Rolling Your Own

[jmhester]

No, not the wacky weed kind!

I was talking to my dad last night discussing why every male on his side of the family smoked but never got COPD or lung cancer. My great grandfather lived to 102 and smoked like chimney. What my dad said was that great grandpa rolled his own cigarettes out of PA (Prince Albert for you youngsters). He claimed that the quality of the tobacco was superior to commercial cigarettes and did not have the additives in it. Therefore, it was a "healthier" smoke.

My dad always smoked unfiltered Paul Malls which he claims has a superior tobacco and that the Marlboros are just what they sweep up off the floor. He is 71 with no perceivable ill effects. Then you have to consider the content of the filter as well as the type of paper being used.

What got me thinking about this is the Snus discussion. Apparently, Snus is very low in carcinogenic compounds and is considered somewhat safe to "chaw" and perhaps even vape. Snus is pasturized leading me to believe that the heating process removes some of the nasties that might cause cancer.

So maybe it's the cigarette manufacturing process rather than the tobacco that is the problem. Another piece of this hypothesis is that the lung cancer rates in the US have risen since 1978 (that's as far back as I could find) but the rate of cigarette smoking has decreased significantly (remember when you doctor smoked in his office?).

It's kind of interesting to think that analogs might have actually been safer in the past! Thoughts?

[DannyBoyfromWashington]

You know, I have been thinking about it and it seems to me that most serious health issues have an "epoxy like" cause where it takes 2 seperate things coming together to cause the effect. Like the fact that nowadays there is a ton more carbon monoxide it the air already, then mix that with some of the junk in the less "pure tobacco" type cigarettes. And voila you get something real bad? I dunno, just a theory.

[jjinlasvegas]

My Dad is 81 years old (will be 82 in April) and smoked cigarettes since he was 9 years old! His health is fine; bad feet, arthritis and a little high blood pressure, that he's had for years....No COPD and no cancer, ever.

My Mother was 77 years old when she died of lung cancer. She started smoking cigarettes at the age of 32. She did have COPD (and continued to smoke) for several years before she passed 4 years ago.

So, yeah, I'm not sure why. My parents were still married at the time of her death, so they never ever lived apart or in different environments.

[keenan]

I smoked Camel non-filter for YEARS. I dont remember ever having really bad breathing problems or hacking up lung oysters. My wife MADE me switch to filters, she said the non filters are way too bad for you, especially as heavy a smoker as I was. But, I have ALWAYS thought, its the filters that kill ya, not the tobacco. I know that sounds funny, but Im really serious. Just a theory Ive always had. Maybe Im wrong, but, ask my kids, Im usually not.

[mcquinn]

They used to cure tobacco in the open air barns now it is in gas ovenlike dryers,additives are put in to make them go out if you don't puff on them every so often ,to enhance flavor ,to make taste and nicotine more consistant.They didn't used to use filters which most likely put fibers in your lungs.You used to get the full effect not a filtered one so you got satisfied quicker and didn't need to smoke so many,you had to roll your own which took more effort than just flicking one from the pack .A finaly even though they were cheap by todays standards people did not have the money to burn so it was a treat not a dietary item.And another finally people did not sit around all day smoking and eating they had to work hard so they could eat and they were in better condition for the most part.

Edited December 31, 2009 by mcquinn

[jmhester]

I've always thought it's really the modern life that is killing us. I'm not saying smoking ever was a good idea. Let's face it, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that inhaling smoke from a burning plant isn't really healthy. But after working for RJR, I do know that they add all kinds of things to cigarettes that you wouldn't even believe. And you know why? Because the government made them start putting labels on packs of cigarettes stating the amount of tar and nicotine in each smoke. So they had to do things, like adding nicotine, to make sure they conformed to government standards. Obviously, each crop of tobacco is different so they have to add things to make them consistent. So, once again, we can thank Uncle Sam for screwing us over.