Anybody A Health Care Professional? Doctor Or Nurse?

[onizuka]

Well, here's my question - is anybody here a health care professional? I'm not looking to diagnose or be diagnosed. My question is about the pipe smoking populous and other curiosities.
So, are you a doctor or a nurse that smokes a pipe? And if so, what do you say to patients when they ask you about tobacco use?
Or, if you're on the patient end, what do you say to doctors or nurses you know that smoke?
Fixed thread title, please see rule number 9. Pertinent portion: Please capitalize words in the thread titles. Thank you, Robert.

 

[buck67]

I have a cousin that is a respiratory therapist and he smokes cigarettes like crazy. He jokes about it all the time.

 

[admin]

I'm not a doctor, but I play one in the bedroom.

 

[mlaug]

Kevin's t-shirt.

 

[scratchglfr]

My dentist smokes. How ironic

 

[spacecowboy57]

if i'm lucky i will be a doctor in a few years, just not that kind of doctor.

 

[ernest]

Working the kinks out of her calves,are you Kevin? Word going around is you've been working overtime since those vitamins went missing.

 

[onizuka]

Haha, not quite the responses I had anticipated but funny none the less.
Would anyone here feel that the health care professional was being hypocritical if they asked you to stop smoking your pipe in order to get better?

 

[igloo]

I tell my doctors no remarks on weight or smoking , now lets see what you can do .

 

[pstlpkr]

if i'm lucky i will be a doctor in a few years, just not that kind of doctor.

Space would that be a PHD; Piled High and Deep?

 

[hauntedmyst]

If any of you guys find a doctor, let me know. I got this rash on my belly I need diagnosed. I'll start a new thread and post pics.

 

[explodingpenguin]

I used to be an EMT in Los Angeles, CA. Almost every doctor, nurse, and EMT I knew where heavy smokers. Most everyone working in the ER where pack a day or more. They where mostly cigarette smokers as they did not have time for anything that took longer. I knew a few people that smoked pipes. Mostly guys who worked in psychiatric facilities.

 

[misterlowercase]

I am an insane asylum.

 

[cobguy]

I gotta' say ... today was a good call day!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxOCAkdCS64

 

[shanelktown]

I am a nurse but my tobacco use is very sparring like once a week but multiple bowls. In my experience smoking cessation is a difficult area. Many patients I have are cigarette smokers. I think it is a point that smoking is not good for you but neither is a sedentary lifestyle and a high sugar diet. That being said there are always risks with whatever you may do. The biggest thing I feel since I did lose my grandfather to lung cancer whom smoked for years is if it makes you happy why quit? It really is a personal choice to truly quit. So if you enjoy the pipe don't bother giving it up. I believe awhile back there was an attorney general report that stated in the percentages that a pipe smoker actually had less of chance of getting cancer then someone who is a non smoker. I want to say it was from the state of Washington. I feel for myself smoking my pipes is total leisure activity and it is a reward for myself during a stressful week. I personally have read articles that state pipe smokers also live longer. I'm going to guess its from the ability to relax and enjoy a pipe. This really is a stress reliever and is a better alternative to cigarettes note I never said it's safe. I hope this wa helpful to you.

 

[mayfair70]

As a Licensed Nurse, when asked about tobacco use, I would simply say I'm a human being first. If pressed about being hypocritical, I would answer "I'm a nurse not the Dalai Lama/the Pope/Mother Teresa/a Monk/a Nun/other personification of a moral or spiritual compass."
Maybe it's just me, but, most of the nurses I have gotten to know; Smoke like chimneys, drink like fish, pop pills like candy, engage in dangerous sexual behavior and use illicit drugs on a regular basis. (the good old days)
As far as cancer goes, I'd double check those studies. Pipe smokers have a higher incidence of tongue, mouth and lip cancers. Cigarette smokers have higher rates of lung cancer. No matter what or how you smoke, more cancer happens. This is not my opinion. These studies have been done over decades and you can pick or choose one or another to say something is safer, but as a whole, all smoking has been demonstrated to be very dangerous and correlates to increased incidents of cancer and heart disease. I accept those facts and live/behave accordingly.
@shanelktown - I would love to see a study on relaxation from pipe smoking and its effects on longevity. I'm sure people who relax on a regular basis live longer, especially if they eat right and exercise. I just wonder how much pipe smoking specifically helps or hinders that process. A very good point, sir.
Night, night. Sleep tight. 8O

 

[rfernand]

"Not that kind of doctor" over here

 

[wannashmooze]

Im in residency. My friends all smoke the occasional cigar but regular smoking is very uncommon by docs these days. Tons of my patients smoke.

 

[coffinmaker]

Have you noticed on pipe tobacco products the warning label "This product contains stuff known to the state of California--that can mess you up"? Ha, I live in Pa. smoke away!!

 

[echie]

@mayfair70:

No matter what or how you smoke, more cancer happens.

Well said (all of it, not just the bit I quoted). I prefer to understand and accept the consequences of what I'm doing, rather than to find some rationalisation to make me feel better about myself.