Smoke is hazardous to your health

[SkepticLance]

We all know that smoking tobacco has serious health hazards, including increased risk of lung cancer, strokes, and heart attack.

 

People are not quite so aware that other forms of smoke also carry health risks.

 

For example : incense

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1467409.stm

 

"Burning incense, popular in places of worship and in people's homes, could be a cancer risk.

Researchers in Taiwan found that the smoke produced by burning incense is laden with cancer-causing chemicals."

 

Example two : cancer of the stomach and smoked meat

 

http://www.purlife.com/Stomach.htm

 

"The people in Iceland eat a lot of smoked fish and smoked meat. Investigating 1,600 deaths caused by stomach cancer, the highest incidence correlated with the consumption of smoked meat. The carcinogen in smoked meat is called 3-4 benzopyrine. The amount of this carcinogen in 1 lb of smoked mutton equals that in 250 cigarettes."

 

Example three : marijuana

 

http://www.coolnurse.com/marijuana.htm

 

"One thing to keep in mind, is that marijuana smokers tend to inhale more deeply and keep the smoke in their lungs for a longer period of time than tobacco smokers do. And if you smoke both -- obviously, more chemicals are being inhaled. Burning marijuana when smoking releases many other substances than THC. THC does not appear to be carcinogenic (cancer-causing), but some of the other chemicals released by smoking are poisonous. These include tar, carbon monoxide, and cyanide. One known carcinogen, benzopyrene, found in both types of smoke, seems to be greater in marijuana smoke. Another problem with marijuana is that it is almost always smoked without a filter. Using one would cut down on the amount of these chemicals. Consuming pot through a water pipe -- or bong -- would eliminate some of the byproducts of smoking. Currently, it does appear that pot smokers may run an increased risk of cancer, as well as other health problems listed above. "

 

Example four : Eye and lung disease in third world countries from indoor cooking fires.

 

http://burningissues.org/pdfs/cr-2003-10-smoketestresults.pdf

 

"Pollutants found in smoke from indoor cooking fires are a major contributing

factor to eye and lung diseases in developing countries, causing an estimated

2 million deaths every year."

 

Would I be correct to generalise that tobacco smoke is only one case in a wider general health hazard - smoke from all sources - and that, when it enters lungs or the digestive tract, the degree of harm is probably more a question of dose than which type of smoke?

[John Cuthber]

Well, all smoke is bad for you, but tobacco is the only one that people generally inhale deliberately. It's also the only one with high nicotine levels which are bad for you in addition to the problems due to the smoke and, of course, the nicotine is addictive too.

[insane_alien]

inhaling any particulate is usually considered a bad thing.

 

the reason tobacco smoke is given more lime light is because it is the most common form of smoke inhalation and it is completely voluntary(except in second hand smoke but this poses a minor risk compared to someone sucking it down directly).

[iNow]

Exactly. Even people who use their grills are more likely to develop cancer than those who do not.

 

 

Here's a great link about cigarette smoking speicifically, with a lot of good data and numbers, as well as useful resources to use in your quest for knowledge (and/or assistance):

 

 

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2x_Questions_About_Smoking_Tobacco_and_Health.asp

 

Cigarette smoke is a complex mixture of chemicals produced by the burning of tobacco and the additives. The smoke contains tar, which is made up of more than 4,000 chemicals, including over 60 known to cause cancer. Some of these substances cause heart and lung diseases, and all of them can be deadly. You might be surprised to know some of the chemicals found in cigarette smoke. They include:

 

• cyanide
  
• benzene
  
• formaldehyde
  
• methanol (wood alcohol)
  
• acetylene (the fuel used in welding torches)
  
• ammonia

 

Cigarette smoke also contains the poisonous gases nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide. The active ingredient that produces the effect people are looking for is nicotine, an addictive drug.

[waitforufo]

Smoking Tobacco: Prohibit governments from taxing this product or receiving funds through lawsuits against tobacco producers and this product would be banned almost immediately. The hypocrisy of governments condemning the tobacco industry never ceases to amaze me.

 

Tobacco consumers are addicts. They look for any reason not to quit. I don't think it was the intention of skepticlance in creating this forum topic, but I have heard tobacco addicts make arguments like "well you can get cancer from eating smoked or grilled foods, so why should I quit smoking?" Answer: You need to stop listening to the little nicotine addict in your head.

 

Incense: In these modern times, do living or gathering spaces really smell that bad that incense is necessary? Same thing with air fresheners and Potpourri. Large gatherings of people before air conditioning, bathing, and deodorant were common perhaps, but today?

 

Smoked or grilled food: One, it tastes so good. Two, most people don't eat it in large concentrations or often. All things in moderation.

 

Marijuana: Good times or bad, people have always wanted to get high. This one seems less harmful then most. Personally, I think it would be best to find other ways of dealing with stress, but if it makes you an easier person to deal with in public please don't stop.

 

Cooking: All cooking produces smoke. Yes it's worse if you use wood, coal, or dung indoors but even cooking with electricity produces smoke. Not cooking food would kill more people. By the way it was not that long ago that the first world used wood and coal indoors to cook food.

[SkepticLance]

My own feeling is that the reason tobacco is so bad is simply dose. When the cigarette smoker sucks on the fag, it sends a massive amount of smoke, all concentrated into the smoker's lungs. A cooking fire sends most of its smoke into the atmosphere rather than into lungs, so causes less harm. Do you think this sounds about right?

 

Marijuana is usually smoked with fewer joints than tobacco cigarettes. A nicotine addict will inhale the smoke from 20 to 40 fags a day, which the number of joints smoked is way less. Thus less cancer from joints. It is not that joints are safer - just fewer smoked.

[thedarkshade]

A very good thread Lance.

 

We all agree that smoking does you bad, quite bad, and ironically smokers do too. I mean, my dad has been a smoker for all this life (for about 35 yrs) and he regularly smokes about 2 packs a day. That's too damn worrying. I really care about him and many many times I've told him about the risk of smoking, and he just won't quit it. He says 'I perfectly understand that it's too bad, but I just can't give it up kid, it's not that easy!'. This makes me annoyed. He once tried to give it up for a week, but it's interesting to note that he used to become angry very fast during that week. He didn't manage to give it up. The irony here is that smokers itself do understand the damages that smoking causes but they just won't give it up. Indeed stupidity is infinite.

 

Then also there is very little awareness in schools about the negative effects of smoking. I finished my primary school, my secondary school and now I'm on uni and yet there is not A SINGLE case when some NGO or any kind of group came to our school and talk, just talk about the bad effects of smoking. How could is be expected then from out youth not to be smokers. This is complete irony and it's totally our government's fault! They are just so not interested!