OOoooooOOOOooooOOOO, that smell…can’t you smell that smell?
OOoooooOOOOooooOOOO, that smell…that smell that surrounds you!:eek:
That’s nice, junior. However, the actual paper goes nowhere near as far as “confirming” anything. It’s a lot more speculative than lying propagandists would have one believe.
Obviously, we must emulate the Western European government that enacted the most stringent anti-smoking laws in Western history.
One guess who that is.
Junior:wally
Please tell me this one’s a joke…please???
Actually, hair is quite an accurate gauge of exactly how much nicotine is circulating through the body:
“The best way to test children 
for their exposure to second-hand smoke is to test samples of their hair, say researchers.
They found the hair nicotine levels were able to more accurately discriminate between the smokiest homes and those where parents did not smoke, or only smoked outside the home.”
Again, I say give REAL data, with REAL statistics to back up the claims. Of course, since anti-smoking is all cultism and fundamentally dishonest, you won’t.
And the correlation between this and how the hair LOOKS? I didn’t find that mentioned anywhere. Could you give the medline cite number for that particular paper? Oh, never mind, that would be requesting actual science from a cultist.
Dogface, you have dismissed all cites provided without providing any of your own. Your one anecdote of your grandfather not succumbing to this side effect from smoking does not refute the links provided. No one is saying that every smoker looks like that all the time, just that evidence shows smoking is one thing that has an effect on your appearance. Someone who spends every summer baking in the sun is also more likely to wrinkle prematurely.
I have a feeling that no cite would be proof enough for you, though, since you believe “anti smoking is all cultism and fundamentally dishonest,” whatever that means. In fact, to this statement, I say, Cite?
Here’s one for you: "Collagen is the main structural protein of the skin which maintains skin elasticity. The more a person smokes, the greater the risk of premature wrinkling. Smokers in their 40s often have as many facial wrinkles as non-smokers in their 60s. "
and,
“Compared with non-smokers, smokers have a two to threefold higher risk of developing psoriasis, a chronic skin condition which, while not life-threatening, can be extremely uncomfortable and disfiguring.”
This information is from “OMNI (Organising Medical Networked Information) is a gateway to evaluated, quality Internet resources in health and medicine, aimed at students, researchers, academics and practitioners in the health and medical sciences. OMNI is created by a core team of information specialists and subject experts based at the University of Nottingham Greenfield Medical Library, in partnership with key organisations throughout the UK and further afield.”
Wake up and smell the cancer, ignoranus.
Based on purely anecdotal evidence (don’t start Dogface, I know the terms are mutually exclusive, it’s just a turn of phrase), I would agree with the OP.
Experience #1- my paternal grandmother made two choices which I believe contributed to how she looked as she aged. She spent a lot of time in the sun, and she was a smoker for umpteen years. Looked like a piece of beef jerky in her 60’s. My maternal grandmother, OTOH, shied away from the sun and never smoked a day in her life. She had dewy, mostly unwrinkled skin into her 70’s (did it help that she was overweight too, kinda puffed out her wrinkles maybe?).
Experience #2- my own skin, hair and body after quitting smoking. I was a heavy smoker for about 13 years and was noticing more wrinkling and dryness in my skin than that of my friends who didn’t smoke. This was in my 20’s. Since I quit over 10 years ago, my skin has improved tremendously in terms of coloration and “skin quality” (not so many pimples, smoother and better resiliency). I still have the wrinkles I started with when I quit smoking, of course, but they seem to be coming on at more of a normal rate.
Eh, I know someone will jump in here and call me a cultist or a liar or deluded. Whatever.
I am in no way anti-smoking. In fact, I loved smoking, and would still be doing it if I could.
PS- you are right about hair being a good indicator of bodily intake. Schools are now using hair samples for drug testing! Eek!
Thanks, zwaldd. Now if I read his posts with that image in mind, it’s much more fun!
I knew it! So much for coy disguises, eh Doggie. You sound like someone whose views are bought and paid for by RJ Reynolds.
Every drug addiction seems to put its own ugly mark on the human body; gin blossoms and other deformities are easily seen in the face of an alcoholic; a sketcher (speed junkie) has a particularly gruesome effect on the skin; smokers end up looking jaundiced, dry and sickly as well as gravel-voiced.
If every drug addition put is own ugly mark on the human body, then people would not be able to hide their habits for years and years and years. Winona Ryder looks pretty good, don’t you think? She’s a smoker with a long-term drug problem. (And really super genes.)
What you call “gin blossom” is usually Rosacea. Alcohol (along with certain foods and coffee) can make it worse.
Basically, the links and the information in this thread have all the rigorous thinking of 17 Magazine.
