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Theophylact · 12-09-2002, 08:59 AM

Okay, Fingers, but don't consider this a vote.

The last time I checked, smoking one cigarette shortens your life span by about fifteen minutes (from all causes combined).

That of course is an average, derived from dividing the total number of cigarettes smoked for the whole population by the number of minutes of lifespan lost, again for the whole population. And there is no a priori reason to think that the dose/response curve is linear at the low dose levels. However, it is linear at higher doses, from a few cigarettes a day on up to multiple packs a day, so a linear dose/response curve is far from unreasonable, right on down to zero dose. So fifteen minutes remains my best estimate.

In addition, there is real, though hotly disputed (largely for reasons of economic self-interest, I would suggest), evidence for higher death rates of non-smokers exposed occupationally to cigarette smoke: nurses in VA hospitals, flight attendants, waiters.

At this point, when even the cigarette companies, after decades of misleading advertising, suppressing of evidence, and outright perjury are admitting what morbidity and mortality statistics and animal testing have established beyond any reasonable doubt -- that cigarette smoking is a potent shortener of lifespan -- anyone who believes otherwise is in a state of acute denial.

Of course, you might be one of the lucky ones who are immune to cancer, heart disease, stroke and emphysema. But if I were a betting man, I sure wouldn't bet my life on it.

12-09-2002, 08:59 AM	#8 (permalink)
Theophylact Registered User Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: inside the Beltway, outside the loop Posts: 1,067	Okay, Fingers, but don't consider this a vote. The last time I checked, smoking one cigarette shortens your life span by about fifteen minutes (from all causes combined). That of course is an average, derived from dividing the total number of cigarettes smoked for the whole population by the number of minutes of lifespan lost, again for the whole population. And there is no a priori reason to think that the dose/response curve is linear at the low dose levels. However, it is linear at higher doses, from a few cigarettes a day on up to multiple packs a day, so a linear dose/response curve is far from unreasonable, right on down to zero dose. So fifteen minutes remains my best estimate. In addition, there is real, though hotly disputed (largely for reasons of economic self-interest, I would suggest), evidence for higher death rates of non-smokers exposed occupationally to cigarette smoke: nurses in VA hospitals, flight attendants, waiters. At this point, when even the cigarette companies, after decades of misleading advertising, suppressing of evidence, and outright perjury are admitting what morbidity and mortality statistics and animal testing have established beyond any reasonable doubt -- that cigarette smoking is a potent shortener of lifespan -- anyone who believes otherwise is in a state of acute denial. Of course, you might be one of the lucky ones who are immune to cancer, heart disease, stroke and emphysema. But if I were a betting man, I sure wouldn't bet my life on it.