Health Benefits Of Tobacco

[deathmetal]

Health benefits of tobacco:
1. You're going to die anyway. 80% or more of this is your genetics.

2. Tobacco improves cognition and relaxation.

3. Not inhaling it really helps.
So, smoke a bow(e)l and have a blast. Life is infinite, but lives are finite. Have all the Royal Yacht that you can.

 

[virginialover]

Smoking tobacco in a pipe provides relaxation and also the feeling that you're not really alone. You can also relate to other pipe smokers and thanks to the internet you can share you thoughts and experiences. A win-win situation if you ask me!

 

[deathmetal]

Health benefits of tobacco: you enjoy life more.
Downside: you are less obedient.
Hmm....

 

[prairiedruid]

Smoking tobacco in a pipe provides relaxation and also the feeling that you're not really alone

Depends on the blend you are smoking.....if I fire up some Triple Play I guarantee I'll be alone for awhile. Sometimes that is a good thing!

 

[woodsroad]

I made a brief but informative film about this thread.

 

[warren]

The very idea of taking the by-products of incineration into your body could provide health benefits is ... well laughable. Then add that oxygen is replaced in the blood cells by these by-products, whether inhaled into the lungs or simply absorbed through the membranes in the mouth and nose, and well, only one conclusion can be arrived at.
If taking carcinogens into the body were in any way healthy we would be advised to stand in the smoke of a camp fire, a burning pile of leaves or rubber tires, etc. and inhaling deeply. There is a reason firemen wear tanks and masks. Incinerating stuff, tobacco included, creates a whole menu of carcinogens.
Parts of tobacco plants may indeed have some health benefits. But, burning tobacco? Not that I've seen proved. Always the opposite.
Relaxation is a state of mind. If you think smoking relaxes you, it will. But, you can achieve the same state in many other, healthier, ways. So, admit you simply enjoy smoking and quit trying to justify it by reading all the conflicting studies and such. For some it is their one, wee, rebellious act and very satisfying in a warped sense. For every study one finds supporting any kind of health benefits to smoking, there's a dozen which will support the opposite view.
Trying to rationalize what is a very selfish choice helps pass the time, I suppose. Better we simply take ownership of our, rather expensive and enjoyable vice.

 

[virginialover]

warren: "Relaxation is a state of mind. If you think smoking relaxes you, it will."
Agreed, the brain doesn't know any better. Nevertheless, the stages that bring that successful smoke are also important: the choice of your pipe, tobacco and the way you prepare it play into that relaxation. Is there anything worse for a pipe smoker than a failed smoke? And yes taking carcinogens into the body increases your risk for nasty stuff appearing later in your life. This is when genes, luck, initial health and personal balanced choices intervene.
warren: "Trying to rationalize what is a very selfish choice helps pass the time, I suppose. Better we simply take ownership of our, rather expensive and enjoyable vice."
Well said.

 

[deathmetal]

Studies are relative to funding.
Ergo, studies are not the whole story... and are often misleading.
O look:
http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.0020124

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Fom now on, I’m going to smoke my veggies. Maybe I can get a nice spinach / arugula blend going on, for... you know... iron and that sort of thing.

 

[brightleaf]

Breaking the skin is harmful. So taking a medicine by injection is unhealthy.

That's the logic I see sablebrush52 and warren using.

jitterbugdude gave a study in his last post that gave the exact evidence asked for. It was for smoking, not taking nicotine by any other route.

The argument that smoking is selfish is ridiculous. If helping people makes me feel good, it is selfish. If I feed myself it is selfish. If I read a book it is selfish. What can we do that isn't selfish? We are living creatures. Are dogs selfish? Perhaps if you were immortal and omnipotent you could do something unselfish. Walking around repeating negative self-talk about how selfish you are is a waste of time, and most likely more unhealthy than smoking tires.

 

[brian64]

@brightleaf: I get the impression you are suffering from fluoride deficiency.

 

[brightleaf]

I have well water so no fluoride from my drinking water. I do use fluoride toothpaste and occasionally use fluoride mouthwash (no dental insurance.) So it may be less than average, but I have some in my system.

