Is there a Doctor in the house?

[tippexx]

Smoking cigars and the side effects (might be true of pipes too), and which to a lesser or greater degree we've all experienced. This is my amateur take on some of the things which happen to us, but really needs a professional to correct and tidy up so that we might properly understand and take proper precautions (if there are any).

1) Light headedness. I think this is caused by a drop in blood flow to the brain, but think general smoke is the cause rather than Nicotine. Some people like the 'buzz', but I think it's better to ditch the cigar.

2) Sudden feeling of weakness. Drop in blood sugar level and increase in white white cell count. Cure: Stop smoking the cigar and I think re-hydration better than a 'sugary' intake.

3) White out. Basically a 'faint' possibly accompanied by feeling hot and profuse sweating. Reason drop in blood pressure followed by a rapid increase. Only cure stop smoking immediately and lay down.

4) Sneezes. The bodies response to chemicals in nose and which it believes harmful and tries to expel.

5) Yawns. A precursor to 1) and the bodies method of expelling excess CO2.

6) Biliousness and bloating. Obviously gases in the stomach or bowel, but I've no idea how.

7) Urgent need of a poo. A precursor to 3), a sudden metabolic change, but I've no idea why.

If anyone can think of other side effects please add in.

About me. I'm 66, 5'10', 11.5 stones, very low BMI for my age, take no (and have never needed) any medications.

Over to you Doc!

[Wigan]

I have only really had number 7 (number 2) to any degree. I think they are all down to nicotine

[PeeJay]

Did you miss out throwing up?

[tippexx]

Did you miss out throwing up?

No. That's biliousness .... been close one or twice, but never actually chundered!

[Wigan]

Nicotine poisoning or overdose or however you would describe it. Would get the symptoms you describe with first cig of the day sometimes. Nothing more sinister than that

[tippexx]

Any poisoning or overdose is harmful, but I'm not sure Nicotine is always the culprit, nor does it explain exactly what's going on.

[Wigan]

No I didn't have the right words. /when you get buzz of caffeine its not poisoning but....what ever word you would use

[PeeJay]

No I didn't have the right words. /when you get buzz of caffeine its not poisoning but....what ever word you would use

Oh yes it is, nicotine is poison

[Simon Bolivar]

Ok, as you all know I am not a doctor by a Medic with an interest in cigars so for what's it's worth, here's my thoughts with regards the sffect of smoking on otherwise normal healthy people i.e. no cardiac or diabetic problems:

1) Light headedness. I think this is caused by a drop in blood flow to the brain, but think general smoke is the cause rather than Nicotine. Some people like the 'buzz', but I think it's better to ditch the cigar. Can't really recall this apart from a Hoyo Marie which had a very tight draw & high nicotine content, combined caused me to feel a bit light headed & dizzy. Passed off 5-10mins after I finished the smoke. I wouldn't say this was a drop in blood flow (which would be caused by a drop in BP), some people tie ligatures around their neck for similar thrills, that is restricting the flow of blood & therefore O2 to the brain. Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor so that might cause reduced O2 to the brain?


2) Sudden feeling of weakness. Drop in blood sugar level and increase in white white cell count. Cure: Stop smoking the cigar and I think re-hydration better than a 'sugary' intake. Never felt this but unless oyur a diabetic or haven't eaten for ages your blood glucose shouldn't drop due to smoking. And an increase in white blood cells sounds very unlikely in the short time 1-2hrs you are smoking.

3) White out. Basically a 'faint' possibly accompanied by feeling hot and profuse sweating. Reason drop in blood pressure followed by a rapid increase. Only cure stop smoking immediately and lay down.

4) Sneezes. The bodies response to chemicals in nose and which it believes harmful and tries to expel. Yes, had this quite often, due to particles in the smoke, especially if you retro-hale. No real problem though.

5) Yawns. A precursor to 1) and the bodies method of expelling excess CO2. Yawns are due to lack of O2 & the body trying to gulp more in, rather than expel CO2, yes have those sometimes.

