Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Giving up smoking
A pipe is only slightly better IF one does not inhale. Many former cigarette smokers continue to inhale the pipe smoke which is more harmful than cigarette smoke. Also with pipes there is an increased risk of cancer of the mouth and/or throat. I worked for a man in his 70s who quite literally smoked one pound of SAIL tobacco each month. He would order 5 one pound cans at a time and I would date, stock and rotate them. A lit pipe was CONSTANTLY in his mouth. I used to smoke pipes but I could never smoke with his frequency. Finally he was treated for throat cancer. He continued to work each day and went to radiation treatments. His neck became black, I imagine from the burning of the radiation treatment. He stopped smoking. He is still alive today and has the use of his voice and the surgery took place about 8 years ago. I stopped tobacco and alcohol four years ago. I had to stay clean for 1 month to permit anesthesia for kidney stone surgery, and I never went back to drinking/smoking. But the last few years of tobacco use were Redman Chewing tobacco because my sinus problems made smoke intolerable. My boss from Paris HATED tobacco users and he never knew I was one because I only did it once or twice a day for several minutes in the restroom, and rinsed my mouth, so he never knew. Now I honestly say that I never crave alcohol or tobacco. I started on both when I was age 7 but only very infrequently and in secret until I was in my teens.
