What of Tobacco?
The King Prawn ·
November 9, 2011 at 4:58pm
Even some hardcore libertarian types have succumbed to the idea that cigarettes are the devil, but what of the tobacco that helped create this nation? Is there still a taste in this nation for the joy of a good cigar or a pipe filled with some good Virginia leaf? Is smoking for pleasure rather than to avoid withdrawals seen as too high brow or snobbish?
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Comments:
May '11
Re: What of Tobacco?
I don't care if you smoke. Please don't exhale.
May '11
Re: What of Tobacco?
Smoking a pipe doesn't make you a snob. If you wear a tweed jacket with elbow patches while smoking a pipe that makes you a snob.
Apr '11
Re: What of Tobacco?
The problem with tobacco is that the smoking or chewing of it has very clear health consequences. I can't comment on the taste too much but for the most part it has struck me as rather unpleasant, so I fail to see the pleasure in it. If it makes one feel better they can do it, the consequences though are still there. It is fair to point them out or because of them to avoid partaking, and even think less of the activity.
Mar '11
Re: What of Tobacco?
A nice blend of Latakia and Perique, with a good book. Great way to spend an evening.
Dec '10
Re: What of Tobacco?
Maybe one or more of the doctors can chime in on this, but my understanding is that smoking (not inhaling) pipes and cigars on a moderate basis produces almost no negative health effects. Cigarettes, on the other hand, do have direct negative consequences. Of course, cigarettes are where the addiction, demand, and money are at.
Jul '10
Re: What of Tobacco?
So does driving. So does drinking. So does stress. So does time.....
Do You point these out too?
May '11
Re: What of Tobacco?
The King Prawn
Maybe one or more of the doctors can chime in on this, but my understanding is that smoking (not inhaling) pipes and cigars on a moderate basis produces almost no negative health effects.
It is physically impossible to smoke and not to inhale. Even if you have a powerful exhaust fan at your back, you will still inhale some of the smoke. Also, the smoke (or chew) in your mouth combines with your saliva and will eventually cause mouth cancer. gum disease and rotting teeth. It is also impossible to smoke with people nearby and not effect them.
As an asthmatic from infancy who grew up with a mother who smoked all the time and a father who smoked a pipe sometimes, I can attest to the effect smoking has on others.
All that said, I do not think smokers should be pariahs. I am libertarian enough to say "do your own thing." Please do it so that you don't effect me is all I ask.
BTW, I worked in tobacco fields, topping, cutting, staking, and hanging it in barns as a kid. I never got to go to the auctions though.
May '11
Re: What of Tobacco?
King P., please don't take the above as a personal attack. It is simply that smoking has serious consequences that can be totally avoided. Please consider the effect of the smoke on your children and of the example you are setting when they try smoking.
Dec '10
Re: What of Tobacco?
Here's a question that probably has no good answer: if smoking (any and all forms if you read anything from our government) is almost as dangerous as playing Russian Roulette with a semi-automatic pistol, then why is it legal? The basic theme of government for decades has been "thinking for those too dumb to think for themselves," yet they still haven't managed to outlaw the leading health hazard in the nation. I see two options, neither good. 1) Smoking isn't as bad as they say, which means the government lies to us blatantly all the time. For what reason, I can't discern. 2) The tax revenues are too good. If smoking is as bad as they say, then the government cares more about collecting its pound of flesh than it does about the health of its citizens.
Dec '10
Re: What of Tobacco?
When they are old enough to try smoking they are legally (perhaps morally as well) autonomous. Who am I to champion conservatism and classical liberalism and then tell anyone else how to live?
Aug '10
Re: What of Tobacco?
Talk about smoke -
Jul '10
Re: What of Tobacco?
The King Prawn Is smoking for pleasure rather than to avoid withdrawals seen as too high brow or snobbish? ·
Hah! If you don't think avoiding withdrawal is pleasurable you must be smoking something stronger than tobacco.
I don't find part-time, semi-inhalers particularly snobbish, but maybe that's a matter of personal experience. My brother-in-law (the cancer survivor, asthmatic, surgeon, one) smokes cigars occasionally, and he's no snob.
Mar '11
Re: What of Tobacco?
