# Smoking a carton a day **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 6, 2007, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-a-carton-a-day/394751 "2007-03-06T00:36:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-a-carton-a-day/394751/1 "2007-03-06T00:36:40Z")
I enjoy a good cigar every now and then, but in my four decades on this planet, I never smoked a cigarette. I want to change that, though. Thing is, if I take up smoking, I want to go all out, balls-to-the-wall, and do it right. I want to puff like [Union Pacific 3985](http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/excurs/up3985.shtml), or better yet, a chimney of a Chinese coal-fired power plant. I want to smoke a carton of smokes a day. So, if I work at home where I can puff away beyond the reach of nanny state laws, sleep eight hours a day, and puff away at a normal pace, is it possible to smoke a carton of cigarettes a day? Do people smoke a carton a day? ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-a-carton-a-day/394751/2 "2007-03-06T00:40:04Z")
Timewise, sure you could. A carton is 200 cigarettes, I personally average 3-5 minutes per cigarette. That would be a range of 10-16 hours to finish of a carton. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-a-carton-a-day/394751/3 "2007-03-06T00:44:17Z")
Why wouldn’t it be possible? I’m sure there are people who smoke more than a pack a day. ETA: wait a minute, a CARTON? Like, 10 packs? ---
**Author:** ![MrFloppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@MrFloppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFloppy)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-a-carton-a-day/394751/4 "2007-03-06T00:54:01Z")
I knew someone who smoked two packs a day and it seemed they always had a ciggie in their mouth. I can’t imagine anyone smoking 10 packs per day. Not to mention the cost. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-a-carton-a-day/394751/5 "2007-03-06T00:56:32Z")
Upon reflection, I guess it would possible, if you were determined to do so. Just the thought of attempting to do so, however, makes me want to gag - and I’m a smoker myself. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-a-carton-a-day/394751/6 "2007-03-06T01:00:38Z")
The highest consumption I’ve heard of lately was five packs a day for 50 years - or as it’s measured in medical terms - 250 pack-years. I don’t doubt there’ve been people who did a full carton a day, but for 50 years? That would take one resilient set of lungs. ---
**Author:** ![Rhubarb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-a-carton-a-day/394751/7 "2007-03-06T01:00:47Z")
You _might_ manage it. Once. Twice if you’re especially hard-headed. Three times if you’re terminally masochistic. Of course after that, it just becomes habit. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-a-carton-a-day/394751/8 "2007-03-06T01:01:16Z")
Five packs a day is the upper limit for every chain-smoker I have met. That is extreme, hard-core smoking and I doubt you could double it except as as a one-time stunt if you were really determined. I smoked a pack a day when I was in high school and in college and occasionally two packs and that seemed like a lot. If you smoked them honestly, you would be hurting literally. Nicotine is a toxic drug and your lungs can handle only so much in a given time-frame. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-a-carton-a-day/394751/9 "2007-03-06T01:10:18Z")
And when you want to stop, you have to wear 15 patches. ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-a-carton-a-day/394751/10 "2007-03-06T01:12:07Z")
If you truely smoked each cigarette and didn’t just throw them out half used, then I seriously doubt you could get past 5 packs in 16 hours. There were times when I was up to 4 packs a day, but I left a lot of those to burn out in an ashtray, or put them out early because something distracted me. It takes a lot longer to smoke a cigarette than 3 to 5 minutes. You might ocassionally smoke one that fast, but you’d have to be puffing pretty hard. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-a-carton-a-day/394751/11 "2007-03-06T01:13:55Z")
I did a Google search on “pack-year smoking record” and came up with two references to people with 200 pack-year smoking histories. If there were 10 packs to a carton (excuse my ignorance) they could have smoked a carton a day for 20 years (a pack a day for 200 years seems unlikely). My patient with the 250 pack-year history stands atop the pack (sorry) for now, although I’m sure some anecdotal records will top that before long. (Incidentally she made it past age 70, though not without incident). While searching I found [this interesting site](http://vamedres.com/Didyouknow/records.htm), which logs records for a whole bunch of patient lab and historical parameters as collected by medical residents at the VA hospital in Seattle (VAs are great places to amass smoking records). Besides the 200 pack-year smoker there are highs and lows for other fascinating things like 24-hour urine output. Much fun. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-a-carton-a-day/394751/12 "2007-03-06T01:24:57Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] I did a Google search on “pack-year smoking record” and came up with two references to people with 200 pack-year smoking histories. If there were 10 packs to a carton (excuse my ignorance) they could have smoked a carton a day for 20 years (a pack a day for 200 years seems unlikely). My patient with the 250 pack-year history stands atop the pack (sorry) for now, although I’m sure some anecdotal records will top that before long. (Incidentally she made it past age 70, though not without incident). While searching I found [this interesting site](http://vamedres.com/Didyouknow/records.htm), which logs records for a whole bunch of patient lab and historical parameters as collected by medical residents at the VA hospital in Seattle (VAs are great places to amass smoking records). Besides the 200 pack-year smoker there are highs and lows for other fascinating things like 24-hour urine output. Much fun. [/QUOTE] Your terms are throwing me off. A typically smoker smokes a pack a day or 365 packs a year. Are you talking about cartons? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-a-carton-a-day/394751/13 "2007-03-06T01:52:29Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] [this interesting site](http://vamedres.com/Didyouknow/records.htm), [/QUOTE] What a great site! I had a patient who came in with a Hemoglobin of 2.5 one time. He complained of fatigue. When one smokes more than 5 packs a day, I think factors like acute carbon monoxide poisoning may start coming into play. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-a-carton-a-day/394751/14 "2007-03-06T01:55:34Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] Your terms are throwing me off. A typically smoker smokes a pack a day or 365 packs a year. Are you talking about cartons? [/QUOTE] Pack Year: A way to measure the amount a person has smoked over a long period of time. It is calculated by multiplying the number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day by the number of years the person has smoked. When a person hits 20 pack years, that’s when they really start to be at a much higher risk for things like cancer, emphysema, and premature vascular disease. Lesser numbers increase the risk too, but the risk increase really takes off after 20. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-a-carton-a-day/394751/15 "2007-03-06T02:00:49Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] Your terms are throwing me off. A typically smoker smokes a pack a day or 365 packs a year. Are you talking about cartons? [/QUOTE] No. A pack-year is the number of packs smoked on average per day multiplied by the total number of years as a smoker. So, if you smoked five packs a day, on average, for twenty years, you have a 5 x 20 or 200 pack-year history. You could also attain a 200 pack-year history by smoking a pack a day for 200 years, but that would be really hard to do. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-a-carton-a-day/394751/16 "2007-03-06T02:01:41Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] Your terms are throwing me off. A typically smoker smokes a pack a day or 365 packs a year. Are you talking about cartons? [/QUOTE] As the OP, I’m talking about cartons - 10 American 20-cigarette packs a day, or 200 cigarettes. ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-a-carton-a-day/394751/17 "2007-03-06T02:04:46Z")
Tell ya what. Figure out how much all that will cost and send the money to me. I’ll burn it for ya\* since, essentially, that’s what you’d be doing smoking all that. If you sendit to me, you’ll be as broke but your lungs and heart will be in much better shape. \*Yeah, that’s the ticket - burn it. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-a-carton-a-day/394751/18 "2007-03-06T02:05:42Z")
[QUOTE=elmwood] As the OP, I’m talking about cartons - 10 American 20-cigarette packs a day, or 200 cigarettes. [/QUOTE] As I said in Post # 13: When one smokes more than 5 packs a day, I think factors like acute carbon monoxide poisoning may start coming into play. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-a-carton-a-day/394751/19 "2007-03-06T02:12:56Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] So, if you smoked five packs a day, on average, for twenty years, you have a 5 x 20 or 200 pack-year history. You could also attain a 200 pack-year history by smoking a pack a day for 200 years, but that would be really hard to do. [/QUOTE] Now I am confused. Wouldn’t your example be a 100 pack year history? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2007, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-a-carton-a-day/394751/20 "2007-03-06T02:45:13Z")
[QUOTE=adam yax] Now I am confused. Wouldn’t your example be a 100 pack year history? [/QUOTE] Oops, yes. I had the number 200 stuck in my head, since that’s the number of cigs in a carton, and someone else mentioned a 200 pack-year history earlier. Make that 20 a 40 (or the 5 a 10). :smack: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-a-carton-a-day/394751.md?page=2)