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is the risk of smoking exaagerated?........

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
everyone knows smoking increases the risk of lung cancer, but the way it is portrayed i thought you were virtually guaranteed to die at some time if you smoked, unless you were one of the 'lucky ones'.......

this study of white males in the u.s. show that non-smokers have a 1% chance of lung cancer in their lifetime, whilst smokers have an 8% chance..........now while thats 8x as much, its still only 8%..............im sure smoking does other damage to your body but as a smoker your main worry is lung cancer no?.....

so this study looks pretty extensive, is it bogus or is the threat blown out of proportion? based on ads and the news i would've thought the chance of getting lung cancer increases dangerously if you smoke, like 50% more or something.......and yes i am a smoker, never touched fags tho :thumb:

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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    also read this report which is interesting for all you binge drinkers and drinkers in general who say stuff like "smoking's such a dirty habit and you'l get lung cancer, by the way i'm away to the pub for 10 pints and a donar kebab afterwards"

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4232703.stm
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Increased risk of heart disease and various other cancers.

    Even if you don't get lung cancer it wrecks your lungs and leaves you short of breath.

    Everyone dies, but as a smoker you stand a greater chance of dying younger.

    That said you could be cynical and point out most smokers wait until after they've retired before dying and then save the country a fortune in pension benefits.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    AFAIK, one third of smokers will die as a direct consequence of smoking. And it's not just lung cancer that kills smokers. Also, don't forget the diseases that do not kill but make life unpleasant (e.g. back pain). It really is a long list.

    The risks of passive smoking are sometimes overplayed, but there is evidence that passive smoking is harmful too.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    NQA wrote:

    That said you could be cynical and point out most smokers wait until after they've retired before dying and then save the country a fortune in pension benefits.

    what a right prick you sound.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    some things to consider.......

    greeks are the heaviest users of tobacco, yet have the lowest incidence of lung cancer.....japanse smoke twice as much as the yanks but have half the rate of lung cancer per 100,000

    around the end of WWII about 90% of the british adult male population smoked, which means we should have seen an epidemic in the 60's and 70's.......

    70% of cancers occur in non-smokers, so to what extent does smoking really influence the risk?.......this statistic is actually quite important, because it suggests that some smokers would have contracted cancer regardless of smoking, hence the results of any studies can be skewed to fit an anti-smoking agenda.......
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    apollo_69 wrote:
    greeks are the heaviest users of tobacco, yet have the lowest incidence of lung cancer.....japanse smoke twice as much as the yanks but have half the rate of lung cancer per 100,000
    Genetics are important in most if not all cancers.
    around the end of WWII about 90% of the british adult male population smoked, which means we should have seen an epidemic in the 60's and 70's.......
    Life expectancy has also increased during the same period, so people now live long enough to develop smoking related illness.
    70% of cancers occur in non-smokers, so to what extent does smoking really influence the risk?.......this statistic is actually quite important, because it suggests that some smokers would have contracted cancer regardless of smoking, hence the results of any studies can be skewed to fit an anti-smoking agenda.......
    Between a quarter and a third of all people will develop cancer over their lifetime. Smoking increases your risk.

    Spend some time on a cancer unit, and then do the math.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    fair play, the stats here show cancers (84% lung btw) accounts for just over a third of deaths in smokers......still quite a bit tho.

    http://www.ash.org.uk/html/factsheets/html/fact02.html

    the point of the post is i was asking for info, i dont need to go to cancer unit if you've been do i?......if you werent being derrogatory i apologise.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    apollo_69 wrote:
    fair play, the stats here show cancers (84% lung btw) accounts for just over a third of deaths in smokers......still quite a bit tho.

    http://www.ash.org.uk/html/factsheets/html/fact02.html
    Indeed. That list seems comprehensive!

    Smoking is a pet hate of mine I must confess.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Some canny info from that site apollo.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ta, my main point is noone really knows what causes cancers as there are X factors e.g. cancer is more prevalent in industralised countries.......this place puts it down to vitamin deficiency disease.......not as crazy as you might think.

    http://www.vialls.com/vialls/laetrile1.html

    (incidentally RDA values are based on the minimum amount necessary to prevent diseases like scurvy and therefore not very helpful as a guide to stay healthy......)
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    apollo_69 wrote:
    ta, my main point is noone really knows what causes cancers

    But most would agree that smoking is a signifanct contributing factor, given that Lung Cancer is more prevalent in smokers.

    Having said that, you have only latched on to a single disease. Perhaps you should look into COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmoary Disease) and then tell me that the risk of smoking is exagerrated.

    The incidence of COPD is rising rapidly, most notably in the thirs world. It is believe by the WHO that COPD will become the world's fourth biggest killer within 20 years...
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    apollo_69 wrote:
    some things to consider.......

    greeks are the heaviest users of tobacco, yet have the lowest incidence of lung cancer.....japanse smoke twice as much as the yanks but have half the rate of lung cancer per 100,000

    around the end of WWII about 90% of the british adult male population smoked, which means we should have seen an epidemic in the 60's and 70's.......

    70% of cancers occur in non-smokers, so to what extent does smoking really influence the risk?.......this statistic is actually quite important, because it suggests that some smokers would have contracted cancer regardless of smoking, hence the results of any studies can be skewed to fit an anti-smoking agenda.......


    most lung cancer is caused by smoking though
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