Monday, September 14, 2009

MS and Smoking

Browsing through a community newspaper I picked up at the art crawl last Friday
"The Voice in Diaspora" I came across an article on MS and smoking. The article cites a study published in Neurology that shows a link between cigarette smoking and MS. Briefly, that smoking increases the severity of MS symptoms and smokers are more likely to develop primary progressive MS. The good news is those who quit smoking can siginificantly reduce their symptoms.

This is something I was not aware of, although no good has ever come from smoking so
I'm not surprised. At least I can say I have never smoked tobacco, not even a puff of a cigarette. Yes,I do use weed, but I don't smoke it. I only breathe in the vapour which has no smoke. The plant matter is intact when I'm done.

What a crazy hypocritical world. Tobacco is legal even though it's implicated as the culprit in so many illnesses and marijuana is illegal(Yes it still is in Canada) and been shown time and time again to have benefits for those who are ill. You can walk into a convenience store and buy a pack of smokes that can kill you but if you want dope it's a big "medical marijuana" production.

5 comments:

Yuki Bara said...

I've been smoking since I was 12 years old, I'm 26 now. Other than an occasional cough, I haven't really experienced any of the negative effects of smoking. I'm not denying their existence, I'm just saying that in my personal experience no harm has come to me from my habit...

I'm really tired of the whole "legalize weed" debate... It's never going to happen, despite it's positive attributes. They'd have to come up with all new tax laws, age limitations, etc. and let's face it, governments are just too lazy these days to be bothered.

Taxingwoman said...

Hi! I don't normally lecture people about tobacco You should consider quitting though. I think marijuana will be legal for the simply pathetic reason that governments are desperate to find things to tax. What with the humongous deficits.

Herrad said...

Hi Carole,
Thanks for this post.
It is never nice to read the facts about something like tobacco.
I agree with you, other govts will follow the pragmatic Dutch who make alot of tax money from coffeeshops.
So wish that I never smoked cigerettes. I am convinced they are the reason my MS has progressed so hard.
My advice to smokers is stop right away.
Never mind you have no side effects now, as the future could have horrible surprises in store.
Hope you have a good day tomorrow.
Love,
Herrad

Diane J Standiford said...

LOL, I know, SO IRONIC! Ridiculous. (It's illegal in Canada? Uh-oh) I know a woman, TWO actually who smoke and their MS is better than mine, I have never smoked. That research is beyond stupid. IMO Is smoking good for you? NO! Your chances of mucking up SOMETHING increases dramatically. Proven again and again. But, hey, keep the smoke away from me and go do your thang. But MS risk? hahahahahahahaha

Taxingwoman said...

Diane The Liberal government was planning to pass legislation to decriminalize pot, but then we had an election. The legislation died, the Conservatives took over, and now they are into this crazy "fight drugs war"
You can get busted for pot but the police don't really bother unless you are a minor or are dealing.

Herrad I always appreciate your honesty.