How badly am I risking my health here?

[BlueBlazerBlack123]

Used to smoke full time, probably 5 or so a day. I'm now down to 4 per week. On a Saturday night with a bottle of wine. Say 6pm, 8pm, 10pm and 11.30pm before bed. I bloody love smoking but I know it's a terrible habit. So throughout the week I don't smoke. But a drink and a fag together... oh my! Realistically though how dangerous is this? I WILL stick to 4 per week it won't creep up. A pack of 20 is lasting me 5 weeks.

Not a doctor, or health professional but from what I've read and been told it's basically impossible to say - obviously you get all the tales of 'my Nana smoked 50 a day and lived to 110' but then again the people who contract lung cancer off a whiff of passive smoke at a bus stop. But of course it is a risk. The way I think about it is we each have a 'jar' that is our health, each person's jar is a different shape and size, purely down to luck and genetics. With each risk factor in your life (smoking, drinking, obesity, stress etc) you add an extra ball to that jar, some balls are bigger than others, when your jar overflows you'll get serious health problems. So some people are lucky and have huge jars and can keep adding to them for years even with quite big risks with no issues, whereas others overflow off a single big ball or not very many small ones.

So no judgement here but no-one can tell you more than that smoking even fairly moderately is a large ball, and the more you can do to cut down on that and anything else unhealthy the better, but is it certain death, no. I will say though that of all the nasty health problems I've witnesses in my friends and relatives, COPD is a really horrible way to go, it kills you slowly but is so debilitating on the way, if you have any family history of it on either side, as a lay person with no real idea of the genetics of it that alone would make me cut down.

Do you vape? I know it comes with its own issues but if you find a flavour you get on with (my smoker DH favours the ones that taste closest to 'real' tobacco rather than bubblegum or whatever) and get one that feels close to a cigarette in your hands, could you stand to replace one or two cigarettes with that instead, rather than quitting altogether? Or if it's only a Saturday night treat (which let's face it, we all need in winter), could you try just one Saturday a month treating yourself in some other way (nice film, bubblebath, home cooked meal or whatever appeals) instead of the wine and fags which you can have the other days?

You're right, deep down I just want someone to say ohhh it's alright that's nothing! It's down to luck and genes. If I have the "cancer" gene I'm accelerating it, but then even if I don't have it there's still stroke, heart attack etc. But then that's the same for processed food, alcohol, loads of things. People will say 4 fags per week what's the point? But it's something that despite my guilt I do cheekily enjoy with my weekend wine and I guess I just hope that due to not overindulging Jesus might let me off lol x

No I don't vape. I drink wine on a Saturday with my few ciggies (I give my Mum who doesn't live with me the full packet with the rest in) and other than that I am clean living.

It’s healthier than smoking 5 a day, not as healthy as smoking none I guess. No one can really answer. Fags and wine will chip away at your health, wallet and looks however many you have, it just depends if you think it’s worth it which it sounds like you do. Imagine getting a cancer diagnoses, really take yourself to that moment. Would it be worth it then? You have to be realistic that is a possibility inhaling 200 fags a year.

Better to look at your health as a whole. I have one cigarette a day. If I didn't have that I'd have a heap of chocolate. Ideally I'd have neither, but on balance, the calories would do me more harm.

Yeah I think all humans tend to a bit of an all or nothing mentality where we think 'well if I'm having a glass of wine anyway why not the bottle' or 'well I ate a piece of cake earlier, that's my health for the day ruined, may as well sit on the sofa, get a takeaway and eat crisps' rather than the healthy meal and exercise we had planned. But it's so illogical, no-one can live an optimally healthy lifestyle, and actually it would be pretty miserable to do so even if you then lived to 100, I'd have to give up most of the food I like, certainly no risky hobbies, probably have to move out of the city cos of the pollution - basically we all run risks with our health every day but that's no reason to then throw our hands up and do whatever we please. Someone will probably be along now to say they're a water-only drinking pure-clean-eating country dwelling yoga loving ascetic and couldn't be happier but there you go, we're all different

Cutting down to the extent you have is brilliant though and if otherwise you are really healthy then I for one couldn't criticise you for the odd fag, but on the other hand if you could cut down further without losing too much pleasure that would be even better (which in a way it sounds like you could, if you cut down on the wine which seems to be a trigger for smoking and replaced that with some other form of treat?)

