MSN.com article on the dangers of cigar smoking

[Gophernut]

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/...0277&gt1=31036

We all know that cigarettes have an image problem these days. You don’t see them very much in films anymore—even the villains seem to have kicked the habit. But when it comes to cigars, that’s not the case. Many people still think cigars are cool. The notion is helped by pictures of elegant men in tuxedos and a few famous women puffing away at their cigars—think of those much-circulated photos of Demi Moore and Madonna. Cigars even show up in films made for younger moviegoers. Iron Man, The Dark Knight, Quantum of Solace, and Wolverine all feature cigar-smoking.

Indeed, the American Cancer Society notes that cigars are especially popular today among adolescents and young adults. That includes all manner of cigars: hand- and machine-rolled, stogies and cigarillos.

Cigar smokers may think they’re taking less of a risk than cigarette smokers. That’s wrong, mostly. While it’s true that most cigar smokers do not inhale all the way, smoking cigars is linked to cancers that develop along the route the smoke travels—from the lips to the tongue and through the mouth and throat to the lungs.

Beyond that, smoking cigars has been shown to increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, bladder cancer, heart disease, and lung disease.

Secondhand cigar smoke poses another danger—even more so than with cigarettes. As the National Cancer Institute points out, cigars contain greater amounts of tobacco simply as a result of their bigger size. It also takes longer to puff your way through a cigar, meaning that the exposure time to toxic chemicals lasts longer.

Finally, because of the way cigars are wrapped, the smoke has higher concentrations of toxins and irritants than cigarettes. A Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology study found higher levels of the toxin carbon monoxide at two cigar social events in San Francisco than on a busy California freeway.

As for nicotine—the chemical that gets you hooked on smoking—cigars contain greater concentrations of it than cigarettes. For a large cigar, it can be up to 200 milligrams. That’s 23 times the amount of nicotine in a typical cigarette. The difference is that cigar smokers—most of whom don’t inhale smoke into their lungs—absorb the smoke through the lining of the mouth.

About a third of new teenage smokers start after being exposed to smoking in movies. Talk to your kids. Remind them that smoking cigars isn’t cool.

[NCRadioMan]

That is an editorial, passed off as "news". Typical of MSN. Blah blah blah..........

The only fact cited:

A Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology study found higher levels of the toxin carbon monoxide at two cigar social events in San Francisco than on a busy California freeway.

Big deal.

[MedicCook]

I will take my chances.

[Emjaysmash]

"About a third of new teenage smokers start after being exposed to smoking in movies. Talk to your kids. Remind them that smoking cigars isn’t cool. "

yes it is! :P LOL

Enjoy cigars and life as much as you can, so many things are bad for us.
Life is to short enjoy every minute of it!

[TheTraveler]

Originally Posted by NCRadioMan

That is an editorial, passed off as "news". Typical of MSN. Notice there are no facts cited. Blah blah blah..........

The only fact cited:

A Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology study found higher levels of the toxin carbon monoxide at two cigar social events in San Francisco than on a busy California freeway.

Big deal.

I wonder how much actual NEWS we are exposed to each day through traditional outlets.

[poker]

Tomorrow there will be a "The dangers of sitting down" in its place. lol

[mikeyj23]

Written by a three-year veteran who graduated from the Georgetown University School of Medicine. She's largely unpublished and looking to get articles (scholarly or non) out there.

I have yet to see the article supporting these kinds of statements:
"...smoking cigars has been shown to increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, bladder cancer, heart disease, and lung disease."

"Finally, because of the way cigars are wrapped, the smoke has higher concentrations of toxins and irritants than cigarettes."

And this just doesn't make sense...
"While it’s true that most cigar smokers do not inhale all the way, smoking cigars is linked to cancers that develop along the route the smoke travels—from the lips to the tongue and through the mouth and throat to the lungs."

I can appreciate that this is just a non-scholarly article written in a magazine, but I still wish that it would have some support for its claims. If there is a scholarly article or research showing that cigars increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, bladder cancer, heart disease, and lung disease, and cigar smoke has higher concentrations of toxins and irritants than cigarettes, I'd very much like to see it.

[ActionAndy]

That line at the end is so stupid. Remind them that it isn't cool...

First off, first off buddy, nothing is "cool." "Cool" is an idiot's concept. That's what I'll be teaching my (probably accidental) child. Second, it's a completely biased opinion and has nothing to do with the article.

I could write an article on how snowboarding results in X amount of accidents per year with Y percentage of those accidents leading to severe injury. Would I be right to then end it with one pussilanimous sentence about reminding your kids that they're "uncool" if they snowboard? No, I'd be a fool and I'd get fired.

There's a cancer in mainstream "journalism." The piece cannot simply persuade or present, it must enflame. Take a look at all the talking heads: do they want you to agree with them, or do they really just want you angry at their enemy?

[Fishbeadtwo]

Maybe someone should tell the author that writing bogus, opinionated articles about cigar smoking "isn't cool"............

[marge796]

Originally Posted by Smoking Cave Out

Enjoy cigars and life as much as you can, so many things are bad for us.
Life is to short enjoy every minute of it!

^^^ I Agree ^^^





Chris.....

Originally Posted by Gophernut

About a third of new teenage smokers start after being exposed to smoking in movies. Talk to your kids. Remind them that smoking cigars isn’t cool.

This is the same dangerous train of thought that results in video games being blamed for violence and The Beatles being responsible for the Manson Family murders. There is no rationale and there is no common link.

"Hey, your kid is shooting meth a half dozen times a day."

"Oh, that's ok. At least he's not smoking cigars."

Kind of reminds me of an e-mail I just got containing the following newspaper clipping.....

"To all you hunters who kill animals for food, shame on you; you ought to go to the store and buy the meat that was made there, where no animals were harmed."


Just makes me wonder.....if ignorance is bliss, why are there so many unhappy people? /rant

[King James]

There is also a study about the dangers of 3rd hand smoke out there....and it is (of course) just as dangerous as second hand

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/03/he...h/03smoke.html

This fact just in......1 out of 1 human beings will die at least once. The truth is that something is going to kill you...be it cancer, heart disease, car crash, lightning strike, etc. I choose to not live my life in fear of death. I will enjoy to the fullest every minute God allows me to live on this earth.

[GreekGodX]

Enjoy life and don't worry about things being "bad" for you. Do what you like. Life is too short to worry so much.

[trader1974]

I figure that I'm going out one way or another, I'd rather go out smokin' a cigar!

Everytime I see articles like that, I turn into Charlie Brown trying to listen to the teacher

"WAH WAAH WAH WAAH WAAH WAA"

[TriStar]

Originally Posted by Smoking Cave Out

Enjoy cigars and life as much as you can, so many things are bad for us.
Life is to short enjoy every minute of it!

Originally Posted by GreekGodX

Enjoy life and don't worry about things being "bad" for you. Do what you like. Life is too short to worry so much.

[M1903A1]

Originally Posted by SchizoFilly

Kind of reminds me of an e-mail I just got containing the following newspaper clipping.....

"To all you hunters who kill animals for food, shame on you; you ought to go to the store and buy the meat that was made there, where no animals were harmed."

I'd like to light up a CC and ask that author to explain how meat is made in a store!

[icehog3]

Frankly, I will take the slightly heightened cancer risk associated with cigar smoking. The stress relief it gives me reduces my risk of my head exploding, so I feel I will live longer smoking cigars than I would if I did not.