 

[warren]

Breaking the skin is harmful? Always? I don't believe that for a minute. Much good can come from the breaking of someone's skin. A tracheotomy to save a life is a good thing. The lancing of a blister brings relief. A flu shot can be healthy. The rapid insertion of a piece of lead into a person can a bad or ...a good thing, dependent entirely on the surrounding circumstances.
I take it, brightleaf, that you believe selfishness to be a bad thing. Far from it. A certain amount of self-catering is good for the soul. The self-satisfied, smugness of a person donating to something worthwhile is well earned. If such is performed only for the accolades, well that is selfish and the resulting good is laudable. Smoking, akin to an extra dollop of chocolate sauce on a scoop of ice cream, is purely self-serving.
Smoking is a purely selfish choice as it does no one else any benefit. Well, it does enrich the purveyors of tobacco products. Smoking is an adult choice to be made after considering the negative and the possible benefits, weighing the risks, as it were, against the gains. The only reason I know of to turn to tobacco is, "I like it!" Purely a selfish choice which flies in the face of logic and some good science. Selfish decisions often do.
Smoking costs people moneys. Many smokers really cannot afford such as it adversely affects family. Smokers reek. I'm trying to think of a positive aspect to tobacco products which are smoked. Their homes reek to the noses of nonsmokers and are therefore devalued. A smoker selling a car which smells of stale smoke will not realize full value.
The only positive I can come up with is, "I like it." Purely self-serving which is not necessarily a bad thing.
Now, even with my newly diagnosed heart problem, certainly somewhat attributable to a lifetime of smoking, I am enjoying a pipe full of Elizabethan. "Why?" You ask incredulously.
"Because I like it and I'm not yet ready to give it up." Stupidly selfish, exhibiting a total lack of consideration for my new grandson, family and others who will, possibly soon, be deprived of my humor, knowledge, and whatever else good they might possibly see in me.
You can come with all sorts of justifications for poor decisions. That doesn't change the fact that it is a decision a wiser or, perhaps more self-controlled would make.

 

[mso489]

The array of pharmacy they give people for depression, anxiety, etc., with all kinds of side effects makes me wonder if a "low dose" of pipe tobacco might help with fewer or no side effects. I got back to pipe smoking when taking time to center myself and re-focus, during a family health crisis, alcohol just didn't work, contributed to fatigue, inhibited early rising, etc., and a pipe bowl was just the ticket, a way to get settled at the end of the evening after focusing totally on someone and something else. Part of the reckoning is, what's the alternative?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I like smugness, smug and smog. Gimme gimme.

 

[weezell]

Better we simply take ownership of our, rather expensive and enjoyable vice."

Pretty much sums it up for me. Good call Warren...

 

[jitterbugdude]

Still conflating. Compounds in tobacco may have health benefits. Smoking isn't part of that.

Explain that to me!

You wanted 1 study ( there are many). I gave you 1 study. That study showed that SMOKING DECREASES PARKINSONS DISEASE based on length of time smoked. I also pointed out that the alkaloids in tobacco smoke inhibit the enzyme that destroys the dopamine receptors in the brain. So tell my why smoking is not part of that?

 

[brightleaf]

Warren,

You may think you use terms like selfish and vice in a way that isn't moralizing but it comes off like that.

I say keep you self-flagellating private. I don't want your riding crop near me.
It also sounds like you agree that some negative side effects are acceptable, yet you act like smoking is all bad. There is scientific evidence presented in this thread that shows many benefits to smoking.

 

[5star]

mso489 - “ The array of pharmacy they give people for depression, anxiety, etc., with all kinds of side effects makes me wonder if a "low dose" of pipe tobacco might help with fewer or no side effects. I got back to pipe smoking when taking time to center myself and re-focus, during a family health crisis, alcohol just didn't work, contributed to fatigue, inhibited early rising, etc., and a pipe bowl was just the ticket, a way to get settled at the end of the evening after focusing totally on someone and something else. Part of the reckoning is, what's the alternative? “
Within the last few years a US government agency (NIH, CDC, or some such) released the results of a study that they did on the health impact of cigar smoking. They found zero impact for modest cigar smokers. ‘Modest’ was defined as one cigar per day. They didn’t run the study for amounts of cigars greater than this. The wording of the release of their findings was rather amusing as its author seemed perturbed that it turned out as it did.
No, cigars aren’t pipes. But they definitely aren’t cigarettes either. By the definition of the study mentioned, I am no more than a ‘modest’ cigar & pipe smoker. (Much less recently because of a case of the flu I picked up at Christmas that has put a moratorium on all my smoking for over a month.) In any case, one has to do their own research & decide for themselves. I personally gain more in calmness of mind from my pipe smoking than any detrimental effects I have experienced or read about.
- Mac

 

[warren]

I happen to believe that a bit of selfishness is good for one's mental well being. I won't begrudge a person some self-absorbed behavior. Pick any of the above synomyms, they aptly describe the decision to smoke.
You are certainly free to ascribe any interpretation you wish to my posts. As, I am free to post them where I think them germane to a discussion. If you wish to stifle my posts, I suggest you take a position as a mod should you be offered such. Then you may feel free close/remove any post you find in conflict with the posted rules. Barring that, take it up with a mod or Kevin.
I haven't simply haven't found creditable evidence which shows any beneficial aspects to smoking incinerated materials which outweigh the fact that you are taking known carcinogens into the blood stream. But, that's my weighing the risks v. the benefits.