How Do You Reconcile With Pipe Smoking's Health Risks?

[augiebd]

Has anyone else been here before or is it time for me to start finding a new home for my collection?

Glad you went in before you had a more serious event and wish you all the best with your recovery and finding a new balance in your life.

My Dad was 55 when he had a full cardiac arrest. More severe than a heart attack, only 2% of people usually survive. Fortunately an ambulance was parked nearby and was there in less than 3 minutes. The following week Dad had a quadruple bypass. Dad had been a heavy cigarette smoker since the age of 13. He and my Mom both quit after the surgery but it took close to three years. My Dad passed away at 70 suffering from several forms of cancer and wishing he had more time.

I was born with a congenital heart defect and had open heart surgery when I was 3 months old. After the surgery, I had a heart murmur due to a constricted valve from the procedure but had no related health issues, was active in sports, etc. I smoked cigarettes for 3 years until I turned 19 and quit due to cost and concern about health. I picked up the pipe when I was 53, smoking 1-2 bowls a week when the Canadian weather cooperates. At 54, I had open heart surgery to have that constricted, now failing aortic valve replaced. Prior to the surgery, testing confirmed that other than the damaged valve, my heart is in good shape and I have no heart disease. I have continued with my pipe.

A few observations, I can’t comment on whether any decision you, my Dad, or I make is the correct one. We can’t know for sure how different factors effect our individual system.

However, for me it is important that I am deeply at peace with my decision because I saw that my Dad who believed he was at peace with his decisions really wasn’t. For me, I knew I wasn’t comfortable with how smoking cigarettes made me feel or the prospect of a lifetime of smoking them, so I quit. Smoking 1-2 bowls a week approaching 60, I can relax and enjoy.

 

[Elric]

Good health is merely the slowest rate at which you can die. I've seen too many folks who took marvelous care of themselves go early. I plan on leaving a game of Clue as to what finally got me.

 

[gatorlope]

“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.

welcome to the club! I’ll be a septuagenarian myself next month!
After sixty plus years of being a relative non smoker, I gave up on trying to persuade my sister to give up smoking and decided to put some serious mileage on the pipes that I have been collecting for the past fifty years!
Btw, sis is twelve years older than me and has been smoking since she was sixteen! She still does a carton a week!
We also have no history of cancer on either side of our families, so wtf!

 

[burleybreath]

I want this dude's opinion on this weighty subject:

 

[brian64]

I want this dude's opinion on this weighty subject:

I'll never understand why some people engage in such risky behavior.

Even the skydiving is a little dangerous.

 

[bullet08]

I'll never understand why some people engage in such risky behavior.

Even the skydiving is a little dangerous.

used to smoke cigarette while mountain biking. only problem was i couldn't save the cigarette while running into a tree.

 

[Drew72]

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.

I rode a motorcycle for 9 years and loved it. Got about 15,000 safe miles under my belt, and then was just done with it. Was kind of odd. I didn't have a close call, or anything like that. I guess I had just scratched that itch--as they say... sold it a couple months later. In retrospect, I am thankful I got so much injury free enjoyment out of it... I would say MC riding is more dangerous than one pipe a day. At least with a pipe, if health issues do arise, they are gradual, and hopefully treatable.

I am a 2-3 bowls/week smoker. But the health issues are in my head. I lead a very healthy life otherwise. I am only a couple months into pipes (27 bowls total) and have yet to decide if it is a lifestyle for me or not. But with 2-3/week with use of charcoal filter, no inhaling, etc. I feel I am at least approaching it in a reasonable manner.

I hope you have many more enjoyable miles and pipes in your future.

Cheers

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Got about 15,000 safe miles under my belt, and then was just done with it. Was kind of odd. I didn't have a close call, or anything like that. I guess I had just scratched that itch--as they say...

I was seriously thinking about buying a bike a few years back. I had been test driving them, and getting down to the serious part of talking about money... then one day while driving my truck on the interstate on a windy day, I saw a towel or shirt fly off the back of one of the trucks ahead me, drift beautifully around the cars ahead of me like a ballerina, and then just wrap around the front wheel of the bike in the lane next to me, and then flipped that thing like a hammer thrown by a Viking warrior. The desire to get a bike immediately left me like a divine intervention from God.
I know it's a rare occurrence, one in a thousand odds, but it burned into my brain, wiping away all desire to ride.

