Subtler Health Rewards of Tobacco

[Southern Planter]

I found this on Lew Rockwell:

It's an article by Peter Brimelow on some of the subtle health benefits of tobacco.

Here are some snippets for those of us who cringe at links.

...."Well, what are the rewards of cigarette smoking? Apart from intangible pleasure, the most obvious is behavioral. A battery of studies, such as those by British researcher D.M. Warburton, show that cigarettes, whatever their other effects, really do stimulate alertness, dexterity and cognitive capacity."...

Beyond its behavioral effects, smoking seems also to offer subtler health rewards to balance against its undisputed risks:

Parkinson’s disease. The frequency of this degenerative disorder of the nervous system among smokers appears to be half the rate among nonsmokers – an effect recognized by the Surgeon General as along ago as 1964.

Alzheimer’s disease. Similarly, the frequency of this degenerative mental disorder has recently been found to be as much as 50%less among smokers than among nonsmokers for example, by the H studies reviewed in the International Journal of Epidemiology in 1991.

Endometrial cancer. There is extensive and long-standing evidence that this disease of the womb occurs as much as 50% less among smokers as documented by, for example, a New England Journal of Medicine article back in 1985. The triggering mechanism appears to be a reduction of estrogen levels.

Prostate cancer. Conversely, smoking seems to raise estrogen levels in men and may be responsible for what appears to be a 50% lower rate of prostate cancer among smokers, although this needs corroboration.​

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Osteoarthritis. This degenerative disorder of bone and cartilage is up to five times less likely to occur among heavy smokers as documented, for example, by the federal government’s first Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.​

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Colon cancer, ulcerative colitis. These diseases of the bowel seem to be about 30% and 50% less frequent among smokers as documented, for example, by articles in the Journal of the American Medical Association and in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1981 and 1983, respectively.​

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Other benefits that have been suggested for smoking: Lower rates of sarcoidosis and allergic alveolitis, both lung disorders, and possibly even acne. Smokers are also lighter ironically, because obesity is a leading cause of the cardiovascular disease that smoking is also supposed to exacerbate. So you could quit smoking and still die of a heart attack because of the weight you put on.​

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None of these health benefits is enough to persuade doctors to recommend occasional cigarettes, in the way that some now occasionally recommend a glass of wine.

But consider this theoretical possibility: Should 60-year-olds take up smoking because its protection against Alzheimer’s is more immediate that its potential damage to the lungs, which won’t show up for 30 years if at all?.....

....Why don’t tobacco companies point out the potential offsetting rewards of smoking? Besides the usual corporate cowardice and bureaucratic inertia, the answer may be another, typically American, disease: lawyers. Directing the companies’ defense, they apparently veto any suggestion that smoking has benefits for fear of liability suits and of the possible regulatory implications if nicotine is seen as a drug.

Which leaves smokers defenseless against a second typically American disease: the epidemic of power hungry puritanical bigots.

And here is the link to the rest of the piece:

http://www.lewrockwell.com/2013/12/peter-brimelow/thank-you-for-smoking/

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Old news but since this stuff is always suppressed it's good to see it surface periodically. The factoid on Parkinson's is wrong though, the incidence of Parkinson's disease is 70% less for long time smokers.

 

[winston-smoker]

The first snippet it merely telling us what we already know. About the second snippet, I already knew about Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and ulcerative colitis. The part about prostate cancer, which my nonsmoker Dad had, and osteoarthritis, which runs in my family on both sides, I didn't know. In fact, about two-and-a-half years ago, my nonsmoker sister who is six years older than I am, had double knee replacement surgery because she was already bone-on-bone in both knees. I have no signs of osteoarthritis, yet.

By the way, studies have shown that the consumption of curry has a protective effect against Alzheimer's as well. So I suppose Indian smokers are the people least likely of getting it in the whole world. Personally, Indian cuisine is one of my favorites ... and I keep yellow curry among my spices.

 

[istanbulin]

...

By the way, studies have shown that the consumption of curry has a protective effect against Alzheimer's as well. So I suppose Indian smokers are the people least likely of getting it in the whole world. Personally, Indian cuisine is one of my favorites ... and I keep yellow curry among my spices.

I guess the "yellow curry" you mentioned is actually "turmeric" (as the main ingredient). The most important compound in turmeric is curcumin which is said to be protective to various diseases.