Smoking bans worldwide are they related to this coming Pandemic

I know I will probably get flamed right off ATS for this, but I feel I have to share what I have discussed and discovered.

I have a friend who works at Liverpool University as a Technician in Biological research, I did mention what I was told, not just by them, but by several people from the same department, some who also work for the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

Awhile ago I was whining about the Smoking ban which had been introduced in public places, and how I was finding it hard to give up, usual rubbish.

Anyhow their consensus back then was the whole Smoking ban worldwide had to be down to more than just a thought for peoples health and well being, I even remember someone saying how many people would become sick because of an enforced ban, and I know of one such person from about 7 years ago, a lady called Florence, (flossy) a wonderful lady, who was proud of being a WRAAF and had worked hard all her life, fit as a fiddle for her 70 odd age, yet within 2 weeks of giving up smoking she was dead, died from stroke, her GP scared her into giving up even though she has smoked since she was a teenager, anyhow everyone who knew her said it was a mistake for her to give up, and she paid the price.

I am not saying for a second that Smoking is healthy, how can it be with all the thousands of deadly chemicals amongst the ingredients, that is where I become suspicious of the Tobacco companies and the inclusion of those chemicals, most of them there just to preserve and make the cigarette burn faster, leaving you with the need to buy more quicker.

Here is a list of the ingedients

Anyhow it is not common knowledge that there is a factor about Tobacco and Nicotine that can at a time like we have now have a positive effect and help fight a virus like we now have threatening to spread and hurt many families, I am talking about Nicotinic Acid, which had it's name changed to Niacin to distance itself from Nicotine.

Niacin was first described by Hugo Weidel in 1873 in his studies of nicotine.[4] The original preparation remains useful: the oxidation of nicotine using nitric acid.[5] Niacin was extracted from livers by Conrad Elvehjem who later identified the active ingredient, then referred to as the "pellagra-preventing factor" and the "anti-blacktongue factor."[6] When the biological significance of nicotinic acid was realized, it was thought appropriate to choose a name to dissociate it from nicotine, in order to avoid the perception that vitamins or niacin-rich food contains nicotine. The resulting name 'niacin' was derived from nicotinic acid + vitamin.

I am not suggesting everyone take up Smoking that would be daft, I would however consider this to be the wrong time to try and give up myself, I do have a small amount of Native American cigarettes, which have no where near the ingredients that regular Tobacco Companies insert into their products, if you can get hold of Smoke shop Cigs from a Native American Nation, then please consider the switch.

With all the talk of TPTB being behind the drugs which are to be used to fight this Virus, perhaps these ingredients and the enforcement of the no Smoking laws could well all be related to this almost Pandemic.

All I am asking is that everyone please do your own small amount of research, especially before you believe every Tom, Dick and Harry on the internet with some obscure idea, that includes myself and this thread, everyone is different with different circumstances, if you have a Family member who is frail or has a condition which will threaten them more than usual, you have to work everything around them, not to could be a mistake IMO

All I can do is wish everyone the best of health and luck, everyone can come through all of this with minimal damage to your Family structure, if you research yourself, try natural remedies instead of mass produced Government backed products, there are many out there if you look, but remember time is short so get them as soon as you can.

If you have more information that can help please add it.

Everyone please be safe and well.

Interesting info.

My news yesterday had this very big and long discussion on smoking and how people Had to Stop - and how the govt. was going to start cracking down on it more.

Honestly - I smoke - so I am going to look up some of this information you provided!!

Glad I stocked up on tobacco pre April 1st -

Thanks, will see what I can come up with - regarding what you provided.

I have heard this idea several times, though yours has a new little twist with is the beneficial acid.

Other things I have heard are that smokers and alcoholics were statistically less likely to die in the 1918 because alcohol and nicotine have temporary but strong diminutive effects on the immune system.

As fate would have it, my regular head shop has not had ANY American Spirit organic pouches for about 3 months, only the $7 packs. Supposedly their truck is coming in this afternoon, I've called to reserve a few pouches when it does get here, we'll see if I end up getting them.

Also weird, because I couldn't get my regular tobacco and they also out of EVERY other type of rolling tobacco I went to Wal-Mart (ick) where I picked up their most expensive ($5.50) pouch of tobacco, only realizing when I got home it was pipe tobacco. Very moist and dark, but it gives me a bit more phlegm than I'm used to, as the organic only puts a real thin film in the sinuses that doesn't really produce anything. (it sounds bad, but any smoker will understand what I'm saying)

Could be a lot of coincidences, could be someone looking over me, we'll see by December how things pan out.

