4 ms·

I have a bizarre theory that 1 - 1.5 packs of cigarettes per year is actually beneficial for health. This theory has two parts: - small amounts of nicotine occ

I have a bizarre theory that 1 - 1.5 packs of cigarettes per year is actually beneficial for health. This theory has two parts: - small amounts of nicotine occsaionnaly are excellent for the brain - the innoculatory effects of small occasional acute exposure to toxins and carcinogens preemptively activates and trains your body and its immune system to respond to the types of things that cause damage. Basically by activating the damage repair systems occasionally under a mild stressor you keep yourself inoculated against seemingly damage-associated conditions. I'll let y'all know how it's going in 200 years or so :)

hackeraccount 3y ago
I have a similar theory about car accidents. I get in one every couple of years because I think that I'll be able react more quickly to them if I'd never experienced it at all. :-). Slightly more seriously, I hope your cigarette plan works out for you.
- rufus_foreman 3y ago
  Exactly, or like allowing your kid occasional exposure to allergens hoping it will help them avoid allergies and asthma later on. In reality of course, no amount of cleanliness could possibly be too clean.
  - TeaBrain 3y ago
    Except that exposing infants to food allergens has been shown lower the prevalence of food allergies. Solid Food Introduction and the Development of Food Allergies https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30453619/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30453619/ Early consumption of peanuts in infancy is associated with a low prevalence of peanut allergy https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19000582/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19000582/ What if it is the other way around? Early introduction of peanut and fish seems to be better than avoidance https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19432829/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19432829/
  - keepamovin 3y ago
    Really? You need widespread exposure to build your immune system. That’s what I thought. Haha Though truth be told, I did read your comment as sarcasm, supportive of my position or humorously mocking the outrageous comparison example of car accidents ha ha
- keepamovin 3y ago
  Hahahaha! :) I mean, if you told me you were doing a defensive driving course i’d be like hell yeah! You know that would keep your skills sharp, and the accidents would be a result of those stressors. Haha. I suppose the obvious difference is a car “accident” depending on how controlled it is could kill you. Whereas a handful of cigarettes is not going to kill you.
  - defrost 3y ago
    We had no milk for a week in the 1970s. The driver of the road train bringing groceries up the west coast highway flicked a cigarette out the window that blew straight back in and into his eye causing him to over steer a roll a prime mover and two trailers. You're correct that it didn't kill him, but it was a close call that could've gone that way.
    - keepamovin 3y ago
      Oh hahahah. That's a great story, but I think you might be missing the point of taking a cigarette. Hahahah! :) Ah the endless interactions between between vehicles and cigarettes. Don't know why this came to me but in Taiwan, a massive rail tragedy was caused when a utility truck for some kind of maintenance rolled backwards down an embankment and onto a rail line at the mouth of a tunnel. The train was either entering or exiting (I forget which) and dozens of people were killed. All because a much smaller vehicle parked unsafely or forgot the handbrake!!!
- keepamovin 3y ago
  Thanks! Ha ha :) But heck I'm probably wrong about that, just saw this great Kurzgesagt video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rBPwu2uS-w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rBPwu2uS-w I do wanna try Zyn tho. I think nicotine is worth exploring a little bit, 100%
DoreenMichele 3y ago
Humorously, the CDC claims smoking lowers mortality for people prone to depression: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37923037 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37923037 (Ignore the downvotes this will likely get. People seem to knee-jerk have an issue with me saying anything at all about health. It's meaningless noise.)
- keepamovin 3y ago
  I guess that makes sense. I mean I'm not depressed and I never have been but I know that cigarettes gave stability to a lot of friends I had when younger who had those kind of issues. Less likely to fall off the deep end and probably kept them more functional and taking care of themselves. Does it make them less depressed? As an aside on the downvotes: i mean, whatever works for you! People downvote but they're not you, and your body is gonna be unique. Everything can work differently for different people.
  - DoreenMichele 3y ago
    Cigarettes do make some people less depressed. Some depression medications are known to help people stop smoking.
    - keepamovin 3y ago
      Interesting. Not sure what to make of that, brain is not quite optimal right now but I guess those systems are connected. Probably depression is a complex thing with distinct pathologies covered by one word that can’t capture all the causes, even tho symptoms overlap across distinct types. Gut brain important too. Everyone’s different. I didn’t get COVID but my spouse got it and we lived in a very dense part of the world during it. Before taking a crowded train my body would crave a cigarette, not for the anxiety, would be like the night before, but I figured out it was warming up my immune system. Maybe the oxidative chemicals in the smoke also kill virus and bacteria too. I very seldom get halitosis but I find a cigarette knocks it out and it doesn’t come back. Everyone’s different tho which is also science: epigenetics etc. I think occasional tobacco aligns with its historical use as a shamanic or medicinal herb. I love the nicotine high but I’ve never been addicted compulsively so I never got into it, but occasional is good. Track my health across years where I have a couple cigarettes versus none at all and it’s better in those moderation years. Very occasional is good for my qi too. It’s funny tho that CDC admits it improves depression in some. Haha

hackeraccount 3y ago

I have a similar theory about car accidents. I get in one every couple of years because I think that I'll be able react more quickly to them if I'd never experienced it at all. :-). Slightly more seriously, I hope your cigarette plan works out for you.

