Great Health Article about Pipe Smoking from a Doctor

[Slow Triathlete]

Saw this on another board and thought that I would share it with everyone:

http://www.meerschaumstore.com/health.htm

Most of us already knew this.

[dinoa2]

nice article, now is there anyone about the risks-benefits of cigars ?

[koolhandk]

Great article Scott!

[Slow Triathlete]

Originally Posted by dinoa2

nice article, now is there anyone about the risks-benefits of cigars ?

Most of what I've read says that they are no way as bad as cigarettes but it also depends on how many you smoke.

[Slow Triathlete]

My wife just pointed out that one of the studies was done in 1979, which is almost 30 years ago.

My response was that there were a lot more people smoking pipes back then than there are today.

[eggwhites]

Interesting find. Good read, too.

[Panther]

Originally Posted by dinoa2

nice article, now is there anyone about the risks-benefits of cigars ?

George Burns had a cigar hanging out of his mouth every time I saw him-He passed on a few years back-at 100 years old!!

[Pipe Organist]

I've got a pesky benign nasal polyp and am seeing an ENT tomorrow to evaluate the benefits of having it removed, which prompted me to search this great forum for info/input on the subject.

I've oft thought that pipe/cigar smoking really has never been evaluated for the same level of risks that cigarettes pose, but always thought that the risks and stats have never significantly supported a panic over the risks as ciggies do.

I'll only add that my grandfather was a "chain" pipe smoker for many years beginning in his teens, and it was only in the last year of his life (age 85 I think) that a doctor spotted a small, suspicious growth on his lip that gave him concern. He told my grandfather to stop smoking, which he did for about 2 weeks. He was miserable, moody and unhappy. He resumed smoking and said, "I'm 85. If I'm going to go, I'll go happy."

It would appear that statistically from this article that the risk increases for those who 1) smoke more than 3 or 4 bowlfulls a day and 2) who inhale (!!!).

I'll wait to see what the ENT says, but I've yet to have a doctor say, "you must quit smoking." In fact, often when I tell the nurse or whoever is doing the intake that I'm a pipe/cigar smoker, they get it wrong and just indicate "yes" on the questionnaire about smoking. The immediate assumption is that I'm a cigarette smoker. When I say it's a pipe I smoke, they blow it off . . . pardon the pun.

I'll sooner buy the idea that it's a great comfort, a consoler and a tool for quiet enjoyment rather than a habit, and that the benefits (psychologically) far outweigh the dangers.

On the other hand, he may tell me I have to quit for a while before and after the surgery.

[DubintheDam]

Pipe smoking is NOT good for your health and I don't need to read research to tell me this. I will live with the consequence and die with my pipe albeit a few years sooner perhaps.