New Surgeon General report on smoking

[Greg Bernhardt]

Nothing surprising, but worth repeating. 480k Americans die each year from smoking related illness. Stop smoking!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...552c90-7eb5-11e3-95c6-0a7aa80874bc_story.html

Smoking is a cause of liver cancer and colorectal cancer, the fourth-most-diagnosed form of the disease in the United States, Acting Surgeon General Boris D. Lushniak found in a report released Friday. In addition, he said, smoking is a cause of Type 2 diabetes mellitus, age-related macular degeneration, erectile dysfunction and rheumatoid arthritis. It can impair the immune system, worsen asthma and cause cleft lips and palates in fetuses. And exposure to secondhand smoke can cause strokes.

Smokers today have a much higher risk of developing lung cancers than did smokers in the 1960s, probably because of changes in the design and composition of cigarettes over time, according to the findings.

 

[Evo]

When my girls were young I let them take puffs of cigarettes, hurt like hell. I told them that putting anything on fire into your mouth and inhaling the smoke was crazy, they agreed. They never smoked, that convinced them. Best way is to get them when they're young and show them how stupid and painful it is.

That's what my mother did when I was 12 and curios, she let me inhale a cigarette. Thought I was going to die it hurt so much, along with a video on tv showing cilia dying, scared the life out of me.

 

[strangerep]

That's what my mother did when I was 12 and curios, she let me inhale a cigarette.

Hah, I smoked a whole pack when I was around 12 (without parental permission -- that was back in the day when unscrupulous shop keepers would sell cigarettes to anyone). Anyway, I got really sick, and that convinced me I could live without it.

Later, in my first job, the employer handed out packs of cigarettes as part of the "treats" at the Xmas party, , so I thought "oh well, they're free so I'll smoke a few of mine". But the first one was so horrible that I gave the rest away to the existing addicts. It all seems like a ridiculously surreal movie now.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Not sure what the situation is like in the states but in the UK e-cigarettes are gaining popularity astonishingly fast. At the start of 2013 most people hadn't heard of them but by the end you now regularly see them in pubs and other places. Hopefully a sign that smoking numbers will drop even faster.

 

[lisab]

Not sure what the situation is like in the states but in the UK e-cigarettes are gaining popularity astonishingly fast. At the start of 2013 most people hadn't heard of them but by the end you now regularly see them in pubs and other places. Hopefully a sign that smoking numbers will drop even faster.

Yes, they are extremely popular among the hipster crowd where I live.

While they don't have the smoke that is so damaging to lungs, they still have nicotine, which is addictive.

The sentence above is enough to keep me away from them, but it's used as a selling point by e-cig sellers.

 

[Flatland]

The nicotine in e-cigarettes can still give you lung cancer.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

The nicotine in e-cigarettes can still give you lung cancer.

Statements like this should be clarified. Whilst there are some animal studies suggesting nicotine is a carcinogen it isn't currently regarded as one on its own.

 

[Pythagorean]

The harmful part of smoking cigarettes is benzene, I believe. Which is eliminated with e-cigarettes. No idea what the effects of glycerin are though.

edit: Hmm, maybe it's actually Benzo(a)pyrene.

 

[Monique]

I don't think the health effects of e-cigarettes (or vaporized nicotine) have been shown.

 

[Evo]

I don't think the health effects of e-cigarettes (or vaporized nicotine) have been shown.

I believe that you are right, the latest I've seen said that long term effects are not yet known, but that they contain much less pollutants than real cigarettes, so it's a definite improvement.

 

[dlgoff]

... so it's a definite improvement.

I've heard of other types of oils used in e-cigarettes. These make me want to start smoking again, NOT.

http://www.provape.com/premium-ecigarette-liquid-s/44.htm#

 

[AlephZero]

There have been some reports about "passive e-smoking" in the UK news recently - for example whether they should be included in the ban on smoking at work and in enclosed public places. Also they are not covered by the age restrictions on buying tobacco.

The British Medical Association has referenced an FDA report finding 1% diethylene glycol (toxic) in one cartridge of a leading brand, tobacco-specific nitrosamines (carcinogenic) in half the samples analyzed, plus tobacco-specific impurities considered harmful in the majority of samples.

https://bma.org.uk/-/media/Files/PDFs/Working%2520for%2520change/Improving%2520health/tobaccoecigarettespublicplaces_jan2013.pdf

 

[edward]

I have been wondering when the big tobacco companies will jump full force into the E cigarette market. It seems that they have already started.

The big tobacco companies are now all active in the electronic business, with Lorillard, maker of the Newport cigarette brand, owning blu, the e-cigarette market leader. Reynolds, which makes Camel among others, is pushing its own Vuse brand, while Malboro makers AltriaMO +1.70% and Philip Morris InternationalPM +2.74% have joined forces in a licensing deal to market each other’s next-generation products.

http://blogs.wsj.com/corporate-intelligence/2014/02/03/more-e-cigarettes-in-the-hands-of-big-tobacco/It looks like nothing is safe.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, along with researchers at the University of Michigan and South Carolina State, certain types of candles have been found to discharge the dangerous chemicals benzene and ketones, both known cancer-causing agents.

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/national/can-burning-candles-make-you-sick-university-studies-scrutinize-possible-release-of-toxic-fumes#ixzz2sh3NblkW

Even an E cigarette device can start a fire if the battery is overcharged.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/e-cigarette-starts-fire-idaho-house-article-1.1507833

If big tobacco is in the E cigarette business I don't think that they will ever be banned. Four former Marlboro men have died from smoking related causes and people are still puffing.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-marlboro-men-20140127,0,5415405.story#axzz2sh64rAyz

At this point I would rather ride in a vehicle with someone who is smoking an E cigarette.

 

[.Scott]

Nothing surprising, but worth repeating. 480k Americans die each year from smoking related illness.

Inhaling the concentrated fumes from a smoldering weed is harmful?? Who would have thought?
I always thought those messages on the side of the cigarette packs were interesting. They are placed there on the theory that there exists at least one person who is smart enough to read, but not smart enough to already know it must be harmful.

 

[Pythagorean]

In Canada, they put pictures of the actual damage on real (I think) organs on the biggest surface of the cigarette box.

edit: here we are, delicious!

http://media.canada.com/reuters/OLCACOUNTRY_iptc/2008-06-09T113637Z_01_NOOTR_RTRIDSP_2_CANADA-CIGARETTES-COL.jpg

 

[Frollons]

In Canada, they put pictures of the actual damage on real (I think) organs on the biggest surface of the cigarette box.

edit: here we are, delicious!

http://media.canada.com/reuters/OLCACOUNTRY_iptc/2008-06-09T113637Z_01_NOOTR_RTRIDSP_2_CANADA-CIGARETTES-COL.jpg

There has been e-smokers whom have stepped forward in protest of the mislabeling, there has been medical issues after people e-smoking for 1 to 2 years.