My blood pressure is actually LOWER after smoking a cigar. I attribute that to the fact that I just gave myself an hour-plus of no-stress "me time."
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Christian glad you are ok and back on the boards...

I haven't encountered that situation of my Dr. giving me a hard time but one of my close friends is a MD and he loves it when I bring sticks around...If my reg physician said anything then I'd just pull the old "I'm in better shape than you" thing..

George Burns and Winston Churchill lived past 80...they smoked cigars every day didn't they?
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To make it even more cigar-related, Arturo Fuente Sr. lived a good long life, and Avo Uvezian is turning 83 this year and STILL WORKING!
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isn't the head honcho of the Robania family still alive and kicking and in his 80s?
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Yes, Don Alejandro Robaina is alive and kicking.

Image

I believe he is 89, nearly 90. :-)
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At least. Winston was a chain cigar smoker. Bottom line, heredity plays a more important part in things than just about anything else!
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I chalk it up to quality of life,,,there is enough illness and disease around and if smoking a cigar a few times a week is going to end your life chances are you were prone to illness or disease in the first place and having a cigar on top of that is probably not a good idea. For those of us who are in good enough shape and we enjoy it it becomes a matter of choice and for me I'd rather have a cigar and relax than to sit around and be anxious and have my BP shoot up about 30 points. Each person has to evaluate what is best for them.
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This has actually happened for me. When I was able to smoke, after work, for about 90 minutes on my front porch, my BP actually went down a notch.

Doc wasn;t exactly thrilled, but decided the BP was going to get me before the smoking, so it was a win win for me.:-)
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And remember even doctors are people with their own personal bias influenced, pre-conceived notions on subjects, right or wrong. On more subjects than we want to know about, doctor's opinions are just that: opinions.
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Dude, you live very close to my doctor who is a chemical engineer, biologist, and a lot of things I can't remember, but also a wild game hunter with trophies on his wall from all over the world.

Most importantly, he grew up in Havana, has a love for cigars, and will tell you the risk involved compared to the relaxation factor many achieve, isn't worth talking about. He absolutely hates cigarettes though and got me to quit.

Basically, if you're not inhalling, there are risks, but not nearly as bad as many other things. Look at George Burns....
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Most physicians educated on the studies done on cigar smoking realize that moderate (less than 2 cigars a day) has very little effect on overall health. Even the ACS (American Cancer Society) who has every reason to trash cigar smoking says health effects of occasional cigar smoking are not known. Their statement isn't completely honest. I wrote up a pretty extensive review on the health effects of cigar smoking awhile back. I'll see if I can dig it up.
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:-):-):-):-):-):


Sorry - Now that is funny right there.


Ron
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Yeah -

I gave my Doc a handful of smokes after my surgery - and gave his PA a five pack for her boyfriend. I waited until after the surgery - just in case it didn't work out - which as some of you know, damn near didn't. :-)

Look - damn near everyone in the medical field is trained to give you crap about smoking. So what - smile, nod your head and carry on.


Ron
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Mine tells me to quite, then just laughs. :-)
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As a MEDEVAC Pilot, I get a thorough physical every year. When the Doctors ask if I smoke, I tell them 3-5 sticks a week. They usually laugh and ask me which cigars are my favorite, and do I have any recommendations for them.

One of my doctors told me the following once. "Something will kill us one day. You can maybe die a year or two early because of cigars, or spend the rest of your life missing them."

Will
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I have smoked cigarettes for years and have been trying to quit. I have cut back drastically I told my doctor that I have cut back on cigarettes but have been smocking cigars more and she still threw a hissy fit no winning with them. Anti smoking Nazi thats all I have to say!!
Josh
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I haven't run through the research in awhile but the National Cancer Institute published...Monograph number 9, Cigars, Health Effects and Trends in February, 1998. For smokers who limit their cigars to 1-2 a day...the risks are small and difficult to interpret. Lets also keep in mind many studies that have shown cigars to be harmful usually have alcohol as a cofactor. The studies overwhelmingly show that moderate cigar smoking has very little risk to overall health.
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Glad to hear you're doing better.

I always find it amusing when a doctor, nurse, emt, goes into the riot act about smoking. All those years of medical school and they come out sounding like an afterschool special. I mean how do they expect you to react? "WOW, I had no idea smoking was bad for you. Thanks Dr. Obvious, you saved my life."


True story: A good friend of mine who's a kidney specialist smokes cigars and eats red meat but won't drink tap water because of the contaminates. :-)
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Glad the surgery went well. Perhaps your anesthesiologists was worried because he works with gasses -- could be a fear of flames.
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I had surgery on Thursday. Was asked by about six different doctors whether I smoke. I answered: "cigars" to each and every one. None of them said another word about it. Now, I didn't volunteer that I had had three the night before the surgery, including a RyJ Cazadore at midnight that was just a nicotine bomb, but they didn't ask about that :-).

By the way, I have now gone over 48 hours without a cigar. I think it's time to get back on that smoking wagon :-)
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