No Excuses

 I make no excuses for my smoking a pipe.  A lot of pipe smokers also smoke cigars as I once did prior to my heart attack.  Now I’ll smoke a cigar maybe a couple of times a year.  It’s not about smoking per se. But it’s about the nicotine and dangers of cigars.  But I’ll always say pipes are different.  One cigar can be equal to about 20 bowls of pipe tobacco.  I don’t know how all that translates to cigarette smoking but it’s about all the chemicals found in cigarettes.  At least pipe and cigars are pure tobacco with no additives.

I wish there was a health category for pipe smoking instead of it being equated with cigarette smoking.  But health categories lump all tobacco use together and it shouldn’t be.  Cigarette smoking is NOT the same as pipe smoking.  Cigar smoking is not the same as cigarette smoking, but is much worse than pipes.  

As an example, when I first began working out again, I had no problem maintaining a heart rate of 126 beats a minute.  Now I do the same exercise on a treadmill and my heart can’t maintain 105 beats a minute doing the same exercise.  So instead of a cardio workout, I set the machine for manual and just do my regular workout.  If pipe smoking were detrimental I’d have no problem maintaining a higher heart rate.  My heart is in fine shape for what is left of it.

My heart functions at about 50%.  But if I were worried about my heart, there are many things I do I wouldn’t normally do.  My point is that if I felt pipe smoking was damaging my heart I would quit right now.  But it’s not.  In fact, I would argue it’s the opposite.  I find pipe smoking relaxing and sometimes too much so.  In fact, maybe I’m too relaxed, if that is possible.  I’ve told my wife a number of times that maybe I need MORE stress!

But then no one wants more stress.  All I’m saying is my heart is in fine shape.  If I’ve had chest pains off and on I might worry. But I’ve had none since my heart attack.  Keeping off 35 pounds has helped.  I weighed 220 when I had my heart attack.  I am now down to 185.  This is my ideal weight according to my cardiologist.  It just took 13 years to get there.  

Smoking leads to heart disease.  But in my case it’s the opposite.  Smoking a pipe leads to less stress on my heart.  But I can’t say this for everyone, which is why I don’t advocate for pipe smoking.  I know my heart well.  I am very much in tune with my heart.  So, I make no excuses for my smoking a pipe.  I don’t have to do that.  If I felt otherwise, I’d quite right now.  But for me, at least, it’s the exact opposite.  Pipe smoking lowers my rate—not raise it.  If I had high blood pressure I’d quit right now.  But I don’t.  For being 73, I’m in excellent shape.  My mind is 73 years old.  I don’t think as I used to think.  But I’m wiser, or at least I want to think so.  

My pipe this morning is my Boswell pipe and my tobacco is my Carter Hall.  My coffee this morning is Blue Bottle coffee.  Thank you for your time and Peace to each one of you.

Dave