 

[Drew72]

I was seriously thinking about buying a bike a few years back. I had been test driving them, and getting down to the serious part of talking about money... then one day while driving my truck on the interstate on a windy day, I saw a towel or shirt fly off the back of one of the trucks ahead me, drift beautifully around the cars ahead of me like a ballerina, and then just wrap around the front wheel of the bike in the lane next to me, and then flipped that thing like a hammer thrown by a Viking warrior. The desire to get a bike immediately left me like a divine intervention from God.
I know it's a rare occurrence, one in a thousand odds, but it burned into my brain, wiping away all desire to ride.

that's the type of sh^t that you have to worry about with a MC. Someone making a left turn in front of you, switching lanes without looking, or some totally random event, like the one you described. There is nothing like riding, but when things go "south" riding a bike... they can do so very quickly and without warning. In that respect, quite different than the pipe. Riding an MC is as individual a choice as is tobacco use. It is tough to categorically condone or condemn either... just personal choice.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

If I saw more pipes explode, tearing off people's heads before my eyes, I might be less inclined to keep buying them, ha ha.

 

[perdurabo]

Alaskanpiper, it sounds like you’ve got it all worked out for you. That’s the biggest hurdle. Your happiness and satisfaction is all that matters.

My thoughts, I come to the Physical Plane to experience the soul’s reaction within the Five Senses. Many incarnations to learn and evolve, and just have fun. Smoking a pipe is fulfilling. Every moment on Earth is a moment closer to death. Why waste time on fear? To much to do, see, and experience. Oh, and cause a little hell while I’m doing it!

 

[Drew72]

I found that if I drank my beloved whisky with a pipe, and smoked a pipe several times per day, the relative risks of these cancers went up to 18 or more. That is more than I was comfortable with, so I don’t do that.

I also did the same with motorcycle riding. In California studies, one was 47 times more likely to get in a fatal accident than a car driver. I looked at what caused that increase in the studies and mitigated them: don’t drink, don’t commute, don’t ride tired, wear a high vis helmet, etc. The stats give me 3-4 times the likelihood of an accident per kilometre. That’s good enough for me.

I don't want to hijack this thread and turn it into a motorcycle thread... but you nail it here. For those who think proper footwear are flip flops, proper protective head gear is a baseball cap turned backwards, and having a few beers before riding is acceptable, well, Darwin theory, I suppose. I used to get hazed by other Harley riders for the the full protective gear I ALWAYS wore on every ride and my bright yellow full-faced helmet. The bad motorcycle statistics are largely based on untrained riders who do not respect the sport. There are a lot of parallels with pipe smoking, I believe. Do what you can to mitigate the risks in an inherently risky endeavor.

Cheers

 

[pharmpiper]

I don't reconcile. I have worked in oncology and I understand the risks.
I smoke cigs, and have for something like 25 years now. Moving to pipes and snus as best I can.....not too worried that the pipe will do anything that the 350,000+ coffin nails haven't.

Having said that I do have a few observations:

1. I have rarely seen pipe or cigar smokers with cancer. In fact I have seen far more non-smokers with lung cancer than pipe smokers. While this can be explained away with demographics it is still worth noting when the relatively young, healthy, never smoker, active yoga/organic woman is being treated for Stage IV Lung Cancer with Mets to the brain is more common than the pipe smoking fisherman. Genetics absolutely plays a tremendous role in our health.
2. IMHO smoking indoors greatly magnifies the health consequences. Outdoor or even vehicle smoking (window down) seems, in my completely non-scientific observation, to have significantly less impact than smoking indoors. Which does make sense to me at least on a surface level; step outside for a cig and you have exposed yourself to smoke directly for a couple of minutes, but smoke in your living room while watching tv and you will be sucking down second hand smoke to some degree or another almost constantly, depending on your volume of cigarette consumption (more or that below). I believe this applies to pipes and cigars, as even if you don't inhale the primary smoke you will be inhaling the secondary smoke. If you wish to smoke inside I'd recommend a decent ventilation system.
3. I would also note that it is my completely non-scientific observation that those that smoke indoors ad libitum often smoke more than those who smoke outdoors or have dedicated smoking area/room.

This likely also contributes to increased risk.

Note: Nothing in this post should be considered medical advice.

