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Piper: "If I can't smoke, why do I want to live longer!?"
Piper: "If I can't smoke, why do I want to live longer!?"
How Do You Reconcile With Pipe Smoking's Health Risks?
- Thread starter alaskanpiper
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I feel like you folks who only smoke a few bowls a week don't put yourselves at any higher risk than walking near a campfire or woodstove on occasion. Probably inhale more carbon and pollution on an average crosstown drive. Second hand smoke exposure maybe on the level of having to catch a ride home from school with your Virginia Slim chain smoking auntie every Wednesday.
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And we’re worried about pipe tobacco.....
there’s not an item of color on the whole pizza.
Death and ill health has always seemed so far away to me.
I've never been worried about pipe smoking, snus use or nicotine. I have always felt that genetics, diet and fate were more likely to cause me problems. I'm only 48.
I have never been worried until this week.
I spent last week in the hospital.
It started with this weird feeling in my throat. It felt kind of dry. By that evening, my arms were aching terribly from my elbows to my fingers and my throat felt cold and metallic.
Then it started to feel like I was drowning or suffocating, yet my breathing was fine. I felt out of breath but I could breath fine.
A few hours later I was in the emergency room popping nitro glycerine tablets every 30 minutes so that I could stop feeling like I was suffocating to death.
Over the next few days and way too many invasive tests, they discovered two blockages on a major artery to my right ventricle. 99% and 95% blocked.
I ended up with two stents. I was in the hospital 4+ days.
I never knew how much I appreciated living until last week when I was trapped in the hospital wondering if I was going to have to have my chest cracked open.
The Doc said I was lucky I came in when I did, because I might have been a few hours or a cheesesteak away from a big heart attack.
None of this was likely related to smoking my pipe. I smoke it ocassionally. It's genetics, my weight, diet, stressful job, lack of exercise etc...
So, a lot has to change like my diet, my weight, my lifestyle.
I have so much good pipe tobacco and 40 cans of high nicotine Swedish snus.
My Doc seems to think that occasional use won't do me in.
I am weighing the risks and benefits. The risks are winning. While nicotine didn't get me to this place, nicotine (and caffeine) might bring me back to the hospital.
Has anyone else been here before or is it time for me to start finding a new home for my collection?
Also, in response to the OP... I think there might be greater health risk in Moose hunting ;-) Man, those animals can be fierce when they want.
I've never been worried about pipe smoking, snus use or nicotine. I have always felt that genetics, diet and fate were more likely to cause me problems. I'm only 48.
I have never been worried until this week.
I spent last week in the hospital.
It started with this weird feeling in my throat. It felt kind of dry. By that evening, my arms were aching terribly from my elbows to my fingers and my throat felt cold and metallic.
Then it started to feel like I was drowning or suffocating, yet my breathing was fine. I felt out of breath but I could breath fine.
A few hours later I was in the emergency room popping nitro glycerine tablets every 30 minutes so that I could stop feeling like I was suffocating to death.
Over the next few days and way too many invasive tests, they discovered two blockages on a major artery to my right ventricle. 99% and 95% blocked.
I ended up with two stents. I was in the hospital 4+ days.
I never knew how much I appreciated living until last week when I was trapped in the hospital wondering if I was going to have to have my chest cracked open.
The Doc said I was lucky I came in when I did, because I might have been a few hours or a cheesesteak away from a big heart attack.
None of this was likely related to smoking my pipe. I smoke it ocassionally. It's genetics, my weight, diet, stressful job, lack of exercise etc...
So, a lot has to change like my diet, my weight, my lifestyle.
I have so much good pipe tobacco and 40 cans of high nicotine Swedish snus.
My Doc seems to think that occasional use won't do me in.
I am weighing the risks and benefits. The risks are winning. While nicotine didn't get me to this place, nicotine (and caffeine) might bring me back to the hospital.
Has anyone else been here before or is it time for me to start finding a new home for my collection?
Also, in response to the OP... I think there might be greater health risk in Moose hunting ;-) Man, those animals can be fierce when they want.
If this were my case it might be my “last tango”. I like living more than smoking a pipe.
“To what degree do you feel Pipe Smoking is a risk to your health?”
Moderate. Nicotine is a chemical that has at least some meausureable impact on just about any system in the body. In my case, the most significant is that it is a vasoconstrictor. I tend not to smoke anything until I have been up for a few hours and the various things I take as vasodilators have had a chance to start working. If I don’t , I have angina pain. After that time period has elapsed, I seem to be able to smoke as much as I want of anything. Otherwise, I don’t feel pipe and cigar smoking are major negatives health wise.
“How do you reconcile your desire to smoke with the risk you have identified?”
I manage the specific risk I have identified as stated, but even if the general risk was a good bit higher than I think it is, I would smoke about as much as I do now. I am going to be 70 in a few months, and I doubt seriously that smoking a pipe will have more than a minuscule impact on my life expectancy.
Moderate. Nicotine is a chemical that has at least some meausureable impact on just about any system in the body. In my case, the most significant is that it is a vasoconstrictor. I tend not to smoke anything until I have been up for a few hours and the various things I take as vasodilators have had a chance to start working. If I don’t , I have angina pain. After that time period has elapsed, I seem to be able to smoke as much as I want of anything. Otherwise, I don’t feel pipe and cigar smoking are major negatives health wise.
“How do you reconcile your desire to smoke with the risk you have identified?”
