What do you think?  Is smoking 7 pks of cigarettes worse than twenty drinks (in a weeks span)?
825316
"Moderate drinking" = 2 drinks a day = 14 drinks in a week.  So 21 equals one drink above this rate, which most doctors would say is not quite healthy....but...\n\nEven one pack of cigarettes a week is just plain bad.  There are some benefits associated with moderate drinking....there are NO benefits associated with smoking.
259962
Actually, it is better for you. It is all natural so it isn't going to put nicotine and all that other crap in your body. It also helps you relax. It basically has the same effects as alcohol except for you don't become violent.
903970
Yes and no!! Yes because we know they are not REALLY concerned for our health!  No because,as smokers,we KNOW the tax we have to pay,but we CHOOSE to pay it!! So ask yourself,who are the real mugs?? I know I am! The budget is due shortly,yet another increase....................\nmoan......moan........moan!!!!!!\n      *********Just a note************\n As Alchohol levels reach record high, misuse among all age groups is estimated to cost the NHS pounds 1.7bn a year. !!!!\nSo smokers are NOT the only ones!!!!!! How many of you on here, condeming smokers, drink?????????? Hypocritical???????
862155
John above there is quite right - a little can become a lot!\n\nThis is true of everything.  Are you the kind of person who "can't eat just one" potato chip?  If so, watch out!  It can escalate.  Now, I think a black 'n mild is a little cigar...which you don't inhale.  cigars and pipes are safeR than cigarettes but can still lead to oral cancer.  This is like condoms are safeR than unprotected sex\n\n(sidebar: ....you could have one break and there's evidence people can tranmit  condyloma (genital warts!) while wearing a condom, so it's all relative!)\n\nAll that said, I think IF you smoke a little cigar once a month, (and don't go to cigarettes or crack or something else, and don't go to 3x/day) the overwhelming ODDS are that something ELSE will kill you before those cigars.  Heart disease, an unrelated cancer, a bus......  I may go to Dentist Hell for saying that, but it's the same w/ many things..unless you're talking about a SUPER addictive drug (crack, heroin, meth) a little here and there PROBABLY won't kill you.  I, for one, still drink Coke now and then and don't always remember to floss, so....\n\nBut exercise, gum, yoga are all better.  yay!
158897
that is very relative. I know a person who's lived for over 90 years smoking 2 packs of "PielRoja" ("redskin", unfiltered cheap colombian ciggies) since age 24. and there's plenty of factors: if you don't have the precise protooncogene, you could never develop cancer even smoking 2 packs a day. \n\nthen again, people can live with an emphysema for long, stuck to an o2 tank all their lives. you could develop Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (I think this is the exact translation), live with an annoying bronchitis for decades. ruin your skin and teeth and get to age 80 looking like shit.\n\nwhat's the point? it's not a matter of quantity of life but quality of life.\n\nanyway, from an unorthodox point of view (having discussed this with a few teachers of mine), they'd say a ciggie a day is no big deal (but if you have the protooncogene I won't be responsible).
58217
It isn't bad, that is a social stigma brought about cuz the ppl that usually drink in the morning are considered alcholics. BUT if you are a permenent night shift worker, drinking in the morning would be fine since you are jsut getting of of work.
196248
Drinking doesn't directly cause harm to anyone else. True, over indulgence can cause people to make irrational decisions which can be harmful or even deadly, but smoking is ALWAYS dangerous. I have had breathing issues since I was a baby and being around cigarette smoke greatly aggravates that. It's not fair for other peoples health to be constantly compromised because of other's addictions.
266021
I haven't seen any studies, but I suspect that light smoking, like any other vice, is not that harmful to you. The figures about how every cigarette shortens your life by such-and-such time is based on the average lifespan of fairly heavy lifetime smokers compared to lifetime non-smokers. It's kind of like the average lifespan of a lifetime non-drinker vs. someone who's putting away a fifth of Jack Daniels every day. Light, infrequent drinking probably doesn't have a single negative effect on one's health. The biggest danger is that light smoking often leads to heavy smoking, where there are significant health risks.
571064
BRAVO.. 7 days sure thing you're lungs are already starting to clear... drink LOTS of water to help your body kick the toxins faster I've heard walking everyday helps too.  Give it 2 more weeks and the nicotine will be completely out of your system.  \nHere's some sites that have more info...  \nKEEP IT UP!!!
1027328
Absolute bull.  Smoking is 100% harmful to everyone who comes into contact with the smoke, be it the smoker or passive smoker.  Normal drinking is nowhere near this, wine is not harmful and neither is lager when drunk sensibly which most people do, and if one man decides to drink himself silly he won't give the guy sitting next to him liver problems.  The cost to the nation is in the health care system, man hours lost through fag breaks (does a non-smoker get one?  No!), people smoking while driving causing accidents, or smoking in bed etc (burn their house down, killing their children in the process).  Drunken louts are a problem but in general I think smoking costs the nation much more.
93835
"Ripe"?  Few who smoke all their lives are amongst those not affected, so I wouldn't bet my life to be amongst one of those few.  There is no answer as to why some do not appear to be affected, but over the years I have seen my share...who smoke, drink more than occassionally and eat all the wrong stuff every day of their lives....and live to be older than the hills...so to speak.  The luck of the draw I guess...strong genes, great outlook on life....they have been some of my "funner" patients, even when sick!  Go figure!
937935
I'm not sure of the addiction probability, but I read that hooka is worse for you than cigarettes.  Sorry, I can't remember the source other than that it was a respected magazine.
511689
Last week, I threw a cigarette but on the floor, but I've stopped doing it for good because a woman in my hme twon was recently fined £70/$130 for throwing a "cheesy wotsit" crisp out of her car window!\n\nThis is a picture of a packet of cheesy wotsit for those not living in England!\n\nhttp://walkers.corpex.com/cr15p5/products.asp?snacktypeid=40
532498
That depends if you are in a smoke-filled bar doing your drinking. Studies have shown an increased risk of liver and/or esophageal cancer in heavy drinkers. Never heard of lung cancer, though.
1092829
I think they are both bad....smoking destroys your lungs. Alcohol destroys your liver...stomach and brain. Alcohol killed my mom. What makes Alcohol dangerous is that the disease of alcoholism can be passed down through the generations. I am a recovering alcoholic. My moms brother is an alcoholic. My grandfather was. There is no disease of smoking that passes down through the family trees....but smoking does kill people.
3147
alcohol is a personal decision+effect and smoking affects more the enviroment than the smoker+can corrupe by this way others to start smoking.
714462
Studies have shown that smokers may be prone to cancer and other respiratory ailments. As for heavy alcohol, I'm not sure. But if you mean to consume alcohol heavily, then you are making yourself more likely to develop other health issues.