6) Biliousness and bloating. Obviously gases in the stomach or bowel, but I've no idea how. Even though we don't inhale, we do end up with some smoke in the stomach & later the bowel. Fag smokers are prone to Duodenail ulcers which is like a u bend after the stomach where their smoke effects. These S&S are worse when smoking on an empty stomcah, soemthing I never recommend. If oyu don't have reflux or indigestion yet, you probably will have one day, with that habit so best avoid it.

7) Urgent need of a poo. A precursor to 3), a sudden metabolic change, but I've no idea why. Needing to open one's bowels after smoking is due to the irritant effects of the smoke. Or the dodgy food you ate before smoking in some grotty pub/cafe to avoid eating on an empty stomach! Yes I do notice that, mainly the next morning. Can also be rather foul smelling.

Smoke contains hundreds of chemicals, nicotine is only one. On my recent ECG & Cardiac course, nicotine & caffine figured highly. Regular Fag smokers don't notice all these effects because the body compensates for a lot of things when constantly exposed to them. As most of us smoke 2-3xweekly these chemicals are foreign to our body & will cause defensive type measures to combat them. Personally if I had Arial Fibrillation, I would stop smoking. If it was well controlled, I have one a month, what the hell, you want to live forever! I take Omperazole 40mgs daily & Gaviscon advanced at night, if I smoked or drank in the late evening. I seem fine on this regime & so will take my chances. My father died of bladder cancer, 3 main causes: Smoking, Drinking & using industrial paints. The only exposures as a non-drinking butcher was to my mother's chain smoking for 35yrs. I guess he may have been a possible case of passive smoking but either way I drink & smoke moderately & until anything happens to indicate what I am doing is too much, I'll carry on

[wayne_w]

Very interesting reading..

I've had the loose bowel thing a couple of times, I put it down to my body trying to get rid of excess nicotine? I've also had the need to have a lie down, with cold hands & feet because of the strength of the cigar & my low tolerance to nicotine - I was a non-smoker before cigars.
I'm a bit 'scared' / reluctant to get stuck into a cigar of a larger size ( over 1hr smoking time) because of the side effects! Of which would deter me from smoking the cigars that I have begun to enjoy.

[tippexx]

I'm a bit 'scared' / reluctant to get stuck into a cigar of a larger size ( over 1hr smoking time) because of the side effects! Of which would deter me from smoking the cigars that I have begun to enjoy.

This is where it starts to get a bit wierd. All cigars are made from the same basic plant. Therefore irrespective of origin or vitola the percentage of Nic per gram of tobacco should always be roughly the same. Age dissipates Nicotine we know, and some for some cigars the tobacco is cured longer, but we can still sometimes experience some ill effects from older cigars. Nor does size seem to make a difference, some of the worst offending cigars I've smoked have been small.

[tippexx]

Smoke contains hundreds of chemicals, nicotine is only one. On my recent ECG & Cardiac course, nicotine & caffine figured highly.

Thanks Si. I hear what your saying and cigars also contain Tannins .... tea without milk give me the same biliousness that cigars can do.

But I think volume of smoke (gasses) has something to do with it too.

[Simon Bolivar]

The cold hands & feet reaction is due to vaso constriction & quite an extreme one. Do you get this after well aged cigars
, which should have low nicotine? If this is happeningto your extremities, I would imagine it would also explain your light head & dizy spells, lying down would help.
You could mention your cold hands & feet to your doctor, who could check your circulation - this might have some significance & could be treated. In the mean time, smaller older smokes would seem the way go, which would be right up your street

[wayne_w]

When I have experienced the light headedness & sick feeling, I have lay down but, felt quite odd, I thought the cold hands & feet were due to my body holding it's main blood content in the core? To protect the main organs etc?
Would a larger vitola contain a higher nicotine content due to it's volume & /or density of tobacco leaf?
I'm not a particularly quick smoker, a Robusto sized cigar usualy takes me 70 mins to smoke. I assume that smoking too quickly or drawing too much smoke at once would have a detrimental effect on our body?

[Simon Bolivar]

Yes, inhaling quicker is a sure way to notice the symptoms of nicotine. Smoking 5yo+ cigars is a way to avoid the nicotine hit.