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

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

[SJackson]

There are few personal confessions more likely to alienate many Americans than to admit to smoking. Singles ads are filled with people who will never even go on a first date with someone who smokes. I strongly suspect that more women would date a millionaire who earned his money disreputably than a millionaire who smoked.

Drinkers are far more highly regarded than smokers, as are playboys, gamblers, lawyers, politicians and almost anyone else except child molesters.

So I have no doubt that some readers who until now have held me in esteem will lose respect for me when they learn that not only do I smoke cigars and a pipe, but I love doing so, have no interest in stopping and have been happy to pass this pleasure on to my older son. In fact, we regularly have some of our best talks while we enjoy our cigars.

For the record, I never smoke cigarettes, which I happen to dislike the smell of, and which I acknowledge to be dangerous. But what I write here largely applies to cigarette smokers as well. In fact, I find anti-smoking zealots far more dangerous to society than cigarette smokers, and would much sooner date a cigarette smoker than one of the zealots.

Having said that, however, it does need to be pointed out that there is little in common between cigar (or pipe) smoking and cigarette smoking. Most important, we don't inhale. This is not meant in the way former President Bill Clinton meant it when he said he "never inhaled." The purpose and joy of cigar and pipe smoking are to enjoy the taste of tobacco in one's mouth. The purpose and joy of cigarette smoking are only vaguely related to the taste of tobacco.

And that leads to two other great differences between cigarette smoking and cigar (and pipe) smoking: First, there is no issue of addiction regarding cigars or pipes. I have been smoking both since I was 15 years old, and could stop tomorrow if I wanted to. Indeed, as a Jew who observes the Sabbath prohibition on kindling fire, I do not smoke for a day every week, and it is effortless. Likewise, I am frequently on the road lecturing, and often miss days at a time with absolutely no discernible effect. Second, because one does not inhale when smoking a cigar or pipe, the likelihood of lung cancer is minimal.

Yes, I am warned by doctors that I am more liable to contract mouth or lip cancer, but while physicians may see such diseases, in 40 years of smoking I have never met or heard of one person with either cancer.

Indeed, I am quite convinced that my one-a-day cigar or pipe may well have had a positive impact on my health given how much relaxation it induces. Stress kills far more people than cigars or pipes do.

It is a sign of the times that the latest James Bond film has prohibited 007 from smoking a cigar. One of the most benign practices a person can engage in was banned, but our macho hero can be shown drinking alcohol and bedding women (and without any mention of condoms!), not to mention killing people and engaging in behaviors infinitely more dangerous than cigar smoking.

We live in the Age of Stupidity. This new age has been induced by widespread college education and widespread secularism -- Psalms is entirely accurate: "Wisdom begins with fear of the Lord" -- which explains, for example, why only well-educated secularists came to believe that there were no innate nonphysical differences between men and women.

Nearly 100 years ago, before widespread college education and before widespread secularism, when America tried to prohibit a vice, it chose alcohol, not tobacco. It knew that there were immoral consequences to alcohol consumption -- most child abuse, most spousal abuse, about half of violent crimes and most rapes are accompanied by alcohol. Nobody has ever raped because smoking a cigarette or a cigar numbed his conscience. And no one fears smoking drivers; we rightly fear drinking drivers.

Both in my hometown and on the road, 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.

Of course if you think I am really killing people due to the secondhand smoke they inhale from my cigar or pipe, I presume all discussion ends. I am then simply a killer who needs to be stopped. I find absurd the notion that more than 50,000 Americans are killed every year just by being in the presence of smokers. But if you believe it, all you need to do is open a window and enjoy yourself.

The late legendary comedian George Burns was a listener to my radio talk show. When he was around 90 years old, he invited me to his Beverly Hills home. In the course of our two hours together, he smoked two cigars and had a couple of martinis. I asked him what his doctor said about those habits. George looked at me and responded, "My doctor died."

My father is 88 years old and has been smoking a few cigars a day (in my 87-year-old mother's presence, I might add). They are both in near-perfect health. He not only taught me the joys of cigars. He also taught me the importance of thinking for myself and how to lead an honorable life that includes as much joy as possible.

[Just another Joe]

Puff

[Puddleglum]

I quit smoking because my then fiance (now wife) hated the smell. And in truth I'm glad I did, because they were hard as heck to quite. As for cigars and pipes, I love the smell and have enjoyed a surreptitious puff on one or the other now and then. But not in the house!

As for the danger of them - well, we all die of something, and I want to enjoy life a little. I guess we should ban skiiing, snow-mobiling, snorkeling, driving, and lightning.

[JLGALT]

There is a good reason you can not find any information on the effects of "second hand smoke". There are no studies that prove this "non-fact" when the standard math testing means are used. The WHO did a long term study in France of 10,000 smokers and non-smokers over a twenty year period and the results were quit interesting. Not only did second hand smoke problems not exist but children raised in a non-smoking household had a much greater chance of ashma then children from a smoking family! This might be one explanation for the recent massive increase in this disease!

[BadAndy]

"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."

Knowing that at least one govt "study" on second hand smoke was rigged, makes me extremely skeptical of anything the antismoking lobby reports. IMO, the conclusion that second hand smoke causes cancer, is as credible as the NYS Department of Health's conclusion that AIDS is not a sexually transmitted disease. Agenda driven science is as bad as agenda driven journalism.

[CSM]

I just bought a t-shirt from "Spencers" that has a middle finger sticking up that looks like a lit cigarette and it says "I smoke, so F*** off!"

I wear it with pride, and enjoy the nanny stater's reactions.

[stevestras]

"A fine cigar is usually a part of my evening FReeping. "

Hey, what about your morning FReeping?