rufus_foreman 3y ago
Exactly, or like allowing your kid occasional exposure to allergens hoping it will help them avoid allergies and asthma later on. In reality of course, no amount of cleanliness could possibly be too clean.
- TeaBrain 3y ago
  Except that exposing infants to food allergens has been shown lower the prevalence of food allergies. Solid Food Introduction and the Development of Food Allergies https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30453619/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30453619/ Early consumption of peanuts in infancy is associated with a low prevalence of peanut allergy https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19000582/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19000582/ What if it is the other way around? Early introduction of peanut and fish seems to be better than avoidance https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19432829/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19432829/
- keepamovin 3y ago
  Really? You need widespread exposure to build your immune system. That’s what I thought. Haha Though truth be told, I did read your comment as sarcasm, supportive of my position or humorously mocking the outrageous comparison example of car accidents ha ha
keepamovin 3y ago
Hahahaha! :) I mean, if you told me you were doing a defensive driving course i’d be like hell yeah! You know that would keep your skills sharp, and the accidents would be a result of those stressors. Haha. I suppose the obvious difference is a car “accident” depending on how controlled it is could kill you. Whereas a handful of cigarettes is not going to kill you.
- defrost 3y ago
  We had no milk for a week in the 1970s. The driver of the road train bringing groceries up the west coast highway flicked a cigarette out the window that blew straight back in and into his eye causing him to over steer a roll a prime mover and two trailers. You're correct that it didn't kill him, but it was a close call that could've gone that way.
  - keepamovin 3y ago
    Oh hahahah. That's a great story, but I think you might be missing the point of taking a cigarette. Hahahah! :) Ah the endless interactions between between vehicles and cigarettes. Don't know why this came to me but in Taiwan, a massive rail tragedy was caused when a utility truck for some kind of maintenance rolled backwards down an embankment and onto a rail line at the mouth of a tunnel. The train was either entering or exiting (I forget which) and dozens of people were killed. All because a much smaller vehicle parked unsafely or forgot the handbrake!!!
keepamovin 3y ago
Thanks! Ha ha :) But heck I'm probably wrong about that, just saw this great Kurzgesagt video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rBPwu2uS-w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rBPwu2uS-w I do wanna try Zyn tho. I think nicotine is worth exploring a little bit, 100%

DoreenMichele 3y ago

Humorously, the CDC claims smoking lowers mortality for people prone to depression: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37923037 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37923037 (Ignore the downvotes this will likely get. People seem to knee-jerk have an issue with me saying anything at all about health. It's meaningless noise.)

keepamovin 3y ago
I guess that makes sense. I mean I'm not depressed and I never have been but I know that cigarettes gave stability to a lot of friends I had when younger who had those kind of issues. Less likely to fall off the deep end and probably kept them more functional and taking care of themselves. Does it make them less depressed? As an aside on the downvotes: i mean, whatever works for you! People downvote but they're not you, and your body is gonna be unique. Everything can work differently for different people.
- DoreenMichele 3y ago
  Cigarettes do make some people less depressed. Some depression medications are known to help people stop smoking.
  - keepamovin 3y ago
    Interesting. Not sure what to make of that, brain is not quite optimal right now but I guess those systems are connected. Probably depression is a complex thing with distinct pathologies covered by one word that can’t capture all the causes, even tho symptoms overlap across distinct types. Gut brain important too. Everyone’s different. I didn’t get COVID but my spouse got it and we lived in a very dense part of the world during it. Before taking a crowded train my body would crave a cigarette, not for the anxiety, would be like the night before, but I figured out it was warming up my immune system. Maybe the oxidative chemicals in the smoke also kill virus and bacteria too. I very seldom get halitosis but I find a cigarette knocks it out and it doesn’t come back. Everyone’s different tho which is also science: epigenetics etc. I think occasional tobacco aligns with its historical use as a shamanic or medicinal herb. I love the nicotine high but I’ve never been addicted compulsively so I never got into it, but occasional is good. Track my health across years where I have a couple cigarettes versus none at all and it’s better in those moderation years. Very occasional is good for my qi too. It’s funny tho that CDC admits it improves depression in some. Haha