is smoking unhealthy for you?

[george w]

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This topic was covered on Penn and Teller's "[censored]",


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i don't know but i'd never trust anything that came out of the mouth of a man who claims to never have had a drink of alcohol.

[one_eye_mike]

My wife smokes a pack a week and has done so for many many years.

[kutuz_off]

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Also, the claim that "second-hand smoking has been proven to cause lung-cancer" is dubious at best. I'd like to see ONE person which can be definitively shown to have gotten lung cancer solely from the effects of second-hand smoke. This topic was covered on Penn and Teller's "[censored]", which showed that there is not any such study that shows that second-hand smoke causes cancer. That does not mean that second-hand smoke doesn't cause cancer, but don't run around preaching that "it's been proven".

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From USA surgeon general website:

Exposure of adults to secondhand smoke has immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and causes coronary heart disease and lung cancer.
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Nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke at home or at work increase their risk of developing lung cancer by 20 - 30 percent.

Please forgive me for choosing to believe Surgeon General rather than your anecdotal lack of evidence or Penn&Teller.

[Reef]

In other news, researchers have found a correlation between regular excercise and weight loss.

[kutuz_off]

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In other news, researchers have found a correlation between regular excercise and weight loss.

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Yes, but does casual exercising cause long-term weight loss? Probably not, so why even bother.

[hobbes9324]

Kind of enjoyed most of what follows, as I'm a rabid anti smoker - my brother died at 42 from lung cancer.

Having said that, it's an interesting question. AFAIK, there are no good, or even bad studies on this topic, likely because the vast majority of people hack their way thru a pack or more a day, or don't smoke. The mechanism of just how smokers develop lung cancer is poorly understood.
It may be that with each ciggie you slightly increase your risk of generating that first cancer cell that will get you, but it may be that you need to smoke some (unknown) amount before you are vunerable. No one knows.
COPD and emphysema are long term problems, resulting from long term tobacco use. While there is some variability in how quickly people develop these problems, a few ciggies a day probably won't get you there until you're about 120 or so years of age, by which time you'll have died of something else.

While the medical side of this is mixed, there are other things to consider. Smokers, rightly or wrongly, are pretty much treated as lepers. Employers don't want them, as they are perceived as liabilities from a health insurance and work efficiency point of view. It's rapidly becoming a habit that is viewed to be owned by the lower socioeconomic classes - not where you want to hang out if you're a climber in whatever field you're in. Most older people view anyone younger than 30 who smokes to be.....how do I say it politely....stupid. It may not be fair, but it's true. Add in the fact that probably 99% of smokers would tell you "don't take the chance" of developing the habit - doesn't seem like a tough decision.

Good luck.

MM MD

[LuckOfTheDraw]

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I am 22 and hardly even smoke. Probably a pack or 2 per month. I can start as quit pretty much as I please (I've quit like 3 times for a few months each time) but enjoy the occasional cigarette if I do this for a few more years is there any real chance of longterm health effects?

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It doesn't matter if it's not unhealthy (which probably is the case). You should seriously just quit. THIS IS HOW YOU GET ADDICTED. It's been said a million times, I know, but it's been said a million times because it's true. I knew sooo many people who have been in your current position, and all but one of them didn't end up smoking like a chimney.

[[][][][]

op-yes

[tagtastic]

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In other news, researchers have found a correlation between regular excercise and weight loss.

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Yes, but does casual exercising cause long-term weight loss? Probably not, so why even bother.

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No, I can speak from experience here, casual exercising does not cause weight loss. For example today I moved alot of heavy stuff to and from a car. I am no thinner than I was yesterday.

Also a few weeks ago I did some exercise and I was no thinner after that either.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Obviously exercise has no effect.

[Dominic]

smoking bad for you?? I don't know, I haven't heard anything about it. Seems a fairly benign habit, though...so go for it!