Smoking?

[meeks]

The chinese smoke like trains, never seems to effect them.

http://www.wpro.who.int/media_centre/fact_sheets/fs_20020528.htm
CHINA

* About 67% of men smoke, and 4% of women.
* Among youths, about a third of male teens smoke and nearly 8% of females.
* One of every three cigarettes consumed worldwide is smoked in China.
* Smoking will kill about a third of all young Chinese men alive (under 30 years).
* About 3,000 people die every day in China due to smoking.
* There are more than 300 million Chinese smokers - more than the entire US population. They consume an estimated 1.7 trillion cigarettes per year - or 3 million cigarettes every minute.
* China is the world's largest tobacco producer, accounting for about a quarter of the global tobacco leaf production.
* China used to be closed to tobacco multinationals. But in the last two decades, with the opening up of the Chinese economy, multinationals have been aggressively fighting for a piece of the Chinese market, seen as a "prize" market.
* In 1990, 68% of male physicians were smokers and 65% of teachers.
* Smoking contributes to four of the five leading causes of death in China today.
* In 1993, WHO estimated that while China gained $5 billion in tobacco taxes, the country lost $7.8 billion in productivity and additional health care costs.
* A study in Minhang district found smokers spent an average of 60% of their personal income and 17% of household income on cigarettes.
* In Hong Kong, tobacco companies spent an estimated $63 million on all forms or advertising and promotion in 1995.

[Michael]

Whether they inhaled or not, I'd say whatever tobacco the Native Americans had for ceremonial purposes was a far cry from the cancer sticks that are modern cigarettes.

Well yeah, I'm sure it was, eh? One of the big problems with the cancer sticks isn't just the tobacco, but the massive chemicals they put in during the processing and packaging.

[Michael]

* A study in Minhang district found smokers spent an average of 60% of their personal income and 17% of household income on cigarettes.

And cigarettes are dirt-friggin cheap here. My buddy smokes a Chinese brand that costs 3 yuan/pack, which is less than 50¢. Of course he recently got a chest x-ray whose results were translated to him as, "Part of your lung is calcified." He asked me what that meant and I told him calcified means dead. He was so upset he blew smoke in my face. I told him that smoking in Guangzhou really wasn't necessary to get calcified lungs, so he should just give me the money if that was his goal.

[ParryPerson]

The reason I asked is because I have a buddy who smokes maybe 3 cigs a week and he does a form of long fist. His diet is otherwise healthier than mine and he is in much better shape.

Makes me wonder whats worse, my greasy fast food weakness or his smoking.

I was curious as to how it effected MA practice.

[DeusTrismegistus]

The chinese smoke like trains, never seems to effect them.

http://www.wpro.who.int/media_centre/fact_sheets/fs_20020528.htm
CHINA

* About 67% of men smoke, and 4% of women.
* Among youths, about a third of male teens smoke and nearly 8% of females.
* One of every three cigarettes consumed worldwide is smoked in China.
* Smoking will kill about a third of all young Chinese men alive (under 30 years).
* About 3,000 people die every day in China due to smoking.
* There are more than 300 million Chinese smokers - more than the entire US population. They consume an estimated 1.7 trillion cigarettes per year - or 3 million cigarettes every minute.
* China is the world's largest tobacco producer, accounting for about a quarter of the global tobacco leaf production.
* China used to be closed to tobacco multinationals. But in the last two decades, with the opening up of the Chinese economy, multinationals have been aggressively fighting for a piece of the Chinese market, seen as a "prize" market.
* In 1990, 68% of male physicians were smokers and 65% of teachers.
* Smoking contributes to four of the five leading causes of death in China today.
* In 1993, WHO estimated that while China gained $5 billion in tobacco taxes, the country lost $7.8 billion in productivity and additional health care costs.
* A study in Minhang district found smokers spent an average of 60% of their personal income and 17% of household income on cigarettes.
* In Hong Kong, tobacco companies spent an estimated $63 million on all forms or advertising and promotion in 1995.

The males overwhelmingly smoke, maybe the chinese govt is trying to use tobacco as a subtle means of evening out the make:female ratio?

[Bill]

I doubt that 3 cigs a week will hurt you. When I started back in the early 70's, every instructor that I knew smoked.

[Darth Rock&Roll]

If you are already an addict, then don't try to justify moderation in yourself, it simply won't work.

Your friend is a moderate user and not necessarily an addict and so therein is the difference, not to mention you recognize his diet is better than yours.

in the end, comparing yourself to others is not the way. you have to deal with it head on from the point of view that it's about You and you alone.

don't compare, don't detract. Examine yourself. Look at what you want to do but can't because you smoke or eat crappy food. Then devise a plan to change, get a method and stick to it.

The facts on the ills of smoking are facts. they are not theories or ideas or opinions. smoking kills. millions and millions. that is a fact.

would you prefer to be remembered as a smoking stat or a longevity stat?

[ParryPerson]

whoa whoa... I don't smoke lol. I eat out more than I should but... I was just curious....

Thanks for the posts guys.

[Darth Rock&Roll]

well, despite the assumption you were asking about yourself, the advice stands.

[nianfong]

cigars are tasty, but I hate getting shit in my lungs. it just feels gross. even hookahs make me feel like shit.
weed through a bong feels a lot better than tobacco through a hookah. but even then, I still don't like shit in my lungs.

[redmund2905]

My teacher died this summer from a smoking-related condition. We were all shocked. I thought he'd be around for ten more years, at least. Tragic -- truly tragic, and avoidable.

[Ron Panunto]

i smoke my pipe when i have my whisky. but not into the lungs.
i make it a point to control my poison; S.

Well that's good, at least you'll only get cancer of the mouth.

[Steve James]

Hmm, good question. The Mayans have the oldest tradition of tobacco smoking. They smoke/d it in a pipe. I'm sure they inhaled. But, David said, what they smoked was nothing like the cancer sticks of today with all the chemicals in the tobacco and fiberglass (?) in the filters.

[Darth Rock&Roll]

The mesoamerican peoples of the southern climes would smoke their tobacco with chocolate.
Tobacco is also a sacred thing and was used as wampum(money) by plains peoples.

It was used for things like ceremonies wherein a pipe was passed and the smoke would carry words to the creator and so on and Tobacco leaf also coagulates blood and was used to staunch wounds etc etc.
There wasn't really a thing like cigarettes at all and tobacco was not a daily thing amongst most peoples.

it is the people moving forward from Raliegh that turned it into a drug that is abused.
Like cocaine as well. the leaves are still chewed by peoples, but the powder is pretty much for consumption in the developed world.

[Butterball]

I smoked about a pack/pack and a half a day for 8 years or so and quit about three years ago. I smoked the whole time I was doing CMA and didn't have any problems, but when I started doing BJJ, it became very difficult to progress as a smoker. It's just too vigorous an excercise to smoke and progress. Plus people don't like rolling with you much if you smell like cigarettes and gas out every three seconds.

Quitting is difficult, staying off is difficult; but they are definitely possible. After the first year and a half, I barely ever craved smokes anymore. Now it's as if I never smoked (at least that's how I feel mentally. I don't know what state my insides are in). It's definitely worth it to quit.