This question sounds f’kd up and cigarettes arent really nutrition related but its in the realm of health so.. and im not promoting anything nor i like any of those but i have seen so many people on this sub time and time again say ‘well little bit of alcohol isnt that bad’ like red wine but noon ever said that about cigarettes yet both are usually consumed for pleasure, no one goes to the bar to drink and be healthy nor no one smokes for health reasons
Im sure two glasses of Vodka or Red wine a week/month wont make u alcoholic nor kill u but neither will one or two cigarettes a week/month yet both are bad if consumed and abused over long period of time
Both have been shown to deplete other nutrients when consumed
I just dont understand why people ‘promote’ alcohol more over cigarettes, i dont think any should be promoted but if you promote one thing you should promote another thing too by that logic cuz beside pleasure you dont really get any benefit from them, especially if you drink very little as people say, same like eating one orange every 2 weeks and expect to cure ur scurvy or smth
Addictivity.
https://i.insider.com/573611a99105841d008c2bb3?width=1300&format=jpeg&auto=webp
The ratio between people who tried and people who become addicted is the highest amongst the drugs. Many people report cravings only after one time they smoked, so for humans it’s usually hard to stay “moderate” with cigarettes.
Well believe it or not, there actually was a point where we thought cigarettes could be smoked in moderation. As we were learning more about its dangers, you had even doctors who approached it in a “can be part of a healthy diet” approach, similar to how we treat candy. And it was not that long ago, either
The problem is that cigarettes are much easier to get addicted to. Not only is it more addictive but it’s also quick. You don’t have to plan around a cigarette the way you do alcohol (like planning a hangover, or deciding who drives).
Alcohol is physically addictive, but many people can either take it or leave it, so it’s less risky healthy wise in that regard
Edit - also, many people seriously underestimate their alcohol consumption. “1-2 drinks” can actually be more like 4-5. Many people just measure the number of drinks by “how many times did I refill the glass,” but not by the actual serving. So self-reported moderation does not always work
If you get down to it in terms of health, no one will promote either of them. Even the tiny benefits of alcohol are nothing compared to the negative effects.
I guess the main reason it gets promoted so much is two-fold. The obvious one being money, you just make a ton with alcohol. The second one being culture. Alcohol has been a part of life for several hundred of years, especially in Europe. It’s difficult to get it out of such an environment.
Just my 2-cents observation.
Maybe also bc of second hand smoke issues
If someone smokes near me, it could still affect my lungs … this easier to tell people not to smoke any
If someone drinks near me, that’s their liver, not mine so who cares?
Alcohol has zero specific nutritional or health benefits, and only specific health damages.
Several individual constituent compounds that are found in e.g. red wine, have been investigated as potentially health-promoting — resveratrol is a famous one, but there’s others — but this does not change the fact that the *alcohol component* is only health-damaging. If it is shown that compounds found in certain alcohols are healthy, they would almost certainly be best consumed in a non-alcoholic version.
Cigarettes (or cigars, or blunts, or any other form of smoke inhalation) are the same way: there is no health benefit of any kind to filling your lungs with smoke. It just damages your lungs, with no specific nutritional or health benefits.
So you are right, we should not call alcohol healthy, because it isn’t.
>…but if you promote one thing you should promote another thing too by that logic…
No. Absolutely not. Double standards are bad, very bad, but lying about everything is not an appropriate response to a society-wide double standard. If it is bad to tell one lie, it is worse to tell two lies. The truth is that neither smoking nor drinking alcohol are healthy, and that is simply what needs to be said.
There is one single relatively important caveat to all of this: stress is not healthy. Relieving stress promotes health.
So if an occasional drink or if an occasional smoke is something that brings you pleasure and relieves stress… then you should talk to your doctor to ask whether the cost-benefit analysis of your specific unhealthy practice is worth it, understanding that addictive things make it really hard to maintain a healthy moderation, and again: these practices aren’t independent contributors to health; they’re only contributors at all if they relieve stress.
And if they don’t, then, just don’t take up those habits. Don’t start drinking, don’t start smoking tobacco, don’t start smoking weed, don’t do it. If it’s not something you miss, it’s best not to want them in the first place, because they don’t make any specific, independent contribution to health. They’re not healthy.
