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[color=darkred]Instead of chiming in with the rest of the uninformed here I will say that 99% of what makes a cigarette unhealthy is not the tobacco ,per se, it's the 4,000 chemical that are used in a cigarette to deliberately addict the user.
This smoker's witch-hunt is so far along that even if you forced the tobacco companies to exclude the chemicals from cigarettes, only use natural tobacco, or even forced all smokers to roll their own with natural tobacco, it's too late!
Compare it to a run-away train filled with sheep!
And when the train finally comes to a stop at the edge of a cliff overlooking the Pacific, another train is started on the East Coast to run down every overweight person in its path!
It seems to be a politically correct trend to be anti-smoking these days. No doubt there are dangers when smoking cigs but it seems it is blown out of proportion. My aunt was the heaviest smoker that I have ever known and she lived to be in her mid 80s. And a friend of mine has been a heavy smoker for over 40 years(both cigs and the other kind--you know what I mean). He now has some lung problems but it seems to me that his problems show how over blown the anti smoking campain is rather than an example of how bad smoking is. If smoking cigs was as bad as they say he couldn't have smoked all he did all those years and still be alive. Another thing that is somewhat puzzling is for every toxic element in our lives like pollution, medicine, poisons, etc there is point given where it becomes dangerous to our health. But not so with cigs. Obviously 5 cigs a day isn't going to be as dangerous as a pack a day but that point is never brought up. Also, as far as second hand smoke I think it is rediculous. When I was growing up in the 1950s almost everyone smoked and every where one would go the air was full of smoke. On a bus, at home, in restaurants, etc. Everywhere there was a cloud of smoke in the air yet none of my siblings, cousins or anyone else I know has any kind of respitory problems. Now they are talking about third hand smoke whatever that is. Is 5 to 8 cigs a day going to be harmful?
To answer your question: Yes, it really is harmful. And very few people who start smoking can keep it to 5 to 8 cigs a day. Surely, even you know better than that.
I do think, though, that we need to focus more heavily on getting people off processed foods and into eating real food EG: ditch the white bread, reduce meat/chicken consumption, soda, candy, sugar, fast food, etc.....in favor of whole wheat breads & pastas, fruits, veggies, fish, & beans, legumes, & nuts.
There is a really good, short, book on what counds as real food called:
Instead of chiming in with the rest of the uninformed here I will say that 99% of what makes a cigarette unhealthy is not the tobacco ,per se, it's the 4,000 chemical that are used in a cigarette to deliberately addict the user and to cause excessive consumption of the product.
just out of curiosity what is a brand of cigs that don't have all those chemicals?
None of the "over the counter" brands are chemical free. There are some brands from independent companies that "claim" to be chemical free but I don't know since I've never tried any of them. I enjoy a pipe and pipe tobacco is chemical free.
To answer your question: Yes, it really is harmful. And very few people who start smoking can keep it to 5 to 8 cigs a day. Surely, even you know better than that.
I do think, though, that we need to focus more heavily on getting people off processed foods and into eating real food EG: ditch the white bread, reduce meat/chicken consumption, soda, candy, sugar, fast food, etc.....in favor of whole wheat breads & pastas, fruits, veggies, fish, & beans, legumes, & nuts.
There is a really good, short, book on what counds as real food called:
Smoking is bad for most people, as lots of things are.
What is wrong and over done is the trying to criminalize something that is legal.
It really all comes down to money. There is something we can put an exorbanate tax on an if we demonize it enough no one will complain. Lets fuel the fire a little by putting some laws on the books to control where they can smoke.
This sin tax should p*** everyone off if they smoke or not. As if there is not enough taxes on every dollar we work to make.
Smoking is just one more thing our nanny state is trying to control and take less rights away in our free country we live in.
I thought about quitting smoking a couple of times but figured out I'd have to quit drinking too. And thats not going to happen.
I do not care what anybody thinks about my smoking or drinking as long as its legal it really is no bodies busines.
And personally I think anyone who thinks taxing,and taking away personal freedoms away for something that is legal is right should move to a comunist country they probably would be happier.
It seems to be a politically correct trend to be anti-smoking these days. No doubt there are dangers when smoking cigs but it seems it is blown out of proportion. My aunt was the heaviest smoker that I have ever known and she lived to be in her mid 80s. And a friend of mine has been a heavy smoker for over 40 years(both cigs and the other kind--you know what I mean). He now has some lung problems but it seems to me that his problems show how over blown the anti smoking campain is rather than an example of how bad smoking is. If smoking cigs was as bad as they say he couldn't have smoked all he did all those years and still be alive. Another thing that is somewhat puzzling is for every toxic element in our lives like pollution, medicine, poisons, etc there is point given where it becomes dangerous to our health. But not so with cigs. Obviously 5 cigs a day isn't going to be as dangerous as a pack a day but that point is never brought up. Also, as far as second hand smoke I think it is rediculous. When I was growing up in the 1950s almost everyone smoked and every where one would go the air was full of smoke. On a bus, at home, in restaurants, etc. Everywhere there was a cloud of smoke in the air yet none of my siblings, cousins or anyone else I know has any kind of respitory problems. Now they are talking about third hand smoke whatever that is. Is 5 to 8 cigs a day going to be harmful?
People are chiming in with their opinions - and that is certainly what public forums are for. But in this particular case I'm wondering why the absurdity of it is not more apparent. Organizations such as the U.S. Surgeon General's office and the Centers for Disease Control, whose professional responsibility it is to carefully evaluate medical studies and other epidemiological evidence, have established the dangers of smoking. So for a person to say, without offering any evidence or reasoning, "Oh yes, the dangers of smoking are overdone" is ludicrous in the extreme. Of what value is flaunting one's ignorance? Should we post a poll as to whether the moon has an atmosphere? It is a scientific fact that the moon has no atmosphere.
Citing some relative or aquaintance who is 80 and still puffing is meaningless, because the individual variability among people is astounding. Some rare individuals may escape the bad consequences, but this proves nothing except that some rare individuals may escape the bad consequences.
As an analogy, let's take the widespread belief (held for many years among the most knowledgeable people) that it was humanly impossible to climb to the summit of Mount Everest without using supplemental oxygen. But lo and behold, some German mountaineer did it! He was a very exceptional case, and there have been a few others too. For the vast majority of us, our adaptability does not extend to being able to climb to the summit of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen no matter how much acclimatization we go through, and to make the attempt would be risking death. The dangers are not overdone.
The ignorant rantings on smoking in this thread show, among other things, that our educational system has failed miserably.
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