CNN/Reuters: Light smoking triples health risks

[DeepModem Mom]

Light smoking triples health risks
Thursday, September 22, 2005


LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Smokers who believe a few cigarettes a day do not do any harm will need to think again.

Norwegian scientists who studied the health records of 43,000 men and women have shown that even light smoking -- less than five cigarettes daily -- triples the risk of dying of heart disease or lung cancer.

"In both sexes, smoking 1-4 cigarettes per day was associated with a significantly higher risk of dying from ischaemic heart disease and from all causes, and from lung cancer in women," said Dr Aage Tverdal of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo.

The study was published in the journal Tobacco Control....


http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/09/22/smoking.risks.reut/index.html

[tainowarrior]

1. people...

just DON'T SMOKE!

Don't do cocaine, don't do smoking, don't drive drunk, don't jump off buildings, don't go into a cage with a lion, don't swim near sharks, and don't go into a warzone.

Is it that hard to understand what you need to do for self-survival?

[ret5hd]

2. what about talking on cell-phones while driving?

[Straight Shooter]

3. What about voting Republican?

That's really high on the anti-survival scale.

[DeepModem Mom]

4. Good point! nt

[vptpt]

6. Something I've noticed here on campus

People can't walk and talk on the cell phone either.

[tainowarrior]

9. wasn't there a study?

wasnt there a study that discounted that cellphone use would hurt you?

[ret5hd]

11. there wwas a study that said...

driving while talking on a cellphone was just as dangerous as driving drunk.

as to the actual risk of cellphone use alone, i don't think there's any risk...other than the dirty looks i'll give you if your phone rings more than once during a movie i paid to see or a nice dinner i paid to eat.

[tainowarrior]

12. yes...

but what if I was an incredibly attractive person to you. Would you give me a dirty look? :)

[ret5hd]

15. i'm not sure, but i might offer you a cigarette...

a martini, and a short but fast ride on a motorcycle...and something tells me none of those things would appeal to you.

}(

[tainowarrior]

16. no,

cause I'm a guy. Wave a bra in my face, or do the plaid-skirt schoolgirl look, and I might bat an eye or two. }(

[sui generis]

5. I unnerstand the warzone part

but all that other stuff is fun when done in moderation.

Let's not, ski, scuba dive, drive over the speed limit, ever, anywhere, get less than 8 hours of sleep, get more than 8 hours of sleep, eat too much, eat too little, eat the wrong thing, think stressful thoughts, experience any form of depression or anxiety, drink alcohol, avoid alcohol, eat carbs, avoid carbs, eat fruit, avoid fruit, take a daily aspirin, avoid a daily aspirin, forget to scrub behind the toilet daily, ride in airplanes, use cellphones too much, wear a headset, forget to brush our teeth after every meal, yadda yadda.

And when you get to the end of your marginally longer life you will be able to say, holy fuck that was boring.

[Demit]

10. Yes. You must avoid ALL risk-taking behaviors!!!!!!

That way, you'll never die of anything!!!!!! People who do everything right never die, didn't you know?

[northzax]

13. even a warzone can be needed

if you are a relief worker, or a medic, for instance.

but there is something to be said for having memories to warm your soul when the light dims at the end of things..

[Zynx]

19. Driving drunk is fun?!

I'm sorry, but that is not amusing in the least. Driving drunk is one of the most socially irresponsible behaviors I can think of. When I think of all of the people who died in my area alone because they drove drunk/on drugs I want you to look those kids' parents in the face and say "No big deal, they were just having fun."

You don't need to smoke, snort cocaine, or kill people by driving drunk to "have fun" in life. If you do, there is something mentally wrong with you. I personally think that just going to a driving range and hitting a bucket of golf balls or watching a movie at home or with friends is plenty of fun.

[Danmel]

24. And don't jump onto moving SUVs

We actually got a letter today from my daughter's high school telling us to instruct our children not to try to jump onto moving vehicles!

Seems some stupid kid on Long Island tried to jump onto his friends EXCURSION and got crushed under it. It is truly amazing how stupid some kids are but I showed the letter to my daughter and she just rolled her eyes.

[Ian David]

7. Give free cigarettes to Republicans.

Ask the tobacco companies to sponsor events and fundamentalist evangelical churches.

For example, "Camel Cigarette Presents: Handling Poisonous Serpents."

[ElectroPrincess]

8. OK, save money and buy a whole carton instead? :P

[TroglodyteScholar]

14. Augh

Well there goes the pride I was feeling over being down to 4 cigs a day (from a pack and a half). My ultimate goal is to quit, and I guess this is just further incentive.

[K8-EEE]

17. Wow I Was Thinking, Who Smokes 4 or 5?

I myself was never able to "cut down" before I quit totally...a couple of times I found myself at a 24 hour market at three in the morning when my self imposed "ration" ran out. I smoked an average of 12 a day when I quit but it just would have escalated.

I'm 45 now and I quit on my 25th birthday, after being horrified at seeing an old lady put her cigarette out in her eggs, for some reason that just rang a bell for me, that if I didn't quit young I'd just be an old hacking phlemy smoker! Def a vanity decision but the best birthday present I ever gave myself. Good luck to you!

[daleo]

20. Not smoking at all is best, of course, but cutting down still helps

"They found very little difference in the risk of dying from cancer, apart from lung cancer. Men who were light smokers were about three times more likely to die of lung cancer than non-smokers."

I believe the probability of dying of lung cancer is about 1% or so for non-smokers, vs about 12 percent for heavy smokers. So, according to this research light smoking would be about 3 percent, which is still a lot better than 12.

Sometimes I think there is an over-emphasis on the "just say no" mentality, which may cause some people to not bother reducing risk at all. Sometimes the perfect is the enemy of the good, as the French say.

I think most people who cut down to a few a day end up quitting after a while, anyway.

[DeepModem Mom]

21. That's an amazing accomplishment, CGA -- keep on...

keepin' on. You're doing great!

[Baclava]

18. Good thing I'm a heavy smoker

...of course, I don't inhale.

[ElectroPrincess]

22. Yeah, and since Alzheimer's and Parkinson's runs in my family ...

I'll be happy to forgo those body healthy years while I'm mentally checked out ... yep, those years of drooling all over myself - the Depends years. LOL Smoke um if you got um! <eg>

None of us get out of this life alive and I only blame myself for my vices. "And smoking eases tension." Sorry, the camel in sunglasses told me to say that... LOL

[Baclava]

23. All those years of drinking beer outta aluminium cans will get me

I'm doomed...and I wanted to live forever too...oh well...
I never thought I'd make it past 30...so, it's all gravy now.