I enjoy an occasional cigar (Arturo Fuente or Macanudo, usually) or pipe. I have two pipes, actually. A lovely Italian briar with a curved stem and a nicely yellowed meerschaum carved in the shape of a man wearing a derby. (Dr. Watson, I presume?) I also enjoy single malt scotch, good brandy, and Guinness.
I will die stinking and happy.
Edited on November 9, 2011 at 3:11amDec '10
Re: What of Tobacco?
I am a physician. I like an occasional cigar. Never really tried pipes. I find cigarettes unpalatable. I am no pulmonologist or oncologist but I do treat cancers which are related to smoking.(bladder cancer). Addiction to tobacco is pretty ugly but seems largely isolated to cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. Nothing is more of a turn off than a chain smoker or nasty teeth and gums(speaking as a person, as opposed to an M. D.). I tell my daughters and son it will limit their dating pool. Moderate use , if one is capable, seems reasonable to me. As noted previously in this post, we all subject ourselves to risks on a daily basis and eventually we all will die. Hopefully your choices along the way enrich your life as well as those you touch. Your choice, whether you include tobacco.
I submit that most people who use tobacco do not get cancer and we all inhale smoke and suspended particulates when walking the Earth.
I know this is not profound but it's my two cents.
Edited on November 9, 2011 at 3:29amRe: What of Tobacco?
My own object of occasional indulgence. A beautiful specimen, with a tiger eye stem, purchased at a nice little shop in Arizona. Fill with black cherry tobacco, enjoy with a smooth bourbon, and savor life for a little while.
Of course, the following day, it's back to work and back to saving the republic,...but the few moments spent at a pleasant remove lend an important perspective and tend to keep one grounded,.... at least in my case. Your mileage may vary.
Nov '10
Re: What of Tobacco?
Funny you should bring this up. Kids these days use pipe cleaners for crafts--they come in different diameters and lots of bright colors--and I noticed the other day at the craft store that they were now calling them something other than pipe cleaners. I remarked on it to my nine-year-old, who has always heard them called pipe cleaners, and realized that, if she was to understand the reason for the name change, I would have to explain to her what a pipe was.
As for inhalation of pipe v. cigarette tobacco, I believe that I heard once that pipe smokers inhale substantially less of the pipe smoke, unless they are former cigarette smokers, in which case they smoke a pipe the way they would smoke a cigarette, with overall negative effects.
Re: What of Tobacco?
Lucy Pevensie: Funny you should bring this up. Kids these days use pipe cleaners for crafts--they come in different diameters and lots of bright colors--and I noticed the other day at the craft store that they were now calling them something other than pipe cleaners. I remarked on it to my nine-year-old, who has always heard them called pipe cleaners, and realized that, if she was to understand the reason for the name change, I would have to explain to her what a pipe was.
As for inhalation of pipe v. cigarette tobacco, I believe that I heard once that pipe smokers inhale substantially less of the pipe smoke, unless they are former cigarette smokers, in which case they smoke a pipe the way they would smoke a cigarette, with overall negative effects. · Nov 8 at 7:06pm
What do they call them then? Fuzzy wires?
As for inhalation, I prefer to savor the flavor and then puff it right back out rather than draw the stuff into my lungs,...which would likely have me turning green and feeling awful in no time at all.
May '10
Re: What of Tobacco?
One of the memories that I will always cherish is sitting on my back deck with Dave Carter, smoking excellent cigars, drinking fine Bourbon, and sharing the best stories. All of those elements made it perfect. My husband (a doctor) stayed inside, but sanctioned it.
Mar '11
Re: What of Tobacco?
In my soon-to-be 43 years, I've never had a smoking habit, but I've always liked the smell of good cigars and pipe tobacco. And all of the anti-tobacco hysteria sometimes makes me want to buy a pipe as a big "go pound sand" gesture to people that want to ban it.
May '10
Re: What of Tobacco?
To look at this in a political context this is the great failure of the progressive mind - that single, one-size-fits all solutions are essential fair and egalitarian. But any doctor will tell you that when it comes to health policy that's impossible. A majority of human bodies may react to certain substances in a particular way but never at a rate of 100%.
Smoking may cause cancer in one man in his 40s and to another have no effect whatsoever. So why deny the latter because of the former?
And thanks for the extra picture of the Ol' Groaner. It's from a great album called, Songs I Wished I Had Sung (The First Time Around). It contains a terrific rendition of Bob Hope's theme song as it was meant to sung.