Why I Smoke (Cigars)--I have one cigar a day; does that make me an unwitting murderer?

FrontPageMagazine.com ^ | November 21, 2006 | Dennis Prager

[Man50D]

George Burns was a mass murderer! ;o)

[xowboy]

Mr. Prager----the only thing you have wrong is the taste in one's mouth is enjoyed by cigarette smokers as well.

[poncho67]

Too many smokers care too much about what some other people may think about their own private actions. Light'em up!

[stevestras]

Nice article.

I too, like cigars.

[Huck]

I have been smoking both since I was 15 years old, and could stop tomorrow if I wanted to.

LOL. That's a joke, right? And Dennis, since you've never met someone with mouth cancer, it's not a threat? Well you haven't met OBL either, right? So I guess he's not a threat? Hey Dennis, I smoke cigars, too, so don't get me wrong, but dude, yer in denial.

Tobacco definitely has some hooks in it. It's def easier to manage cigar smoking than cig smoking, cuz with cigars, you get used to the sporadic megadose of tobacco buzz, as opposed to the constant feeding cigarettes require (I smnoked cigs for years.) You just cant smoke 20-40 cigars a day.

But don't kid yourself. Cigar smoking puts you at higher risk of mouth cancer. You should meet my friend Jerry. He got mouth/throat cancer. Now he eats through a tube that sticks out of his belly. Live life, take chances, but don't kid yourself, man. It could happen to you. Or yer kid.

[TMSuchman]

I too enjoy a fine cigar. I perfer the acid cigar "C-notes", since my wife & daughter are very rabid anti-smokers. So I enjoy a fine smoke in my "man-cave"!

Long live the Cigar Dave the General on the internet at www.cigardave.com or on Sirius radio patriot channel 144 on Sat. 12:00 till 2:00 pm........

[theDentist]

I too enjoy cigars, but I limit them to maybe 1 very other week or so. It's just a nice way to pass an hour in the sunshine on the front lawn, watching the neighbors do their chores, the kids play, dogs romp, and cats stalk the birds.

And he's right, anti-smoking zealots are more dangerous than smaokers.

[Graymatter]

"I find great joy in visiting cigar stores and schmoozing with the owners and with the guys smoking there. In fact, cigar stores may be the last place men can get together without women."

Okay...nothing is 100%, mind you, but cigars do have women-repellant properties. You don't have to congregate in tobacco shops to be relatively safe from women. Just lighting up a cigar may suffice.

If you're not satisfied, you can get together with men in one of our superb American submarines.

[Mach9]

"We live in the Age of Stupidity." Couldn't agree more.

[BadAndy]

"George Burns was a mass murderer! ;o)"

Second hand smoke killed Gracie!

[G Larry]

My view has changed during my 4th week of radiochemotherapy.

Visit a chemo lab or a radiation lab.

Its enlightening, but not nearly as enlightening as living through the side effects.

As much as I would like to give away my Arturo Fuente's,
in good conscience I'll have to toss them.

[raybbr]

Why I Smoke (Cigars)--I have one cigar a day; does that make me an unwitting murderer?

Nope. Just stupid.

[Eagle Eye]

I don't smoke cigars....I enjoy them!

Most of my favorites begin with "P"...Partagas, Punch, Padron...although I'm very partial to Arturo Fuentes.

Except the Opus X.

Maybe I'm not sophisticated enough or I expected too much, but that is one of the few that have truly disappointed me.

But I enjoy cigars and have a Partagas 1845 Black Lable waiting for this afternoon.

[Eagle Eye]

Toss them in my direction!

[Tijeras_Slim]

ping

[finnigan2]

"Second hand smoke killed Gracie!"

- As a cigarette smoker who had a two pack a day habit and who quit 12 years ago with little, if any, withdrawal symptoms after wearing "the patch" for six weeks, I have always been leery about the claim that cigarettes are addictive (rather than habit forming).I also view the second hand smoke theory with some skepticism.
Surely, I thought, insurance companies must have lots of hard data on the life expectancy of life long non smokers married to heavy smoking spouses and on non smoking workers, such as waitresses, who have worked in smoke filled bars all their lives. What does the data say on the decrease in their life expectancy due to exposure to second hand smoke?
I have seen many insurance applications where they ask if you smoke or not, since it effects your premium rate, but I have never seen such a questionnaire ask if your spouse smokes or where you work. Surely, if such factors were statistically significant, insurance companies would be the last industry to miss an opportunity to jack up your insurance rates.
I once googled smoking statistics related to life expectancy and cause of death. I could find no evidence that being exposed to second hand smoke created a statistically significant reduction in life expectancy and the same was true for cigars to the point where I could very little information related to second hand smoke and those that I could find were sketchy and ambiguous, at best.
Very strange. Either we have been the victims of the anti smoking crusaders disinformation campaign, or insurance companies have a huge hole in their statistical data base.

[Just another Joe]

The purpose and joy of cigarette smoking are only vaguely related to the taste of tobacco.

For some people. It's one of the big reasons I stuff my own cigarettes.

[albie]

I would LOVE to be a cigar-ONLY person. Don't believe I can do it since I quit smoking cigarettes 6 weeks ago. I'd do anything for the surgeon general to say..."hey, our mistake, all tobacco is actually good for you"! then I wake up...

[Pukin Dog]

A fine cigar is usually a part of my evening FReeping. I've smoked cigars since my early 20's for relaxation, but I LOVE the taste and smell of the things. I smoke a pipe occasionally too.

I use cigars to test women. If whoever I'm dating refuses to at least TRY one cigar, that's our last date. I figure she would nag and complain every time I lit up.