Additives in cigarettes page 3

[zilog]

to inject some science into this thread then, here are the results of an approx 20 yr study amongst UK men who sound of a similar age to OP. (Note: I don't think it specifies if any of them inhale the smoke; I think we must assume that some do, some don't)

Pipe and cigar smoking and major cardiovascular events, cancer incidence and all-cause mortality in middle-aged British men

Here are the conclusions:


Pipe/cigar smokers have significantly higher risk of coronary heart disease and stroke events than never smokers.

Cardiovascular, non-cardiovascular, and all-cause mortality are significantly higher in pipe/cigar smokers than never smokers.

Pipe/cigar smokers have significantly increased risk of smoking-related cancer, largely due to lung cancer.

Pipe/cigar smoking health effects are intermediate between never smokers and light smokers; lung cancer risk is similar to light cigarette smoking.

All forms of tobacco smoking are hazardous to health.


I think OP has been beat up enough in this thread so I'm not going to add anything personally. I'd say the answer was pretty clear cut though.

[texas.grok]

Thanks Zilog, excellent article.

This part of it:

In these middle-aged British men, both primary and secondary pipe/cigar smokers experienced an increased risk of major cardiovascular events, cancer incidence, and all-cause mortality compared with never smokers, at a level similar to current light smokers. These findings supplement published data indicating that all tobacco smoking, not just cigarette smoking, should be regarded as hazardous to health.

Makes perfect sense. I can see that pipe and cigar smokers would have a similar mortality rate to light cigarette smokers. It is much easier to jump outside for a quick cigarette than to put together a bowl full of tobacco in a pipe, get outside, light it, tamp it, relight it, retamp it, etc for a few minutes of smoking. It is just more trouble than it is worth and I usually reserve my pipe smoking to relaxation time in the evenings. For cigar smokers, if you like large cigars, those are not a 10 minute thing but upwards of 2 hours. Again, usually reserved for relaxation time.

Thanks again.