But if they are part of a general pattern of life that brings you happiness and relieves stress… well, even then, the best situation would be if you had other ways of being happy and relieving stress… but we don’t always find ourselves within the best of all possible worlds, stress is not healthy either, and sometimes, we have to make hard choices. It’s not helpful to get all upset about those hard choices that we make; best to move on and focus on living each day intentionally.
Well, I’ve read there is no really safe level for alcohol; it’s a poison, with no nutritional benefits.
However, I think it’s possible that mental benefits could outweigh physical dangers for many things, and many people live long, healthy lives who drink alcohol in varying degrees. Same with cigarettes. But a glass of wine, beer, or spirits won’t hurt anyone around you assuming you don’t overdo it or operate dangerous equipment. Tobacco is worse, but if you are outdoors, not around others, and don’t throw cigarette butts on the ground, I think it’s probably not worse. But it still smells bad on clothes, and in cars or homes when you smoke much.
Note: I am not saying either one has nutritional benefits.
The hazard ratio for cigarettes is undeniable. Your chances of getting cancer goes up into the thousands of percentages by smoking or even inhaling second hand smoke. This isn’t the case with alcohol. We can also track the deterioration of someones body while they smoke even moderate packs of cigarettes. We haven’t proven this with alcohol, we have proven it with excessive amounts of alcohol. So yes smoking cigarettes at any level is worse than alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption is still bad, but we have no proof that drinking a glass of wine a day or a 2 beers after work is the same as smoking a cigarette.
Just a guess so take it with a huge grain of salt. Alcohol doesn’t inherently have the effect of heat damage to your windpipe/lungs. If you ate tobacco (note chewing tobacco is different in that they don’t eat it but hold it in their mouth for a long time which has negative dental effects), or juiced it and drank it I think it would be more comparable. Smoking anything has a risk of heat damage to the windpipe/lungs.
You’re right. Everything in moderation isn’t a great principle as we can rank certain foods as better than others based on many criteria. Doing that ranking though is more complicated and controversial
I can make alcohol with all natural ingredients. Cigarettes are made of a tiny bit of tobacco and tons of chemicals. Neither are good for you but it’s pretty obvious which one is worse and shouldn’t be consumed at all.
E: I know alcohol is unhealthy, I literally said in this comment that “neither are good for you” so I’m not sure why people keep telling me that alcohol is still bad for you. Yes. Obviously it is, and I never said otherwise.
Alcohol is the most socially accepted drug globally. It’s less so about being promoted and more so a vice that doesn’t come with any social stigma, at least in most circles. Cigarettes smell bad, are extremely addictive, and come with a stigma that alcohol doesn’t.
Some people have told me American Spirit cigarettes aren’t harmful because they don’t contain any of the harmful additives of other brands.
I instinctively take this to be inaccurate… any knowledge experts out there care to elaborate on this?
I always thought it was because alcohol can be filtered out by your kidneys. It strains them, sure, but the worst things happen when you drink excessively. Smoking is not only getting toxic chemicals in your lungs, but it’s also incredibly rude to do around non-smokers. Drinking socially is acceptable because it’s not inherently disgusting and possibly hurting other people.
Actually, nicotine is quiet good for you neurologically. Cigarettes are bad because of the carcinogens in the smoke, but you can yet nicotine patches.
The other bad thing is that its addictive af…
I think one (tobacco) is slightly more dangerous than the other in regards to keeping it at ‘just one’ or in moderation. Sure many alcoholics could fall off the wagon from one sip, but non alcoholics can have the odd drink without going on a bender. IMO most people that would want to smoke a cigarette likely smoked at some point in their life and for many one drag let alone one cigarette can have you hooked again in a matter of hours. Another reason might be that second hand smoke is a hazard to others whereas alcohol is not, unless you count drunk driving or domestic abuse.
Stigma, just like people look down on weed despite being comparably better than cigarettes.
But there is supporting evidence that red wine does improves heart health so its not very comparable to cigarettes but yes majority of other alcohol drinks shouldnt be promoted
alcohol is food. cigarettes are not. The active compound in cigarettes is *nicotine*. Nicotine has many positives actually, it is a nootropic, it inhibits hunger and helps preventing alzheimer’s. The problem is the lung cancer. You could use nicotine patches to circumvent this issue
They are coming out with reports showing that no alcohol consumption is safe.
Keep in mind that ethanol/sugar reacts differently in the body and can be processed through the digestive system first before being absorbed into the blood stream whereas nicotine/tobacco/smoke immediately enters the bloodstream and lung tissues.