see that i am not the only one who saw that study.
    do you have a link or a resource so i can read the entire thing? Ive been looking for a while but seem unable to find it on my own.
  • alienmisprintalienmisprint Posts: 3,964 ✭✭✭
    Alex Svenson:
    Cigarettes no doubt. I read a study done in england that compared life span of cigarette smokers vs non smokers, vs cigar smokers. Obviously, cigarette smokers had significantly shorter life span relative to non smokers, but surprisingly, cigar smokers outlived everyone. I tend to think it is because stress is the No. 1 cause of heart disease etc and most cigar smokers I know really know how to relax. Just my .02
    Do you have a link to where I can find this study or any other studies that show the real health implications of cigar smoking? I have a friend who is super-anti-tobacco, and I'd love to be able to do something other than say, "Well, I heard there is a study that says....".
  • SlickRSSlickRS Posts: 44
    WOW. Thanks for that detailed explaination..
  • SlickRSSlickRS Posts: 44
    I will take your .02 any day. Thanks for the info.
  • phobicsquirrelphobicsquirrel Posts: 7,347 ✭✭✭
    Luko:
    Alex Svenson:
    Cigarettes no doubt. I read a study done in england that compared life span of cigarette smokers vs non smokers, vs cigar smokers. Obviously, cigarette smokers had significantly shorter life span relative to non smokers, but surprisingly, cigar smokers outlived everyone. I tend to think it is because stress is the No. 1 cause of heart disease etc and most cigar smokers I know really know how to relax. Just my .02
    I would posit that many of us here may be doubly protected against stress then cause we also know how to relax with a nice beer/bourbon/rum/wine.

    Add in a daily bj and we all just may live forever.
    I'll drink to that...
  • LukoLuko Posts: 2,003 ✭✭
  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    Luko:
    kill joy

    but really
    if humans were to have an indefinite life span at some point in their lives every single person would get a cancer of some sort. Cells have a way of mutating now and then.


    does smoking cigars "help" a cell mutate? maybe. iduno... i just feel that every day i see a new study coming out about how this product or that product causes cancer. seems like everything causes it. why not live life the way you want? we all will die some day.


    eat right. exercise. STILL DIE
  • phobicsquirrelphobicsquirrel Posts: 7,347 ✭✭✭
    didn't you all know, everything causes cancer =) hell I bet that typing too fast will show up on some study years from now and it will say, typing can cause cancer. I won't argue that cigar smoking can promote cancer faster than a non smoker but it's much more unlikely than say cigarettes, or even chewing tobacco.
  • j0z3rj0z3r Posts: 9,403 ✭✭
    To echo what kuzi said, I'd rather live my life doing things I enjoy. I'm happy eating the foods I like and smoking the cigars I love. If this causes my life span to be shorter than someone who tries miserably to prolong their own existence, then so be it...I never wanted to live to a ripe old age anyway. :) Life is too short to worry about the little things that might end it.
  • LukoLuko Posts: 2,003 ✭✭
    j0z3r:
    To echo what kuzi said, I'd rather live my life doing things I enjoy. I'm happy eating the foods I like and smoking the cigars I love. If this causes my life span to be shorter than someone who tries miserably to prolong their own existence, then so be it...I never wanted to live to a ripe old age anyway. :) Life is too short to worry about the little things that might end it.
    Oh I agree wholeheartedly...I'm just saying, let's not try to fool ourselves into thinking they're harmless. Trust me, I'm the guy who once drank a 30-pack by himself and who eats red meat three or four days a week. I am fully willing to trade a year of my life if someone would just make me a godforsaken baconburger.
  • j0z3rj0z3r Posts: 9,403 ✭✭
    I get ya..I'll happily leave the self delusion to others, I've got no fantasies about smoking being even somewhat beneficial to my health, but I make my concessions...I don't really have any other vices to speak of, so cigars are an acceptable risk.
  • betasynnbetasynn Posts: 1,249
    I agree. What is the point of living longer if you're just going to be unhappy. And as to the bacon, there was recently a bacon festival in my area with 32 bacon dishes ranging from bacon soup to bacon brownies. Food for thought, there.
  • JFJF Posts: 54
    kuzi16:
    Luko:
    kill joy

    but really
    if humans were to have an indefinite life span at some point in their lives every single person would get a cancer of some sort. Cells have a way of mutating now and then.


    does smoking cigars "help" a cell mutate? maybe. iduno... i just feel that every day i see a new study coming out about how this product or that product causes cancer. seems like everything causes it. why not live life the way you want? we all will die some day.


    eat right. exercise. STILL DIE


    As to the mutation - yes. There are a bunch of "Mutigenic" chemicals out there (and incidentally, the plant tars - which are the same as you would be exposed to breathing in smoke from a wood-fire - are more mutigenic than the nicotine itself).

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutagen

     Cancer occurs when a cell's genome mutates in such a way that gene-sequences that regulate growth are de-activated or removed. Basically, the cell becomes an evil stem cell, and can move about and divide at will (and you can lead them through tiny obsticles by placing nutrients in front of them, and observe it through an electron microscope - this is how they metasticise, by the way, they literally crawl through your blood vessels and lymphatic system).

    Things other than mutagenic chemicals are capable of doing this; radiation of various kinds, for instance. Asbestos actually causes cancer because the fibers of natural glass are so thin they can literally pierce a cell and knock out parts of a chromosome without killing it. Also, it can just "happen" - that is to say, transcription errors when a cell divides can remove or deactivate these genes.