However, no chance in hell I'm quitting smoking or drinking any time soon. I've also started a steady raw garlic regimen, and I've noticed some definite "detoxification".

It makes sense from one perspective, smokers generally throw used cigarettes on the ground which one way a saliva-borne virus can be easily spread.

Another problem, borne out from years of working with heavy smokers, is that they tend to be prone to more serious complications from flues and other respiratory diseases and also spread them to nonsmokers. Every time a smoker in our department got sick, which was pretty much about every week at my last job, the rest of us could count on it as well.

The third issue is triage. Say this thing does hit the fan, most hospitals only have access to a finite number of respirators or ventilators. If they are overwhelmed what criteria do you think they are going to use to determine treatment other than probability of survival and age? Lifestyle practices, the same as doctors who refuse kidney transplants to drinkers.

As a smoker, it would be nice to hear about some positive benefits for a change! Flag for you!

yes, but those are consequences of a lifetime of drinking and smoking, resulting from decades of strong abuse and a gradual deterioration of the organs themselves.

The ability of a regular smoker or drinker whose organs have not yet deteriorated irrecoverably, such as the age group who is most likely to be subject to cytokine storms, is in my opinion legendary. I've known a number of "regular folks" who are prone to regular sickness, but very few of the smokers I've known were susceptible to the "regular stuff" going around. I've known one alcoholic who was on her deathbed, and often bedridden, but most often because she was just too drunk to get up.

reply to post by secretagent woooman


That's just the type of nonsense they want to have everyone believe. Seems to be working.

reply to post by Chilkoot


I'm with ya on that! If we're all going to die in a few years anyway, it's probably not the best time to give up our vices. That aside, I am very much into healing, alternative medicine and herbology, etc. I think it is incredibly rude and unfair that people assume that all smokers are unhealty and irresponsible. Honestly, everytime I get in one of these threads I want to put someone over my knee and break out the wooden spoon. FFS! *Cheers btw* lol

reply to post by Chilkoot

I'm sorry but I have to debate you on this, in 38 years I have never known a smoker of any degree who did not stay sick with respiratory diseases or colds and probably two-thirds of people I know right now smoke or chaw. I also have never seen a single one who had powers of recovery like you mention, the opposite is true and the resulting absenteeism is the reason our insurance company no longer covers tobacco-related illnesses.

Don't even get me started on boozing, I mean, drinking!

I'm not advocating alcoholism. There are many people that are satisfied by 3-5 drinks a night. Some people cannot control themselves and should not drink at all, and that is understandable.

However, the only ailments I've known smokers and drinkers to suffer are directly related to the smoking or drinking itself. I don't know about any 35+ers, but in the 20-30 range they've so far seemed fairly healthy as long as they haven't had to run up a staircase in the last hour or so.


I'm only a very mild smoker, a 40g pouch of tobacco lasts 2 weeks, and my cardiovascular healthy has not seemed to decline appreciably.

My mother gave up after 50 years and nearly died within a month. Now 3 smokes a day breakfast lunch and dinner and it's nearly 20 years later and going strong. The body don't like to be messed with.

Negative,Positively negative. now I feel sick,give me a Beer.

Zelong.

LINK

"nicotine can reduce a cytokine storm and the ensuing inflammation. One such article detailing this information was “Body Blazes” by Lisa Melton published in Scientific American in June 2006"

Maybe this is why Governments were so concerned about our health - smoking in public places!

It may stop their evil pandemic from working so well

there is some evidence that nicotine going into your lungs can stop or slow the cytokine storm, and help reduce the inflammation caused by swine flu

LINK

[edit on 30-4-2009 by suziwong]

Yeah we have some bans here to. Apparently it's okay for people to get drunk and possibly kill or come into work hungover but God forbid you light a cigarette anywhere near a non smoker it's like your commiting
the worst sin ever. Personally cigarettes keep me from the twitching that
I've had for along time. Once though I had just finished work and was waiting for a ride home. I was standing near a phone this lady and guy walk over to use the phone she gets on it I light up and the guy was like
"Can I help you?" real assinine tone just wanted to take my cig and jam it down his throat. I can understand some are allergic and some just don't like it but I don't like baggy jeans gangs government etc. or people who try to force me to stop smoking. So I say
"Deal with it or go away."

[edit on 10-04-08 by Beach Bum]

I hope something like this happens. It will save me about $2600 a year.

I already feel like an outcast when I smoke in public. People shooting dirty looks, others covering their face and walking far around.

reply to post by azzllin


If you haven't read it yet m8, get a hold of William Dufty's Sugar Blues, it's a cracking read, hits on what you said about the Native Americans and Tobacco and the fact that they don't suffer from Lung Cancer.

