Benefits of Cigarettes

Considering a risk/benefit comparison you'd be able to have all those smoking "benefits" as well as a ton of others if you just get 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day.

I've been a heavy smoker for almost 27 years and loved it. I just quit a month ago and I don't know how true the thread OP wrote in here is, all I know is that I've never felt so good in my life. I wake up in the morning in a great mood, during the day I feel liberated and clean and at night I go to bed the same. I already started to gain back my sense of smell and when I breath I feel like my lungs are filling up at full capacity. I still love to smoke but I've been cigarette free for almost a month and I intend to keep it that way. At this point I think counts more how you feel as a smoker or as a non smoker rather than what studies say. To each its own...

reply to post by Telos


Keep it up! I quit after 27 years and that was almost 13 years ago. My lungs are GREAT now! Oh, I also run everyday.

I don’t think anyone is trying to say that smoking is good for you and people should take it up because it has some benefits. The OP is just bringing to light that there are some benefits from it. I smoke it is my last vice. Tried to quit several times but it is just part of life now.

If it was made illegal I think I would quite fairly easy but I do not see that happening. Smoking raises some societal issues which fly in the face of reason. Such as doctor assisted suicide is illegal yet smoking is. Both shorten life yet it seems the amount of time it takes is what is judged to be moral. We have a gun debate going on in the states where the claim is the anti-gun establishment wants to preserve life yet you can buy a pack of smokes in any store and when you compare the statistics smoking kills more people in one year than may wars. It is all perspective I guess.

Originally posted by Telos
I've been a heavy smoker for almost 27 years and loved it. I just quit a month ago and I don't know how true the thread OP wrote in here is, all I know is that I've never felt so good in my life. I wake up in the morning in a great mood, during the day I feel liberated and clean and at night I go to bed the same. I already started to gain back my sense of smell and when I breath I feel like my lungs are filling up at full capacity. I still love to smoke but I've been cigarette free for almost a month and I intend to keep it that way. At this point I think counts more how you feel as a smoker or as a non smoker rather than what studies say. To each its own...

I quit smoking a few times... only for months though, never years...
My problem is driving. I always feel like I need to light one up for my drive to work or wherever.
I smoked for about 4 years prior to my military career... didn't hinder my PT run score at all.

But I'm sure in time... my lungs will not be as good

The negative effects of smoking outweigh the positive effects for everyone after ten cigarettes a day. I have read a lot of both sides of this. At less than five cigarettes a day, the positive effects considerably outweigh the negative effects in some people. As you smoke more you usually screw things up, smoke is an adjuvant which allows you to eat things or be around things you are allergic to. This causes the body to fight things better but can deplete the bodies chemicals used for fighting diseases and cancers. Moderation is the clue, trade off a little of the clear thinking for longer sustained forms of niacin or nicotinic acid. A tomato is a strong adjuvant also, it contains nicotinic acid also. The potato is the better choice for brain function but the problem there is that it also contains phytic acids which can cause mineral deficiencies if overconsumed. A combination of peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes along with a little smoke is better for overall preformance. Most plant based niacin is in the form of nicotinic acid while animal based is in the form of niacinomide. Some people can't break down niacinomide for various reasons but the plant based ones work fine.

Niacin is taken in through the area near the back of the tongue and there are nicotine receptors in the lungs also. Smokers become dependant on smoke and stay away from longer acting oral niacins many times. ADHD and Schizophrenia respond well to nicotine or any nitrogen compound as does any stray voltage in the brain. Niacins are nervines. Potatoes also contain solonine which can help control epilepsy if use is moderated. Energy bouncing all over the brain happens to people and they become forgetful or even irrational. Potatoes can help this but too much and granulitis can occur. They are a little inflamitory if too much is consumed. The head of the potato association ate nothing but potatoes for a couple of months and actually lost weight, this is because of the nicotinic acid in the potato. Overeating them is not good either but potatoes for breakfast will keep brain function up longer than a cigarette will.

There are many ways to control the stray voltage in the brain. I study pharmacudicals a lot to see what they contain. These companies profit extremely from us not knowing about foods and other things our ancestors used to know. Cravings can be hijacked. Pharma companies also give us pills that make us crave things. The method of their action is not known. The medicine man used to do that a lot also, knowing the result but not the action.

I am by no means trying to say smoking a pack a day is good for anyone, I am trying to steer people to find a way to curb their smoking actually. I understand some of the reasons why smoking keeps us from dying when exposed to anthrax. Something the military is very aware of.

Many of the good things in cigarettes are not from the nicotine itself, it is from other alkaloids. Good and bad from everything I guess. Organic cigarettes would be a lot better.

I roll and smoke additive free tobacco and have clear lungs and feel much better than when I was buying and smoking Marlboros.... I was diagnosed with chronic bronchitis 42 years ago and told I would be dead before I was 40 and I will be 63 in 19 days...I went in for my biannual check up with a new doctor at the VA clinic near by and he was surprised that my lungs were as clear or clearer than most nonsmokers... I smoke about 10 cigarettes a day, take numerous food supplements and vitamins and avoid processed foods, alcohol, have cut way back on sweets and many of my prescribed medications.... There are many products sold on the aisles of grocery markets that will do a person more harm than tobacco...Most of the people I have known that have died were due to liver failure due to alcohol use... I'm sure that HFCS being in so many food products and beverages has a lot to do with liver disease and many other illnesses that have become common in the last 40 years.... There are many things that will do you physical harm if you can't control impulses to overindulge and moderate the use and intake of them.

reply to post by wtbengineer


Yea, but keep in mind you're also 13yrs older. That could also have something to do with it. I was the only one in my family (2 siblings and parents) that have never smoked. They're all dead amd all with smoking related causes. I love the anecdotes of the 90yo grandparents that smoked their entire lives. It makes an interesting counterpoint to my vivid memories of my father slowly soffocating to death from emphysema. The panic he would endure every Tuesday as he waited for the oxygen delivery fearing they would be late and his supply would run out. Yea, great memories.

reply to post by jtma508


If you're referring to my brain not being as clear, that began the day I started going without cigarettes and just stayed with me. So I don't chalk it up to age.

