To wonder if people were actually healthier when everyone smoked

[Fragmentedbrain]

(I have never smoked and used to hate going to bars etc that stank of smoke so this is a very against my own interests question but)

Smoking makes people thinner (it just does)

Cigarettes can be good for people with anxiety

Smoking is a social activity and social connection is good for health

Should we try and get a tiny bit more going?

(Not me I still don't want my hair to smell)

I'm sure it'll already been posted numerous times.....but correlation does not imply causation.

That's like claiming depression has increased since the number of VHS video tape rental shops in the UK high street decreased. Or that cancer detection rates have increased since the number of pirates in the North Sea decreased.

Have a word with yourself.

I assume as an alternative you'll be taking up smoking to lose weight then?

I've heard that people who can't afford WLIs are now turning to SNUs (or other nicotine pouches) to lose weight. Not sure how I feel about that, nicotine in any form isn't good for the body long term.

TBH You attacked me, i wasn't even reply to you.... you don't agree with me.. thats fine, however you then set about making it personal....

Are you so aggressive in RL? i doubt it... but on here....

I also made no such "Statement" at all, i said that, anecdotally, that has been the case... anecdotes are not facts... btw the majority of smokers don't die of cancer, its an increased risk, up to 34% increase for smokers who have more than 35 cigarettes a day.

What is SNU please?

Ah, have found out what a snus is now!

Loads of people were overweight and obese in the seventies and eighties - maybe not as many as now but they were definitely there. Perhaps your family was slim but I remember many plump people in years gone by. Many members of my family struggled with their weight and both my grandfathers were as round as they were tall.

but no-one was fat back then Not true-I was there and there were some very fat people. Not as many as now admittedly but many middle aged people were quite portly/matronly. There wasn't the same pressure to keep looking young. My grandmothers on wedding photos in the 50s/early 60s look like old ladies, they were about 50..

I have noticed that too @Anonymouseposter. Generally, years ago children and younger people were noticeably slimmer than a comparable gathering now, but middle aged spread has clearly always been a thing. And the menopause, which just had to be endured, probably knocked a lot of women sideways and aged them more rapidly, except it was barely talked about.

Thinking about it tbh. I'm not overweight but I'm getting that middle aged "tum" which I loathe.

Weren't even replying to me? You literally quoted a post of mine and used it as a jumping-off point to say your piece about how unhealthy you consider people's lifestyles to be. And it isn't 'aggressive' (which I am not, either on MN or off) to disagree with someone, nor to comment on how their posts are coming across. The nature of discourse is that disagreement sometimes happens and is sometimes heated when people feel strongly. You've certainly felt free to express yourself strongly, as have I.

Leaving aside if it's a bad idea, why smoking and not vaping or pouches? Smoking is horrendously bad for your lungs, well all organs really. And ruinously expensive, smelly, increasingly hard to do anywhere.

I guess I thought smoking seemed the most elder millennial appropriate but open to the others

No they didn't. I was a child in the seventies. Out of the 14 men in my family, uncles, dad, grandparents, only one smoked.

Don't do it - take weight loss injections instead like I do 😊

Problem is, are you eligible for WLI if you're not very overweight? Thought it was only for those with a certain BMI. Maybe different treatments have different thresholds.

I'm not in the UK so I only know how it works in my country. Some doctors here will prescribe GLP-1 drugs if you are overweight, even if you don't meet the BMI threshold and comorbid conditions. So I'm glad my doctor was willing to do that for me. However, we can't get medical aid (a form of health insurance) coverage if we don't fit the criteria. So I pay it myself and it's a whack of money. Worth it though.

As far as I know, in the UK there are online providers that can prescribe them with less strict conditions but I'm not sure. My friend lives in London and she buys Mounjaro online.

Yes but there were more than 14 men in the UK. It wasn't just your family, most families also had men. 🤣

This has got to be a troll. No-one is this dumb surely.

The amount of ignorance on this thread about smoking is insane. It is very very bad for you. Just because in an era when lots of people smoked, people were also thinner does not mean the two are connected. Also just because not everyone who smokes dies prematurely does not mean smoking is safe. Some people who play Russian roulette survive, but that doesn't mean Russian roulette is safe!

This all feels like looking back at the lady with rose coloured glasses on.

It’s like when DH looks at pictures of his parents in the 70s and complains they all look like much happier than us. However, they look much older than they were (in their 30s and children were small) and they are at parities where everyone is drinking very heavily. His parents usually spent all weekend in bed recovering, so they never did anything. I don’t think it’s anything to aspire to. They’re all smoking and thin too (and all dead now).

Correlation =/= causation. People used to walk more, eat less processed food, spend time interacting with eachother and the world around them instead of dissociating in front of a screen. And our brains are full of microplastic now.

1. Correlation does not equal causation. The rise in obesity is not related to the drop in people smoking.

1. "Everyone" did not smoke.

1. My mother smoked almost all her adult life. She died horribly from lung cancer. She also struggled with her weight as a smoker - this was because of her appalling diet.

It would be really silly to start smoking again over some belly fat.
Buy an ab roller.
Fgs, many smokers and vapers would love to achieve what you have. It is a difficult addiction to kick.

So this isn't a pro-smoking thread then, it's a "teeny tiny look how dainty I am and how everyone else is a lardarse fatty" thread?

Gotcha.

There was plenty of processed food around in the 70s too. Packet curries, sauces and soups, starch reduced rolls for dieters (like eating polystyrene) instant mashed potato, crispy pancakes etc.