    As the the risk from reasonably low levels of use - they're not terrible. As I said, much worse for inhaled smoke than for cigars or pipes. I myself am a 1-2/week cigar smoker - the risk is not nearly bad enough to outweigh the enjoyment I get. And, after all, if we removed all the controable health-risk factors from our lives, we'd be absolutely miserable. It's just a choice, a trade-off.
  • Alex_SvensonAlex_Svenson Posts: 1,224 ✭✭✭
    alienmisprint:
    Alex Svenson:
    Cigarettes no doubt. I read a study done in england that compared life span of cigarette smokers vs non smokers, vs cigar smokers. Obviously, cigarette smokers had significantly shorter life span relative to non smokers, but surprisingly, cigar smokers outlived everyone. I tend to think it is because stress is the No. 1 cause of heart disease etc and most cigar smokers I know really know how to relax. Just my .02
    Do you have a link to where I can find this study or any other studies that show the real health implications of cigar smoking? I have a friend who is super-anti-tobacco, and I'd love to be able to do something other than say, "Well, I heard there is a study that says....".
    Here is the study. I mispoke, cigar smokers are 2% more likely to die of smoking related diseases. Compare that to 69% for cigarettes.

    http://www.cigarcyclopedia.com/webapp/images/stories/cigarprimer/primer2health 90207.pdf
  • alienmisprintalienmisprint Posts: 3,964 ✭✭✭
    Alex Svenson:
    alienmisprint:
    Alex Svenson:
    Cigarettes no doubt. I read a study done in england that compared life span of cigarette smokers vs non smokers, vs cigar smokers. Obviously, cigarette smokers had significantly shorter life span relative to non smokers, but surprisingly, cigar smokers outlived everyone. I tend to think it is because stress is the No. 1 cause of heart disease etc and most cigar smokers I know really know how to relax. Just my .02
    Do you have a link to where I can find this study or any other studies that show the real health implications of cigar smoking? I have a friend who is super-anti-tobacco, and I'd love to be able to do something other than say, "Well, I heard there is a study that says....".
    Here is the study. I mispoke, cigar smokers are 2% more likely to die of smoking related diseases. Compare that to 69% for cigarettes.

    http://www.cigarcyclopedia.com/webapp/images/stories/cigarprimer/primer2health 90207.pdf
    Awesome, thank you for the link.
  • I agree with a few others here. Life is way to short to worry about trying to live as long as possible. I try to balance my cigar smoking by eating a little healthier and keeping my weight at a healthy level. Cancer has a tendency to strike the people in my family so I'm probably screwed anyway but thats not going to keep me away from cigars. My $0.02. CK
  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    thanks for the link. ill read over it after work.
  • But arent most of these studies referring to if your smoking on a daily basis. What about the casual smoker that only smokes like twice a week?
  • ScottUScottU Posts: 194
    All I know is that the amount of pressure and stress I'm under will put me in the ground, but I think that taking the 1-2hrs to smoke a cigar relieves the stress, allowing my body to heal itself.
  • gmill880gmill880 Posts: 5,947
    ScottU:
    All I know is that the amount of pressure and stress I'm under will put me in the ground, but I think that taking the 1-2hrs to smoke a cigar relieves the stress, allowing my body to heal itself.
    <br. Know what ya mean Scott , the stress level in my job is unreal and cigars allow me a 1 to 2 hour reprieve from the madness of customers and employees alike .....
  • gmill880gmill880 Posts: 5,947
    ScottU:
    All I know is that the amount of pressure and stress I'm under will put me in the ground, but I think that taking the 1-2hrs to smoke a cigar relieves the stress, allowing my body to heal itself.
    <br. Know what ya mean Scott , the stress level in my job is unreal and cigars allow me a 1 to 2 hour reprieve from the madness of customers and employees alike .....
  • gmill880gmill880 Posts: 5,947
    ScottU:
    All I know is that the amount of pressure and stress I'm under will put me in the ground, but I think that taking the 1-2hrs to smoke a cigar relieves the stress, allowing my body to heal itself.

    Know what ya mean Scott , the stress level in my job is unreal and cigars allow me a 1 to 2 hour reprieve from the madness of customers and employees alike .....
  • Alex_SvensonAlex_Svenson Posts: 1,224 ✭✭✭
    I have resigned myself to the fact that you can prove anything. Kind of like Obama and his "90% of all firearms recovered from crimes in mexico are traced back to the us" What they dont tell you is that it is 90% off all traceable firearms. Of the 30,000 recovered, 6,000 were traceable and 5,000 of those 6,000 were traced back to the US. What a bunch of BS. Sorry, I am on my last string with the rate we are loosing our liberties.
  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    Alex Svenson:
    I have resigned myself to the fact that you can prove anything. Kind of like Obama and his "90% of all firearms recovered from crimes in mexico are traced back to the us" What they dont tell you is that it is 90% off all traceable firearms. Of the 30,000 recovered, 6,000 were traceable and 5,000 of those 6,000 were traced back to the US. What a bunch of BS. Sorry, I am on my last string with the rate we are loosing our liberties.
    if i was closer, (or my arms were longer) id give you a high five.
  • Matt MarvelMatt Marvel Posts: 930
    My philosophy is if it's your time to go, then there's nothing you can do. Death is inevitable. There's no use in worrying about what can kill you. I can start walking down my stairs, get my feet twisted, fall and break my neck. Does that mean I'm going to avoid stairs? Of course not. I like having stairs so I can easily get up and down. Could smoking cigars kill me? Possibly. But I like smoking them. So, I'm not going to avoid them. I'm starting to ramble a bit, so that ends me adding my .02.
  • MAJORdorMoMAJORdorMo Posts: 356
    On top of school's workload, my personal life is very hectic at the moment. I am constantly stressed out or worried. The 2 hours I spend every week smoking a cigar really helps calm me down. It's really the only time I have to relax anymore. If this does not help my physical health one bit, I am sure I am benefiting mentally from smoking cigars.
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