 

[tbradsim1]

Started smoking in the Navy at 17, sea stores 1$ a carton. Smoked 4 packs a day, my Father asked me to quit in my early thirties. I quit cold turkey, put smokes and pipes away, fast forward to the nineties, cancer, 45 Radiation treatments, Heart bypass around that time. MD Anderson had said make out your will. In 2012 one night I came across my GBD Meer and said F*”K it, joined this forum with the thought S Asia, Cancer, Heart bypass didn’t kill me I’m gonna go out a happy man. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it I Garronte!

 

[renfield]

Everyone dies of something eventually. Any one of us could become unexpectedly dead at any time. One of the healthiest and fittest people I’ve ever known died last year of a brain aneurysm out of the blue. We don’t control as many things as we’d like to think. Enjoy life, or don’t. The universe doesn’t care.

I avoid doing grossly self destructive things and get on with enjoying life as best I can. It’s that simple.

The benefit of the stress reduction I get from a pipe a day has to far outweigh the increased health risk from the smoke. If it doesn’t, so what. I got to enjoy my pipes and tobacco, relax and ponder things.

 

[Dissident_Mantis]

I'm gonna be honest, I smoke 6-10 bowls a day sometimes. If it's the weekend and I am at a bar that allows smoking, or on a campground, I can blast through so many bowls that I lose count. Did this on Friday and I woke up the next day with a white sore on my tongue. It's probably just a burn, but that can also be a cancer risk.

I remember when I was interested in yerba mate, that there was some research about tea/mate causing cancer. People who preferred to drink these beverages very hot were at greater risk. The heat damages cells in the mouth and throat, this increasing the potential development of cancer cells.

 

[alaskanpiper]

I don't want to hijack this thread and turn it into a motorcycle thread... but you nail it here. For those who think proper footwear are flip flops, proper protective head gear is a baseball cap turned backwards, and having a few beers before riding is acceptable, well, Darwin theory, I suppose. I used to get hazed by other Harley riders for the the full protective gear I ALWAYS wore on every ride and my bright yellow full-faced helmet. The bad motorcycle statistics are largely based on untrained riders who do not respect the sport. There are a lot of parallels with pipe smoking, I believe. Do what you can to mitigate the risks in an inherently risky endeavor.

Cheers

Flying single engine aircraft is (although much safer) very similar. By far most accidents are caused by a decision the pilot made. Those who fly in shit weather, over gross weight, while tired/distracted/intoxicated elevate their risk exponentially.

 

[olkofri]

Garronte!

I've seen you use this term quite a number of times. What's it mean? Google comes up with nothing.

 

[olkofri]

I'm gonna be honest, I smoke 6-10 bowls a day sometimes. If it's the weekend and I am at a bar that allows smoking, or on a campground, I can blast through so many bowls that I lose count. Did this on Friday and I woke up the next day with a white sore on my tongue. It's probably just a burn, but that can also be a cancer risk.

I remember when I was interested in yerba mate, that there was some research about tea/mate causing cancer. People who preferred to drink these beverages very hot were at greater risk. The heat damages cells in the mouth and throat, this increasing the potential development of cancer cells.

I would humbly suggest cutting down on the number of bowls a bit. Better to live to smoke another day, than to live without smoking.

Funny thing about the yerba mate: yes, the English page on the Whiskipedia says it's a cancer risk due to heat (if heat gave you cancer most coffee drinkers would be dropping like flies), yet the Spanish page says that yerba mate prevents tongue cancer due to the natural compounds in it. Whose science, or lack thereof, is correct? Enjoy your yerba, mate.

 

[alaskanpiper]

I'm gonna be honest, I smoke 6-10 bowls a day sometimes. If it's the weekend and I am at a bar that allows smoking, or on a campground, I can blast through so many bowls that I lose count. Did this on Friday and I woke up the next day with a white sore on my tongue. It's probably just a burn, but that can also be a cancer risk.

I remember when I was interested in yerba mate, that there was some research about tea/mate causing cancer. People who preferred to drink these beverages very hot were at greater risk. The heat damages cells in the mouth and throat, this increasing the potential development of cancer cells.

It’s amazing how many people are unaware of the significant role irritation of soft tissues plays in cancer risk, regardless of the presence of carcinogens. Great book that speaks to that a bit, and cancer in general called “The Emperor of All Maladies.” By Sidhartha Mukherjee. A very interesting and educational read.