Smokers usually have pot bellies and spindly legs? Uh, no, fat people smoke, lots of them. You can verify this by spending some time on the smoking porch of your local county hospital.
Smokers don’t exercise? Does blue-collar work not count? Blue collar workers are much more likely to smoke. I’d call unloading trucks all day exercise.
Velma Don’t you notice your quote doesn’t really say anything?
How much greater? How much more often? According to what method of measuring?
I’m not claiming smoking is the way, the truth, and the light, just that saying “ooooh, icky” is hardly an argument against it.
And just what exactly is an "Ignoranus, " ?
Personal insults have much more of an impact when they are spelled correctly. Of course, even if they are, I wasn’t aware that they were allowed in this forum.
Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, South Korea.
BACKGROUND: Despite the obvious relation between smoking and facial wrinkling, grossly undetectable wrinkling and the consequences of smoking on the face have been poorly studied. OBJECTIVE: To assess the risk factor of cigarette smoking on the development of premature facial wrinkling. METHODS: One hundred and twenty-three nonsmokers, 160 current smokers, and 67 past smokers, aged 20-69 years, were studied. Cigarette smoking status, weight changes, average sun exposure time (recreational and occupational) in 1 month, and past medical and facial cosmetic surgery were quantified by self-questionnaire. Computerized image analysis of silicone skin replicas was used in addition to clinical visual measurement, and a severity score based on predetermined criteria was assigned to each patient. RESULTS: Current smokers have a higher degree of facial wrinkling than nonsmokers and past smokers. Past smokers who smoked heavily at a younger age show less facial wrinkling than current smokers. In the analysis, which was adjusted for age group, the relative risk of moderate to severe wrinkling for current smokers compared with nonsmokers was 2.72 (confidence interval, CI: 1.32-3.21, P < 0.05). In current smokers, the relative risks associated with more than 19 pack-years and 11-19 pack-years of smoking compared with nonsmokers were 2.93 (CI: 1.14-4.1, P < 0.05) and 1.75 (CI: 1.54-3.67, P < 0.05), respectively. On image analysis of facial skin replicas, the mean values of Ra (arithmetic average roughness), Rz (average roughness), and Rt (distance between the highest and lowest values) of current smokers were higher than those of nonsmokers and past smokers in all age groups. This indicates a strong correlation between cigarette smoking and skin wrinkling. In addition, microscopic superficial wrinkling (Ra and Rt) was noted in current smokers in the younger age group (20-39 years). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that attention should be paid to smoking-associated facial wrinkling (not evident from a visual assessment) in young people and added to the list of disorders seemingly caused by smoking.
[Moderator Hat ON]
Wow, this is late. However, Arcana, direct personal insults are NOT allowed in GD.
[Moderator Hat OFF]
I’m not sure why this thread was resurrected, but I’ll respond.
The bit I quoted does not quantify the exact amounts (the way Arcana’s cite does, that is a more exact study) but it does state the correlation between smoking and increased chance of premature wrinkles exists. You can reduce it to ‘ooooh, icky’ if you like, but for some people any increased risk is worth noting. If someone is smoking and wondering if their appearance is at risk, it would be incorrect to say to them, “no, absolutely not. There is sufficient evidence to show your appearance will not be affected in any way.”
I have yet to see anyone come up with a study done that did not come to the conclusion that smoking does affect one’s appearance in some way.
As a side note, I have personal experience with this as well, I used to smoke and have noticed a clear difference since I quit. I noticed it even while I smoked, so it is not just a case of justifying my own quit. I noticed the effects on my skin and hair just like I noticed I got winded easily and had a smoker’s cough. When I quit, those things all went away.
Is this supposed to be new information? I thought the fact that smoking causes premature aging was as common knowledge as the fact that smoking contributes to cancer and lung disease.
I have to wonder about the the OP’s intentions. Was she/he attempting to engage in debate about the topic or was this just a “I’m feeling kind of bad about myself today, I think I’ll rag on some smokers to make myself feel better” type of thing?
If smokers are supposed to be so recognizable by mere glance, as has been asserted here, I have to wonder why everyone I’ve known throughout the time I’ve been a smoker (off and on for 9 years) has only found out I smoked through seeing me or through my telling them. And they always seem suprised. They shouldn’t be though, right? They should be able to tell I’m a smoker from a mile away, since I’m supposed to look like a withered old hag with a deep scratchy voice and a chronic cough.
True, I only smoke 3-5 cigs a day (on average) but I’d like to point out that smokers are being painted with a mighty large brush here. There’s quite a bit of difference between someone who smokes a few cigs a day for a few years and someone who smokes 2 packs a day for 40 years. To say that all smokers display these characteristics is blatently generalizing.