is smoking unhealthy for you?

[CrayZee]

[ QUOTE ]
I can start as quit pretty much as I please (I've quit like 3 times for a few months each time)

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, sure, that's what all addicts say. Need a light?

[el_dusto]

lol.

inhaling smoke = not healthy

smoking cigarettes = addictive

therefore

continuing to smoke = continuing to become addicted

there are worse things to be addicted to than cigarettes, though. like fat chicks. or alcohol. or crack.

[niss]

[ QUOTE ]
I run into these people everywhere and honestly it really makes me happy to increase their chances of getting lung cancer just by me practicing my addiction around them.

[/ QUOTE ]

And you don't get along with many people? Who woulda thunk it.

[T.J. Combo]

I'm dissappointed at how many people think that smoking a cigarette is the same as sticking your wang into an AIDS infected cooch.

Since so many are fearful and obviously ignorant of the subject. . .

Myths EXPLODED about cigarettes:

You don't smell cigarette smoke and have to get a tracheotamy.

You don't instantly become addicted by trying cigarettes.

It's possible to only smoke a single cigarette or a couple cigarettes at certain times for enjoyment, like after sex or while drinking (same as a joint).

People who just quit smoking after having been smoking are annoying, egotistical pricks. Quote from an ex-smoker sitting in the break room in my story: "I smoked for 7 years and I just quit, if I had a cigarette I would LITERALLY smoke it. *random person offers cigarette* No thank you I like my lungs thanks!"(Note: This person was probably 100% douchebag while they were smoking, but still)

It is your own decision to begin smoking, despite being "genetically pre-determined" as a smoker or whatever. [censored] of alcoholics in my family, getting totally wasted is an on-off switch for me.

Personal Opinion:

Smokers are people. They became smokers either by choice or circumstance. Gays and homeless people also became gay or homeless either by choice or circumstance. Would you berate a gay person or a homeless person? Leave smokers alone.

Note: Again, personal opinion and I realize that these things are only slightly similar on a molecular level.

[tuq]

[ QUOTE ]
Smokers are people. They became smokers either by choice or circumstance. Gays and homeless people also became gay or homeless either by choice or circumstance. Would you berate a gay person or a homeless person? Leave smokers alone.

[/ QUOTE ]
I don't mind someone smoking pole, it doesn't stink up my elevator ride. And I've never had a homeless dude follow me up to my floor, by then I've pointed them to STT.

Are you trying to make a point here or is this a subtle mass uprising of smelly gay homeless people who need a forum in which to post?

[T.J. Combo]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't mind someone smoking pole, it doesn't stink up my elevator ride. And I've never had a homeless dude follow me up to my floor, by then I've pointed them to STT.

Are you trying to make a point here or is this a subtle mass uprising of smelly gay homeless people who need a forum in which to post?

[/ QUOTE ]

Meh. More like just making an argument as frail as: "It's my body, my choice" or "I'll do what I please." or "Animals have feelings too."

A subtle uprising of smelly gay homeless people needing a place to post was pretty lol though.

[Mr_J]

[ QUOTE ]
Is it painful being this stupid?

[/ QUOTE ]

lmao.

OP, sure but so is living in a large city (pollution) and going to clubs/bars (2nd hand smoke).

[Chump Change]

[ QUOTE ]
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?

[/ QUOTE ]

Short answer - Yes.

Longer answer - You'd have to live a long,long time to see these effects. So many other things are going to kill you before this, if you're anything like the average person.


Mm, mm, All-American breakfast, anybody? And ugh, keep your cigarettes away from me while I scarf it down.

[Chump Change]

[ QUOTE ]
A *lot* depends on your genetics. Some people can smoke like a chimney for 30 years and never develop cancer. Some people get lung cancer and never smoke a cigarette in their life. I'm 25 and smoke occasionally when I drink. I have smoked roughly 3 packs in one week before (spring break... drinking a lot so I basically chain smoked), yet didn't smoke another for months after and did not desire to. Some people simply will not get addicted to them (beyond perhaps kind of wanting one with a beer here and there). It kind of sounds like you are in the group that has a very small chance of getting addicted.

So... I think the chance of you having long-term health issues from your occasional smoking depends almost entirely on your genetics. Yes, since we don't know your genotype the correct answer is that you're at greater risk. If you have "good" cell-repair genes then you probably won't see many advserse effects. If they are "bad", you'll almost certainly develop cancer from as little as one pack per month. That being said, I *think* that smoking pure tobacco (not the crap like camels/marlboros with additives) once every week or so may actually have zero side effects. Smoking 1-2 packs of ordinary cigs per month does seem a bit of a risk to me though. I would guess that smoking 1 pack every 1-2 months would be a bit more reasonable health-wise. Probably gives your body more ample time to clear the [censored] out of your system. But... again, if you're genetically predisposed to this type of stuff even one pack a year is probably bad news.

My rough estimates on what seems "okay" vs. "bad" are definitely just opinions though. What I can say, is that it is definitely a continuum as far as health risks go -- the higher your frequency of smoking the riskier it will be, and you can't just definitively pick a limit and say you will be okay if you smoke less than that.

[/ QUOTE ]


I had to quote this one. This is, practically, the definitive answer to anybody preaching absolutes on either side of the debate.

My grandfather smoked unfiltered pall malls for 55 years and then quit. He never had any smoking related health problems. He ended up dying from parkinson's 25 years later.

Plus, you have coal miners. There were some very old and retired coal miners. That's the equivalent of smoking probably 20 packs of cigarettes a day. They were breathing in soot and chunks of god knows what.

On the flipside, you have folks dying of lung cancer in their 40's, emphysema in their 50's.

The simplest advice would be to not risk it, obviously. Why play russian roulette? However, the trite and overly simplistic and fallacious arguments you hear when this complex topic is discussed get so tiresome.

[teamdonkey]

[ QUOTE ]
is smoking unhealthy for you?

[/ QUOTE ]

smoking does 2 things - destroys lung tissue and causes cancer.

The lung tissue can and will repair itself. 2 packs per month isn't enough to do any lasting damage in this way even if you did it your whole life.

Cancer is different... it's brought on by an accumulation of damage to cell's DNA. The more damage that's done, the higher your risk. This is damage that wont be repaired and is with you for life. So in theory (we don't understand everything about everything just yet) smoking 2 packs a month for the next 60 years increases your risk of cancer the same as 2 packs a day for 2 years would.

Is that a "real chance for longterm health effects"? Yes. Not a huge chance, but it is real.