I manage the specific risk I have identified as stated, but even if the general risk was a good bit higher than I think it is, I would smoke about as much as I do now. I am going to be 70 in a few months, and I doubt seriously that smoking a pipe will have more than a minuscule impact on my life expectancy.
Sorry to hear about your health struggles! You are very lucky, that had to be scary as hell! Glad to hear you caught it when you did!
Haha, moose hunting isn’t so bad. It’s the females with calves you gotta worry about but they usually get out before you ever see them. Bears getting into the camp is a bigger problem in the area we hunt. Giant fucking rats. Every once in a while we have to kill a nosy one, but even that is only every 5 or 10 years.
I think the risks are minimal to me. I smoke one bowl a day or so. I get a tremendous amount of joy from enjoying a pipe and reading daily. I ride a motorcycle, also inherently risky. Even more so I think. I'd give that up before I'd give up my pipe.
Something to fuel the discussion:
Behind the 'Myths' About Pipe Smoking - https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-18-me-917-story.html
The above is from 86. I doubt such a thing would make it to print today.
I do remember a few years ago reading about a study done by an insurance company in the 60's that pipe smoking extended life slightly. Of course they might not have taken into account that increased affluence might be a factor.
Behind the 'Myths' About Pipe Smoking - https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-18-me-917-story.html
The above is from 86. I doubt such a thing would make it to print today.
I do remember a few years ago reading about a study done by an insurance company in the 60's that pipe smoking extended life slightly. Of course they might not have taken into account that increased affluence might be a factor.
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Correct. Unless you die of too much cholesterol from eating excessive bacon. What a way to go! That's a guy who died with a smile on his face.
There are worse ways to go for sure. You could die eating turkey bacon.
This is what I am currently attempting... I still smoke RYO, though significantly less since I started with pipe smoking. Any tips for dropping the rollies altogether?
Thanks alaskanpiper for this post. My wiring is that I enjoy asking myself these kinds of questions as I think it is healthy to take stock from time to time.
To what degree do you feel Pipe Smoking is a risk to your health? (Not being fat, or drinking, or stress, but pipe smoking)
As near as I can tell from research that I have done, my risk is low to moderate. In addition to the number of times I smoke a week, I try to use all the 'best practices' that you read about in studies about pipe smoking. I am not head faking myself though... there is a risk and once something develops, the level of risk becomes mostly immaterial. Having lung cancer as a low risk patient that never smoked versus one that did, probably does not make a lot of difference.
How do you reconcile your desire to smoke with the risk you have identified?
My general philosophy is moderation and self restraint. This looks different for every person. For me in the life choice categories of diet, exercise, rest, weight, stress, etc. I am regularly making adjustments to create a whole package that fits with me. Within this, I have made allowances to enjoy certain types of food, alcohol and yes, pipe smoking.
As best as I am trying, all this might be undermined by things out of my control such as genetics, environmental factors I am not even aware of, a tragic accident, etc. Even if this happens, balancing all my life choices was probably a good idea anyhow, not only for myself, but those that I love all around me.
Am I a fatalist? No. I only know to do my best. To be paranoid, is destructive. To abandon all hope is as well.
To what degree do you feel Pipe Smoking is a risk to your health? (Not being fat, or drinking, or stress, but pipe smoking)
As near as I can tell from research that I have done, my risk is low to moderate. In addition to the number of times I smoke a week, I try to use all the 'best practices' that you read about in studies about pipe smoking. I am not head faking myself though... there is a risk and once something develops, the level of risk becomes mostly immaterial. Having lung cancer as a low risk patient that never smoked versus one that did, probably does not make a lot of difference.
How do you reconcile your desire to smoke with the risk you have identified?
My general philosophy is moderation and self restraint. This looks different for every person. For me in the life choice categories of diet, exercise, rest, weight, stress, etc. I am regularly making adjustments to create a whole package that fits with me. Within this, I have made allowances to enjoy certain types of food, alcohol and yes, pipe smoking.
As best as I am trying, all this might be undermined by things out of my control such as genetics, environmental factors I am not even aware of, a tragic accident, etc. Even if this happens, balancing all my life choices was probably a good idea anyhow, not only for myself, but those that I love all around me.
Am I a fatalist? No. I only know to do my best. To be paranoid, is destructive. To abandon all hope is as well.
You just gotta do it. I got some high nic blends from g&h and some snus that I used a few times when I couldn't smoke the pipe but the main thing is to make the decision that it's not part of your life anymore.
I have been doing this road myself,the key is self restraint,I don't think you don'tr have to quite them cigartettes right now but instead I'd suggest gradually reducing quantities of smoked cigarrettes to minimum,and then keep it there,occasional cigarette /cigarillo doesn't do any harm if you are watchful with this,you can do it as I did,I'm smoking from the age of 13 with no day off,all stuff but never I was heavy user of any form of tobacco,moderation in all things,,
100% this^¨ I love your attitude, all this overthinking of smoking risks is rather ridiculous,of course smoking causes a lesser or greater to our health ,my late father,a seaman of profession smoked heavily all his life,and obviously died at lung cancer at the age of 72,but he did not overthink it as didn't the great majority of men in past,today we seem to be overthinkin every aspect in our lives,my late father used to say,'Paul You can still quite them cigarettes or if you can't then consider a pipe,its a gentleman way of smoking tobacco'
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