Health Issue: Smoking Pipes or Drinking Alcohol. What's worse?

[zonomo]

I had an interesting discussion with my fiancee tonight about the health risks of smoking pipes. I commented that of the tobacco uses, its probably the least harmful to your health though not 100% safe (As opposed to cigarets, Pot, snuf, chew, and cigars). But I also commented that its probably no worse the alcohol consumption. I dont know the facts so I thought I'd ask you experts here. Does anyone have any empirical data on this topic? Thanks!

 

[hawk60ce]

No data, but I do both!

 

[twangthang]

I always thought they cancelled each other out.

 

[dhizzy]

I will tell you that during my current career as an LEO, I've been to no car accidents/ass whoopin's or seen families broken up because of pipe smoking. Alcohol on the other hand.....
As far as health data, I've only known one person who died of lung cancer and he was a non smoker. I think it's all inflated to appear worse than it is.

 

[bigboi]

I have read some data on pipe smoking and alcohol. Really I think, alcohol has the potential to do more harm than pipe smoking.

 

[madmurdoc]

I always thought they cancelled each other out.

:rofl:

 

[Wellington]

I've definitely known a number of people who have died of lung cancer, but not from pipes as far as I know. Obviously there is always the risk with intaking any tobacco, but it really comes down to how regular consumption is. I've been told and have read that 'moderate smokers' as some would call, which in the one particular article referred to as a bowl a day smokers, have a very slim chance of developing cancers, the highest risk of the cancers being mouth and/or lip. Averaged throughout the year, I personally smoke maybe every week or two, maybe more like 3. This is due to winter time here in Saskatchewan, I don't really feel like smoking a bowl in -30 or so weather on the cold days.
Alcohol would obviously just depend on how regular consumption is (and what amount). Really, they both come down to moderation and not abusing either, IMO.

 

[cajundad]

Worked for years as a critical care nurse in Louisiana , and I have seen much more health issues due to cig. smoking , and daily alcohal consumption . A health study at a major university stated that pipe smokers lived longer than non smokers on average . Also this same study showed that cigs contained several harmful chemicals , most unintentional [ by product of cleaning factory equipment ect.], but , none the less it showed up . Pipe tobacco was said to have less tar and nicotine [ there are some exceptions ,of course ] . The study did note that most pipe smokers didnt intentionally inhale as much smoke as cig. smokers . pipes are ment to taste the tobacco , cigs are mainly a nicotine delivery device . All tobacco contains carcinogens , but extra are added by cig. manufacturing companys . In conclusion , pipe smoking is a relaxing expirience , more than a nic. fix or nervous oral fixation . And of course im biased ! ::

 

[sergemoat]

If you listened to the NPR show Kevin was on he gave some interesting stats on pipe smoking.
I believe it was from this same report:
"Death rates for current pipe smokers were little if at all higher than for non-smokers, even with men smoking 10 or more pipefuls per day and with men who had smoked pipes for more than 30 years" from the Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Sugreon General of the Public Health Service, 1964
Also, some interesting reading on smoking health at the bottom of this page

 

[pipeinhand]

Well all I know is you can get a DWI, but I never heard of a DWP. That has to tell you something. ::

 

[jbbaldwin]

There's also the question of binging.
When you smoke too much at a sitting, your mouth starts to hurt and you put the pipe down.
When you drink too much at a sitting, it's very easy to keep drinking.
Or so I've heard.

 

[zonomo]

Some very good points here. Thanks for the link and the data. I haven't listend to the NPR PodCast but have been meaning to.

 

[captainprophesy]

Drinking and smoking are the two major killers... as far as smoking goes, cigarettes are the worst, not sure why you lumped pot in with the tobacco products but since you did believe it or not pot is the least dangerous.

 

[zonomo]

I lumped Pot into the conversation because its smoking related and I read that smoking Pot is worst then cigarets as far as carcinogens go.
"A study published in the journal, Thorax, recently hit the headlines as demonstrating that smoking a cannabis joint was at least twice as harmful to lung function as smoking a cigarette"
http://www.healthline.com/health-blogs/freedom-smoking/cannabis-smoking-more-harmful-cigarette-smoking
In another article I read it stated: ""Cannabis smokers end up with five times more carbon monoxide in their bloodstream (than tobacco smokers)," team leader Richard Beasley, at the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand, said in a news release."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,326309,00.html

 

[captainprophesy]

Well there are more recent and better sources than a blog and a fox news (bullshit station) article from 5 years ago
Now im not saying that it doesnt cause cancer or its not dangerous, but there are studies that show that cannabis actually kills some cancer cell's. AND there have been 0 death's due to marijuana.
But I didnt mean to derail the thread... sorry :P

 

[zonomo]

Ya understand Capt. I also found other studies that show its far less dangerous than cigs so I am just going based upon what i've known. BTW, FoxNews wasn't the author of the study, they referenced someone else's study.
Maybe the BBC is more to your liking?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6923642.stm
Or Reuters?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2008/01/29/us-cancer-cannabis-idUSHKG10478820080129
Or NCBI?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18238947
:nana:

 

[erichbaumer]

All good info, obviously I agree, since I'm sitting on the same side as you all... However, in pipe smoking studies that look at mortality rates, I'd say it's important to note that oral cancer, if caught early, is very operable and has a very high survival rate- so some smokers could have gotten it and survived, but they still got it. Then again, if they had, they wouldn't still be smoking... So it depends on how those studies were made and who they catalogued as pipe smokers.

 

[gray4lines]

Great reads on cigar and pipe health studies. It is obviously very important to differentiate between tobacco type, inhalation, and frequency, but many of the widey reported studies fail in this. Might be a sample size issue (you can hardly say anything statistically meaningful if your sample of 1000 people has only 5 pipe smokers). However, I can't help but believe that many studies lump them all together just to make the point that "all tobacco is deadly and dangerous, no matter the amount." A total lie.

 

[cigrmaster]

In my vast experience with both tobacco and alcohol, I am of the opinion that pipe smoking is the least dangerous of all forms of smoking and way less destructive than alcohol. I have spent my life researching both and have over 40 years of sampling and I believe alcohol will kill me before my pipe smoking. Now where did I put that Vodka?

 

[mustanggt]

You know what? We are all going to die sometime. When it is your time and God calls, you go. In the meantime enjoy life for as long as you can. More people die of worrying about being eaten by a bear than get eaten by a bear. All things in moderation. I'll take my chances smoking a pipe. I don't do drinking very well so I quit Feb. 1st 1989 and haven't regreted it for a minute. If you can stop at one or two and don't get behind the wheel ever then I think you have control and it won't rot your liver or kill brain cells. Pot just makes you lazy and I believe can effect your lungs as much as cigarettes. After all you are exposing your lungs to all those constituants that will rot your lungs.