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[crossfire]

I am a "cigar smoker" by that I mean I smoke a cigar maybe two days a week. What can prevent me from having cancer, like Orange juice or some other form of calcium or something like that?

[Undertoad]

Nothing really because they just found no link between eating fruits and vegetables and not getting cancer.

Don't inhale, and don't use cigars as sex toys.

[crossfire]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Nothing really because they just found no link between eating fruits and vegetables and not getting cancer.

Don't inhale, and don't use cigars as sex toys.

Hehe, I know. thanks.

[Cyber Wolf]

Originally Posted by crossfire

What can prevent me from having cancer, like Orange juice or some other form of calcium or something like that?

I'm sure you've heard it before, but laying off the cigars themselves could help.

[garnet]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Nothing really because they just found no link between eating fruits and vegetables and not getting cancer.

But the study is far from conclusive, according to the last part of the article:

"Another possibility is that if it takes longer for cancer to develop than heart disease, the protective effect of fruits and vegetables may not have shown up in the decade-long study.

In an editorial accompanying the study, Dr. Arthur Schatzkin and Victor Kipnis of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., said errors in measuring diet may have distorted the findings.

"[T]he evidence is simply inadequate at this time to determine whether fruit and vegetable intake confers modest protection against cancer," the pair wrote.

"Researchers should recognize this uncertainty in nutrition and cancer epidemiology and do what it takes to move ahead, especially when it comes to improving exposure assessment in observational studies."

I've got dozens of links to studies that say exactly the opposite of this study, if anybody's interested....

Well, I don't know if there is such a critter, but if you can find a brand of cigar without all the standard chemical additives, it might help a little. I know you can find cigarettes like that - American Spirit is one manufacturer.

Otherwise, just a healthy life style - you know the standard - lots of leafy greens, light on the red meat and pork and cheese, get more protein from grains. Eat organic if you can. Since you are already assaulting your system with chemicals, try to keep them out in other ways as much as possible.

I guess I'm a bit of a fatalist. I figure it comes down to the DNA your folks gave you as much as anything else. When you're number is called you go. Meanwhile, enjoy your life.

[dar512]

Why take the chance? Do you really want to risk your health and the health of the people around you for the sake of a couple cigars a week?

It never ceases to amaze me that with all the evidence available about the health effects of tobacco, that people still get hooked on it.

[jaguar]

but they taste so good. I don't smoke anymore, just the occasional cigar. If you've never been a smoker you are in no position to comment really. I smoked cigarettes for a couple of years. I stopped because of the health effects (and everything stinks and it empties your wallet) however I still partake in the occasional apple tobacco or pot hookah pipe, at the end of the day something is going to kill you, you may as well enjoy yourself in the meantime.

[dar512]

It's true that life is risky. So why add to the risk?

It's true. I've never smoked. I paid attention when they were doing the experiment in science class where they show the effects of tobacco smoke on lungs. And so I never started. I want to live as long as my body and my luck will allow.

However my Mom smoked for years. She had a terrible time quitting. But when the doctor told her it was quit or die, she quit. She now lives with partial emphysema. She lives a greatly limited lifestyle and has a permanent cough.

However, she's luckier than our former neighbor in Seattle. She also had emphysema. She spent her last three years tied to an oxygen bottle. She died two years ago. Her lungs gave out.

[jaguar]

To be frank, the way I live, the chances of me living long enough to be worried about that are below average. Secondly, the difference between a pack a day and the occasional one every week or two is massive, absolutely massive. It's true, it still increases the chances of lung cancer, throat cancer, emphysema and may increase the chances of heart problems but hell a night of cocktails is going to increase my chance of a litany of diseases, a trip to Vietnam or Russia or Colombia is going to do the same, I'll wing it and come what may.