Hi Chris.
I am sorry.
I should have been more specific: dropped my guard and only used nicotine as
delivered either through inhalation or chewing. :)
The short answer is, yes, it is a fact, as per the definition of what
constitutes 'fact', however your points are well taken:
As you correctly point our, the tars and gases from smoke during smoking
contribute considerably to the additive effects of compounds during nicotine
absorption (btw supporting my theory that one chem by itself may be
tolerable, but the chem load is often problematic).
Chewing tobacco is less stong in supporting your argument since no
gases/smoke are involved. The following NIH website offers infomation health
issues associated with tobacco in specific and in general (
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002032.htm)
NOTE: I also agree with your assessment of smokers in hive management and
rarely use one.
You are again correct, tobacco use includes other compounds than just
nicotine. The cumulative effect of compounds does not, however, necessarily
absolve the individual compound. In the case of nicotine, enough long term
studies have existed to prove causation of problems with nicotine itself, at
least as exhaustively as humanly possible...
I know, there are folks in their nineties who have smoked packs of cigs a
day for gazillion years who don't have cancer. Go figure, and God bless
them, but a heck of a lot more do suffer from cancer, and I think we all
know that it is a horrific way to spend ones final years. And don't forget
that a number of the cancer free snokers suffer from emphysema...another bad
way to go. I'm happy to shoot you relevant links 'off line' so as not to
clog up the listserv.
Also, please remember that if we insist on the level of absolute proof
before acting prudently, we may as well throw Einstein out with the bath
water too....gravity is still a little odd, unexplained, awkward twist in
his theory that now leads some scientists, such as proponents of string
theory, to say Einstein has it all wrong.
However, his theories DO allow us to navigate our world in a healthy and
productive way, so I'm willing and happy to buy into them.
For now :)
Finally, as to your questions about pills and the patch:
"Many people worry that nicotine replacement products are just as bad (my
underline) as smoking cigarettes. They’re definitely not. They do not have
all the tars and poisonous gases that are found in cigarettes. They provide
less nicotine than a smoker would get from cigarettes. And they’re designed
to help people get off nicotine, not to keep them on nicotine."
http://www.smoking-cessation.org/content/nicotinereplacement.asp
Note that nicotine pills/patch are used to wean people off of their
addiction, and are therefor 'relatively' safe as relates to a specific
population. They are not suggested for either long term or recreational use,
and are often not available to folks under the age of 18, specifically
because of the risks associated with their use, assessed through
'preponderance of evidence' (meaning statistically relevant evidence
gathered over time that leads to a more than reasonable conclusion of
causation and does not mean every single scrap of evidence agrees).
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I admit that, after careful evaluation of
input, I do 'choose' to make decisions and act. All of us must 'choose' what
we believe since none of us can definitively 'know' what happens. We can
only state that something happens a certain number of times over a certain
period of observation. If the period of observation is long enough, and the
method scientifically sound, we then draw the reasoned 'conclusion' that the
observation supports, negates, or neither supports or negates, our theory.
Some very high profile and influential people don't 'choose' to believe in
the preponderance of scientific evidence. A good example is Jacob Zuma,
President of South Africa, who believes that showering after sex guards
against AIDS infection. I don't normally cite Wikipedia, but the following
page of myths about AIDS might be a fascinating, head-shaking read for you.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV_and_AIDS_misconceptions
Thank you for insisting on clarification and keeping the discussion honest.
:)Andrea
--
"When the well runs dry, we learn the worth of water" - Benjamin Franklin
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