My dad had emphysema too. He couldn't walk from one end of the room to the other without having to sit down and catch his breath. Aweful disease. He died of complications after a hip replacement surgery though. Unfortunately for him, it was a blood clot to the lungs and he suffocated anyway. Aweful...

Originally posted by xedocodex


I'm sure a study could find some positive benefit for using meth...that doesn't mean that everyone should use it because one or two positive things were found...because the negative effects are so much greater.

Actually there is, but they call it Desoxyn, it can be prescribed for ADHD/ADD.

reply to post by resoe26



As compared to the over 200 some known carcinogens that are in cigarettes and the majority of their known results i will pass. Havent ever smoked and dont plan on starting. haha

Hi OP, I checked out your source and it's heavily biased.

I checked some of the citations from your source, and it looks like they've just read the abstract and said # it, let's roll which is terrible.

The abstract is not the study, and while it is commonplace among the medical profession to read abstracts and base opinions on them, and it's commonplace among the general populace to base your opinions on the compilation of abstract based opinions presented by "scientists" I expected better of an ATS member.

I'm making a rant thread on this. I have absolutely nothing better to do with my "sleeping hours" so it seems like a good idea right now.

Originally posted by hypervigilant
I roll and smoke additive free tobacco and have clear lungs and feel much better than when I was buying and smoking Marlboros.... I was diagnosed with chronic bronchitis 42 years ago and told I would be dead before I was 40 and I will be 63 in 19 days...I went in for my biannual check up with a new doctor at the VA clinic near by and he was surprised that my lungs were as clear or clearer than most nonsmokers... I smoke about 10 cigarettes a day, take numerous food supplements and vitamins and avoid processed foods, alcohol, have cut way back on sweets and many of my prescribed medications....

For the past four years I too, have been making my own cigarettes with bulk tobacco and tubes. I wish I could say I only smoke 10 a day, but even at 4x that rate, the improvements in my health were noticeable just one week after making my own. FWIW, I had a 38-year addiction to menthol. I didn't ever think that could be overcome. But after trying hard for 6-months, I finally transitioned and now for the past year can't stand the taste of it.

As an aside, I had the occasion to be referred to a blood specialist six months ago. Not knowing anything about me prior to the initial consultation, he listened to my lungs and said, "Your lungs sound great! Don't smoke!" I couldn't help but laugh in his face! Prior to that, a few years ago I was in a CCU. An RN about 15-years my junior listened to my lungs and remarked that mine sounded better than hers.

Now, I must confess I've never really wanted to quit. And my reason for switching to MYO/RYO was more an act of defiance against gubmint taxation and intrusion....although financial factors played a part, too. But I can honestly say I have no regrets in switching for a variety of reasons, the main one being a big improvement in my pulmonary function. Yes, I do believe there are dire consequences for all those proprietary name brand smokes that you pay out the arse to smoke. That at least, is my lame defense when asked why I don't quit.... I'm inhaling 3,000 less chemicals, at less than a dollar a pack.

At this point, I do honestly have a desire to cut back to at least half of what I'm smoking. But will power just does not exist with me. I even tried Wellbutrin years ago and wound up smoking 4 packs a day!

Just a few days ago Natural News had an article related to natural methods of kicking the habit. Lobelia sounds promising, as nicotine gum and patches have never been very effective with me. And it's not expensive. So I'm going to buy a bottle of lobelia and will report back here should I be fortunate enough to gain some positive effects from it.

Lobelia contains 14 unique alkaloids including lobeline, which has been shown to stimulate the nerve cells that would normally respond to nicotine. This mode of action not only reduces nicotine cravings, but also minimizes the effect of nicotine when it is smoked, which has helped many people kick the habit. Learn more: www.naturalnews.com...

Isn't tobacco supposed to be good for Alzheimer's, too?

One thing it's NOT good for is long distance shooting. If you don't want to wabble all over the place, you have to leave the dip in the can. Coffee, too.

However, Copenhagen's great for studying, almost like taking Ritalin.

There's a very confounded study that will tell you taking up smoking a pipe will actually lengthen your life, but it's a horribly done study that leaves out the effect of pipe smokers being more intelligent and making better life choices in other areas.


Alas, I gave it all up long long ago when the kids came along. Quitting smoking wasn't so bad, giving up dip was god awful.

Of course there is one "benefit" that people don't usually want to think about. That is guys have better erections if they stop smoking. healthland.time.com...

Smokers are 1.5 to 2 times as likely to be impotent as nonsmokers.

www.livestrong.com...

Originally posted by midnightstar

... NIGHTSHADE family DEADLY POISION.

Atropa Belladonna

Atropa belladonna or Atropa bella-donna, commonly known as Belladonna or Deadly Nightshade, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Solanaceae

Hope you don't like tomatoes, peppers, potatoes or eggplant.
Those are related to deadly nightshade, and tobacco too.

Solanaceae

The family includes Datura, Mandragora (mandrake), Atropa belladonna (deadly nightshade), Lycium barbarum (wolfberry), Physalis philadelphica (tomatillo) , Physalis peruviana (Cape gooseberry flower), Capsicum (chili pepper, bell pepper), Solanum (potato, tomato, eggplant), Nicotiana (tobacco), and Petunia. ...