I like to smoke cigars and read at freerepublic as well. Morning, noon and night.

[finnigan2]

Your information tend to confirm my suspicions. The second hand smoke menace is largely a boogie man concocted by the anti smoking zealots as the only means to justify laws that ban smoking, first from the work place, then bars and restaurants and finally, most recently, even outdoors or in the privacy of your own home.
The next step, of course, will be to make it a jailing offense to be caught smoking at all and that should take us back to the laws of prohibition - and we all remember how that turned out.
Zealots always wind up taking their "cause" one step too far.

[Gabz]

The next step, of course, will be to make it a jailing offense to be caught smoking at all

Somalia:Islamist cops nab 22 in raid on smokers

Kismayo - Islamic religious police on Tuesday arrested 22 people for smoking in the Somali port of Kismayo, where they will be flogged if found guilty of violating a new tobacco ban, officials said.

Anti-smokers all over the USA are saddened it didn't happen here first.

[Pukin Dog]

My morning FReeping is done with a fine Entemmans Cheese Danish and Italian Roast coffee, followed by scrambled eggs (Gordon Ramsay style) with chives and smoked salmon.

This combo puts me in the proper mood to get on-line and deal with the latest liberal bull$hit.

[snugs]

I think there are 2 factors here. In certain individual cases as much as you can both heart disease and cancer have been traced back to second hand smoking but in all cases I know this was where the atmosphere these people worked in the smoke was of such an excess that you could not dispute that it could be a factor.

The air was thick with smoke and virtually every customer smoked you walked into the club or pub and the smell was overwhelming.

I am skeptical about second hand smoking where it is just one person as that one person surely would have to be constantly smoking and a very high tar brand to affect someone else. Where there are 10s of even several hundred people in a confirmed non ventilated area then yes but I doubt very much one person.

Regarding children I would say the smoke probably dampened the allergic or whatever other reasons for hayfever/asthma I have a friend who worked in a very dusty roof tile manufacturing company and when he was smoking suffered no affects from the dust (he obviously did but they were not apparent to him) once he quit he wheezed and coughed and was constantly aware of the dusty atmosphere.

As a non smoker from a non smoking family and the last member of our our family that smoked died nearly 35 years ago I have little tolerance for cigarette smoke though several of my friends smoke but since I have been a carer for my father I get out a lot less so am not exposed to smoke much. When I was regularly with the smokers I did not notice it but now if I walk into a room where people are smoking it does affect me and I find the smell unpleasant.

At work we have smoking area which is in the drinks machine area and we have an extractor fan but even that does make me cough but I am skeptical on how much damage it does to me. When there are several people smoking and the air is thick I could see if I stayed in that for a long period of time it might but in a work situation you are hardly going to have people smoking that long.

Thats my opinion for what it is worth and totally unscientific.

[LM_Guy]

As for the danger of them - well, we all die of something, and I want to enjoy life a little. I guess we should ban skiiing, snow-mobiling, snorkeling, driving,

If you do any of the above in a reckless and/or callous manner and you kill someone doing it, you can be charged with either voluntary or involuntary manslaughter.

But to this day very few smokers will admit to killing other people whose only luck was to sit next to them in a restaurant or they have to work there to support their family.

I am amazed we don't charge parents who smoke in their home or car in front of the their children with child abuse.
If you were to take the list of hazardous chemicals that are in cigarette smoke, mix them in water, hand it to your children to drink. That person would be criminally charged with endangering the life, health and safety of their children. But make them breathe the same chemicals instead of swallowing them and Nothing is Done !!!

[LM_Guy]

I would say the answer is YES, if you do it around children or other non-smokers.

[Moolah]

I would bet you anti smoker "do gooders" eat at Mickey D's every day.

BTW, I'm smoking an Oliva as I type, next is a 5 Vegas "A".

[Puddleglum]

If you do any of the above in a reckless and/or callous manner and you kill someone doing it, you can be charged with either voluntary or involuntary manslaughter.

Should be people be charged with manslaughter for feeding their kids Happy Meals? They may be causing higher than healthy cholesterol and may lead to unhealthy adult eating habits which may cause the kids to die 10 years earlier than they would if they are lean meats and rice all their lives.

I'm serious. How about the parent who serves ice cream instead of low-fat ice milk?

What about the parent who takes a route to drop his kid off to school that runs a 10% higher risk of a wreck on the way?

I would not smoke around my kid, but as a courtesy and to discourage a nasty habit.

[xowboy]

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
Excellent Point---often wondered about it myself

Lets not give them any more ideas

[Scotswife]

Cigar smokers do get cancer in the mouth...nasty yellow rotten teeth and horrible breath.

If I am in an open area where I can move to get away from the thick smoke I don't care.
If I am stuck in a confined room with the smoke I get dizzy and nauseaus.

[oust the louse]

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.

Eagle,I was not so impressed for the price. Give me a good A.F. or an Upman and a golf course ahead of me and I could care less what I shoot. I'm in it for the smell of the air and the stogie...But outta my way if I 3 putt.

[wireman]

My wife (who has never smoked in her life) loves the smell of a good cigar. I just bought a box of Punch G ran Puros (6.5 x 48) and I smoke two or three cigars a week.

Everybody dies from something. I've been puffing cigars for thirty years (no cigs) and I bet something else will get me before the cigars do.

[Holicheese]

I enjoy maybe 2-3 cigars per week. Sometimes more, sometimes less. It is a relaxing and enjoyable way to spend an hour.

My local cigar store does a lot of events. There are many women who do come and enjoy a cigar. I can honestly say, there is nothing sexier than a woman that is all dolled up and smoking a cigar!
MEOW!

[old gringo]

second hand smoke killed off all the dino's too.....