How dangerous is smoking a little bit?
What’s the baseline? About 10% of cases in men and 20% of cases in women of lung cancer occur in non-smokers. Risk factors include second hand smoke, radon, genetic predisposition, and probably other things. According to here lung cancer kills 15000 nonsmoking women a year. It may be hard to quit smoking, but lung cancer is incredibly nasty. And don’t forget your huge risk for oral and esophageal cancers as well. Those are also horrible and often also have a terrible prognosis.
Do you think that, because you smoke outdoors and on weekdays, it’s somehow less dangerous? No, I think it’s less frequent than it would be if I smoked in my house as well as all weekend long. Why would you want to increase your chances, even slightly, of getting any of these diseases? Because smoking gives me pleasure. People often engage in risky behaviour in return for pleasure. I am simply interested in quantifying that risk. Heh, when you said a little I was expecting two or three a week, not five a day. That’s once every three hours while you’re awake. I guess I think of it being “a little” relative to smoking a pack a day or more. And 5 is about my max, my average is probably 3.3 or so. You do not have the slightest clue how your body will react to the amount of smoke you take in. But based on that answer, neither do you, which is clearly not an answer to the question. I know that “Smoking is Bad” but cumulatively I just wonder if it is any worse for me than living in Manila for
This question is one I have sort of wanted to ask, along the lines of “Is smoking one cigarette a night better or worse for me than drinking a beer or taking a sleeping pill?” It’s become my nighttime routine lately. I never smoke at any other time. According to ShepD’s calculator, I have lost ten days of my life. I think I’ll go read Paul Slovic, thanks for the advice jasper411.
I meant to post this a few months ago. One of the definitive studies on cigarette-smoking related mortality is the British Doctors Study i.e. Mortality in relation to smoking: 50 years’ observations on male British doctors (referred above) In that study, mortality impact is assessed for those who are non-smokers, continuing smokers and those who stopped smoking. Consumption patterns and duration were noted. Figure 4 below is the money shot, so to speak. Those who stopped between the ages of 25-34 has consumed an average of 65,000 cigarettes (mean starting age=18, mean daily consumption=15*) and had no excess mortality. Those who stopped between the ages of 35-44 has consumed an average of 120,000 cigarettes (same mean starting age & daily consumption) and “avoided most of the excess morta