Chuffer

ok I am almost 41 yrs old and have been smoking for 23 years. I just went in for a full check-up and on the lung x-ray the doctor asked if I had really been smoking that long because my lung's did not look like I smoked. My belief on that is because of my very strong immune system the smoking helps to keep it busy so it don't attack my body in other way's.

1 week later I went in for my stress test. Ok when I got on the tread mill my heart rate jumped fast because of the amount of caffeine I drink and the doctor said he probably would not even get the full 3 minutes out of me 9 minutes later my rate nver got as high as he wanted it stayed at 150bpm.

I am not condoning smoking and I prob should quit but at what health risk to me since it seem's my body has adapted. The reason for this post was for the person that said everyone he knows that smokes is sick all the time but we are all different and there are prob alot like me that do not ever get sick and smoke all the time.

Another argument I always have with doctors are when I have something done and they tell me that it is going to take a week to heal or longer because I smoke. For instance last yr I had a cyst removed off the back of my neck that was the size of a golf ball. they told me becaused i smoked that it would be 2 weeks for the hole they leave to completly close. I told them it would be days and they said that won't happen. I had the surgeory on a fri. morning wide awake with just local which was a trip. I went in sat. to have the wick removed " A bunch of thin gauze they put in and leave some sticking out for the fluid to come out" and he barely got it out because my wound was healing around it. went back monday for them to check again and the whole was completly close and I thought the doctors jaw was going to hit the floor....lol

Ok enough of that I just wanted to give my example of health and smoking who knows maybe it is my cherokee blood that runs thru me .

Very interesting thread! Star and flag.

Ok I will start with the usual disclaimer that yes smoking is bad for you and if you dont smoke now, don't start.

I have been a light smoker for just over 10 years now. Before I started I was always getting sick. Colds, flu's, etc etc you name it. but to be honest, since I have been smoking, I rarely EVER get sick (colds, flu's) and my cardiovascular hasn't changed much since smoking. I can hike just as much now without needing a break as I could when I was a non smoker. Yes, there are a lot of bad things in cigarettes these days but could it also be possible that some of the chemicals contained in tobacco could actually keep you from getting sick? maybe?

On a side note, I did quit for almost a year and in that time of non smoking, I got a cold or flu 4 times.

I know that most of the smokers testimonies here in this thread may sound a lot like we are saying that smoking is good for you and that perhaps its the addiction to nicotine fueling our responses but again, I very RARELY get sick (maybe once in 2 or 3 years if that) since I started smoking so there must be something to that.

Here in Canada the ban on smoking in pubs, bars and restaurants etc has gone over pretty well. Its not a big deal and to be perfectly honest I like the fact that I can go to one of these venues and not have to wade through a thick cloud of smoke. Not to mention, people just go outside now to smoke which in a way is great because even with a lot of smokers puffing away outside, the smoke dissipates a lot quicker than in an enclosed environment. I also appreciate the non-smokers wish not to be in a smoking environment too. Lets be honest, we all know that it stinks badly. We just don't notice it because we are so used to the smell.

I went to the Pharmacist earlier today to buy some Surgical face masks, obviously I didn't expect to find them in stock, but I was surprised they couldn't even order any, the Pharmacist told me they were not allowed to buy them as the Government has told them they will be distributed free to who they think is in most need, that disturbed me a little, so I rang around to check and it's the same everywhere I called.

I am becoming more and more stressed over this, even if they don't prevent, it would have been a psychological boost for my family, a false sense of security so to speak.

As time goes by hour by hour, I am now seriously thinking of keeping my Daughter away from School, and my eldest from College, what about all the sporting events this weekend? thousands of people watching football, mingling, how is allowing these events to take place preventing infection?

Thank you all for responding to this thread, please everyone be safe and well.

I am a smoker too (yeah I know I am an evil wicked women who is going to hell for smoking ) NOT ...


I am a HEAVY two packer a day ..(roll my own now) .....have been smoking now for 35 or more years ..steady ..(only quit once for ten days ) ........

I NEVER get sick (never) I do not even get allergies when everyone else is sicker than a dog from them ..I have only had the flu maybe TWICE my whole life ...(and that was several years ago ) ...............


I dont think it is the cigs that keep me so healthy but something in them keeps me from getting everything that everyone around me gets ..(THEY ARE MOSTLY ALL NONSMOKERS) ..............
Now my hubby is a different story ..lately he has gotten everything everyone brings to our house ...and he is also a heavy smoker ....but he dont eat right (no vegetables ever and no fruits ever) meat and potatoe every night (YUCK) ......

So If this info is true about the swine flu ..than THAT IS AWESOME TO HEAR that ..