People who think they're protecting their lungs by smoking pipes or cigars instead of cigarettes are fooling themselves.
People who think they're protecting their lungs by smoking pipes or cigars instead of cigarettes are fooling themselves.
Cigarette smoking is the major cause of chronic lung disease, but there are very few studies on the contribution of other smoking techniques. Some smokers believe cigars or pipes are less harmful because the smoke isn't inhaled. To test this notion, researchers looked at the effects of cigar or pipe smoking in more than 3,528 American adults, aged between 48 and 90 years. Of these, nine percent had smoked a pipe at some time and 11 percent admitted smoking cigars, and 52% reported smoking cigarettes.
The researchers measured blood levels of cotinine, a byproduct of metabolised nicotine in the subjects. Among pipe or cigar users, cotinine levels were found lower than those produced by cigarette smoking but were nevertheless significant. For pipe smoking, it was 20 percent compared to cigarette smoking, and for cigars it was 10 percent.
The effect of smoking on breathing ability was measured by spirometry, a lung function test in which people blow into a tube to determine the maximum amount of air they can exhale in one second. Pipe or cigar smokers had more than twice the incidence of airway obstruction than nonsmokers, and the degree of obstruction increased with the amount of smoking.
The study results show that cigar and pipe smokers also run the risk of developing chronic obstructive lung disease, a progressive destruction of airways than can be crippling. The findings show that tobacco use through cigars and pipes is also bad for health.
Cigarette smoking is the major cause of chronic lung disease, but there are very few studies on the contribution of other smoking techniques. Some smokers believe cigars or pipes are less harmful because the smoke isn't inhaled. To test this notion, researchers looked at the effects of cigar or pipe smoking in more than 3,528 American adults, aged between 48 and 90 years. Of these, nine percent had smoked a pipe at some time and 11 percent admitted smoking cigars, and 52% reported smoking cigarettes.
The researchers measured blood levels of cotinine, a byproduct of metabolised nicotine in the subjects. Among pipe or cigar users, cotinine levels were found lower than those produced by cigarette smoking but were nevertheless significant. For pipe smoking, it was 20 percent compared to cigarette smoking, and for cigars it was 10 percent.
The effect of smoking on breathing ability was measured by spirometry, a lung function test in which people blow into a tube to determine the maximum amount of air they can exhale in one second. Pipe or cigar smokers had more than twice the incidence of airway obstruction than nonsmokers, and the degree of obstruction increased with the amount of smoking.
The study results show that cigar and pipe smokers also run the risk of developing chronic obstructive lung disease, a progressive destruction of airways than can be crippling. The findings show that tobacco use through cigars and pipes is also bad for health.
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