It’s obviously not as good as not smoking at all but I would say it’s pretty low risk. Health professionals calculate risk in terms of pack years and this model would be low scoring. I’d have thought the risk is triggering cancer more than copd. Maybe over time you can cut back further to 2-3 with your glass of wine?

You have to look at your health in the round, and clearly four a week is better than five a day - but there is no amount of smoking that is not harmful.

I could not cut down the fags myself, had to go cold turkey and fingers crossed will never go back but I do understand what you mean about smoking and drinking combined. I do neither now!

Stress is probably more harmful than a low intake of alcohol and fags.

@BleuJay

Stress is probably more harmful than a low intake of alcohol and fags.

Well if that's true I'm really fucked 🤣

On the whole, I don't think it's too bad.
Does a pack cigarettes last weeks? As in do they not "go off"??

Nah they don't go off

Sorry, I can't give you the 'pass' you're hoping for!

You've done well to cut down as much as you have!

Is there any part of you that would like to be a non smoker?

If you were to go into hospital (for something unrelated) how long do you think you could last before being one of the ones hanging out by the front door in their dressing gowns smoking?

I guess what I'm asking is how much if it is a craving v how much is just 'treating yourself' or feeling you're relaxing?

It's HARD to change things that we enjoy & perceive as relaxing. It's NOT easy to find other things to replace them with. But it is possible if we WANT to. That WANT doesn't have to be 'I want to stop having cigarettes with my wine' it can be 'I want to reduce my risk of cancer'

I have never smoked, but I am diabetic and I now eat exceedingly low carb. I didn't WANT to stop having pizza on Friday nights, but I WANT to avoid diabetic medication & I want to avoid going into hospital as much as I can. So I replaced the pizza with dinner that's exceedingly low in carbs and olives with my wine! (Wine doesn't affect my BG)

Would I rather have pizza - hell yes! Do I want medication/hospital HELL NO. My choice!!

However, I do admit it's somewhat easier when it's 'real' not hypothetical!!

DH died from cancer at 54. He was an "ex" smoker who had frequent lapses.

His consultant told us it was staggeringly unusual to see this cancer in a non smoker of his age

I don't really have any advice other than to say YES, I feel you. I love a glass of wine and a cigarette. Honestly it's one of my favourite combinations. I don't smoke usually, apart from when I go out-out or on holiday!

When I say lapses, he never smoked at home or in front of me. So when he was smoking, it was infrequently. And he "gave up" 30 years ago.

With every cigarette you roll the dice, so you’re rolling them less than someone on a pack a day, but it’s an option not to roll them at all.
Having watched someone who gave up their minor cigarette habit 30 years earlier drown in the fluid from their lung tumours, I would really try to give up if you can. It’s a horrible way to go.

I used to smoke about 10 a day and had a couple of glasses of wine every day. I had a stressful job too. Plus I am diabetic, am late 50's.
12 months ago I had a stroke.
My life has changed completely now, no cigs, no wine. Saving about £75 pw.
The amount you smoke and drink isn't in my opinion too bad, everything in moderation. Unfortunately my combinations were not good.

Hope you keep to your limits but give up smoking if you can.

Well done on cutting down OP!
I'm with you - I LOVE wine and cigarettes! But over the past couple of years my body has just decided not to smoke anymore, and believe me, it feels great. But I miss it like hell.
Your level seems to me (total layperson) fairly low-risk - but obviously not 'no-risk'. Maybe do some google research about what they actually do to your body. Personally that level of cigarettes would be low enough for me to risk, given the enjoyment it provides - but it depends how you feel about it. Maybe try to cut it even lower if you're worried about it?

@Footnote I’m not a smoker but that’s also the case with alcohol - every glass of wine is a roll of the dice. However because alcohol is more acceptable no one seems to freak out about it being a carcinogen in the same way they do other things.

Of course wine is a carcinogen; being overweight also increases your risk, but there’s little to compare with smoking in terms of how carcinogenic it is.

@TrophyWinner

DH died from cancer at 54. He was an "ex" smoker who had frequent lapses.

His consultant told us it was staggeringly unusual to see this cancer in a non smoker of his age

I'm really sorry for your loss xx