Cigarette smoking has been confirmed to provide numerous
benefits to the health of smokers. Surprisingly, the tobacco
plant appears to have more to offer our bodies than a guarantee
of certain death. Although the health benefits of smoking are
far outweighed by the many very dire risks, tobacco may provide
alternative relief or prevention for some diseases in certain
individuals.

The most fascinating and widely recognized health benefit of
smoking is its ability to seemingly alleviate symptoms of mental
illnesses, including anxiety and schizophrenia. According to an
article published in 1995 in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral

Reviews, schizophrenics have much higher smoking rates than
people with other mental illnesses, and appear to use it as a
method of self-medicating. The article postulates that nicotine
found in cigarettes reduces psychiatric, cognitive, sensory, and
physical effects of schizophrenia, and also provides relief of
common side effects from antipsychotic drugs.

The treatment of schizophrenia isn't the only positive effect
that nicotine has on the brain. A series of very interesting
studies from multiple academic sources confirms that the risk of
Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease is surprisingly
higher in non-smokers than in smokers. Doctor Laura Fratiglioni
of Huddinge University Hospital in Sweden states, "Cigarette
smokers are 50% less likely to have PD or AD than are age- and
gender-matched nonsmokers [...] cigarette smoking exerts an
undefined, biologic, neuroprotective influence against the
development of PD and AD."

 

The Smoker's Paradox

The University of Melbourne confirmed the claims made by many
smokers that tobacco itself is a strong appetite suppressant,
and many use it to self-treat compulsive overeating disorders or
obesity. Many smokers experience weight loss and decreased
appetite after they begin smoking, and the Melbourne study found
similar results in lab rats and mice exposed to cigarette smoke.

While tobacco-influenced pharmaceuticals may at some point be
an available option to treat obesity, smoking as a
self-treatment is very ill-advised, since the negative effects
of tobacco and obesity tend to compound and create interrelated
conditions.

Cigarette smoking has also been linked to a decrease in risk of
certain inflammatory disorders, since nicotine itself appears to
be an anti-inflammatory agent. The department of
gastroenterology at the University Hospital of Wales
conducted a number of in-vitro studies to confirm and explain
the decreased risk in ulcerative colitis (a potentially severe
digestive disorder) in individuals who smoke cigarettes.

Perhaps most shockingly, tobacco smoke's anti-inflammatory
effects may actually provide some benefits to children who are
exposed to secondhand smoke. While this is certainly not worth
at-home experimentation, one astonishing study conducted in
Sweden observed two generations of Swedish children and found
that the children of smokers had lower rates of allergic
rhinitis, allergic asthma, atopic eczema, and food allergies.

The studied groups included 6909 adults and 4472 children, and
the findings remained consistent, even when adjusted to reflect
other variables.

Other surprising academic findings reveal that tobacco may have
a positive effect on pregnancy, although this, too, should not
be left up to individual experimentation. A study published in
the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology revealed that
preeclampsia, an extremely common but potentially deadly
condition, is significantly less common in expectant mothers who
smoke cigarettes than in expectant mothers who do not smoke.

While it is undebated that tobacco cigarettes pose a number of
deadly hazards to human health, they also reveal a surprising
link to decreased mortality and morbidity for some conditions.

While it may be interesting to note tobacco's few benefits, it
is also critical for all consumers to recognize that its
positive aspects are few compared to its many very serious
risks. Even taking the health benefits of smoking into account,
tobacco smokers can expect to live shorter lives and experience
many chronic diseases.

 

I will look into this with interest.

 

Well, now. I knew there was a benefit to my smoking, besides letting others whom have pissed me off live!

 

and to think...
I was gonna quit...

 

Well, here are just a couple of pictures. Hey, that is not a cigarette that girl is smoking! And, I never heard of smoking tobacco in a bong before!

I did not make this up. Here is the link.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1265067/health_benefits_of_smoking_cigarettes.html?cat=5

 

smoke to combat anxiety. brilliant. just fucking brilliant.

yerr some sorta rocket surgeon aren't ya?

 

Very informative post, Moms. May I add that dear old Moms was a favorite of mine, never failed to make people laugh.

 

Moms Mabley
Born 1896, Died 1975

 

I think life is dangerous so why should smoking be any worse or any better.If it keeps you happy smoking then thats all the benefit you need

 

right now idc about smokers, but if obamacare goes through i dont want to pay for peoples cancer treatments from unhealthy lifestyle.

 

You already are paying for their care, the government just wants to get the vig on the take.

 

Because smokers don't pay taxes, right?

 

Pshaw! Only 10 times the amount of everyone else! Need some new revenue? Tax the smokers, they deserve it. It got so expensive I had to quit. Am I bitter? YES!

 

WALKER SOCK! WALKER SOCK!

 

Seems like we always have to pay for the things we enjoy one way or another.I admit i cant stop smoking even though tried to stop.Ok the price is always going up as well,what can you do

 

ok, im playing devils advocate but...

if more people quit because they couldnt afford it, that tax would save the health care system (ok, i may just be thinking canadian right now...) billions of dollars. and even if people keep buying the cigs instead of quitting, then they are paying for their added stresses on the system.
i think it is a pretty good idea.

 

Smoking is one of the worst habits out there, cigarettes kill people!!!
It's a smelly, dirty, expensive habit...

It looks like we have a new sock around here...

 

all fine and dandy but id rather keep clear of them
could not live with an addiction like that

 

Smoke rollups.

Seriously. It's a third of the price - if that.