smoking

Asian Man · Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 9:15 pm Post subject:

does anyone here smoke ciggarettes and play? my band director is a chain smoker and he is said to still play a mean sax, and i'm guessing that also requires good breath control. does playing smoking really affect your playing?

fuzzyjon79 · Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2004 9:35 pm Post subject:

It might not affect your playing immediately.. but down the road.. it probably will.
_________________
J. Fowler
"It takes a big ole' sack of flour, to make a big ole' pan of biscuits!"

saltpot · Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 3:09 am Post subject:

If you get cancer of the mouth you will be screwed....
If you get cancer of the lungs you will be screwed....

however cancer in not really your main concern... heart Disease is .... it WILL increase the amount of cholesterol in you arteries --- ask any doctor... and will dramatically increase the likley hood of dieing of heart attack.. one of the western world biggest killer....

Basically if you die you won't be able to play the trumpet.....

It makes you smell, ruins your taste bud and costs you sh1t loads of money!!! to feed your addiction... which could be better spent on CDs and trumpet books etc...

If you are thinking about taking up smoking don't (for obvious reasons).... don't follow the crowd like sheep, be you own person and say NO to the tobacco companies.... Do you really want to give your money to a company that kills people for profit??

Just my thoughts

Cheers

Jody
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http://www.jodysalt.com

trumpetmike · Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 3:13 am Post subject:

Just a quick couple of thoughts on this.

Firstly - smoking - bad for you, therefore bad for your playing.

Secondly - have you ever borrowed an instrument from a smoker? I purchased one a couple of years ago from a very heavy smoker - it took a chemical clean and many soaks in the bath (using lemon scented washing up liquid!) to remove the smell!

fuzzyjon79 · Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 3:35 am Post subject:

Think of it this way... if you smoke about a pack of cigarettes a day... let's say.. you pay $3 a pack... in one year.. you will have spent $1,100 for cigarettes... you could save that money and buy a pretty nice horn... or better yet.. you could take half that money and get a gym membership and keep yourself in good health that way you can play trumpet for many years to come!

_________________
J. Fowler
"It takes a big ole' sack of flour, to make a big ole' pan of biscuits!"

saltpot · Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 3:59 am Post subject:

can't be good for playing!!

Jody
_________________
http://www.jodysalt.com

saltpot · Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2004 4:02 am Post subject:

Here's what a normal lung looks like!

Just because you can't see the damage, doesn't mean its not happening

Jody

_________________
for more about me please go to:
http://www.jodysalt.co.uk/

(check out my compositions)

[ This Message was edited by: saltpot on 2004-03-15 07:11 ]

DaveH · Heavyweight Member Joined: 20 Nov 2001 Posts: 3861

Smoking is a dirty, dangerous, and expensive habit.

It drastically affects your health, which affects everything else about you, and that would obviously include playing an instrument.

The long term consequences of smoking are so sufficiently well documented that it should not be necessary even to ask or wonder whether there is any problem with smoking. It is no longer necessary to even conjecture about whether or nor smoking causes and/or leads to a wide variety of chronic health problems and conditions, and a variety of life threatening diseases.

I am reminded of what my grandmother used to tell me..."don't start smoking, and then you won't have to quit."

I do not smoke, and never have smoked. I do realize that once hooked, it can be virtually impossible to quit.

Good luck if you are trying to quit. It is a matter of life and death; not just about playing music...

jcmacman · Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 11:34 am Post subject:

My lead trumpet player smokes all the time and drinks coffee during rehearsal.
When I first joined the band he asked if we can switch horns, he has a Stomvi and I have a CG Benge.
When I started to play his horn, I ended up coughing from the smell. Plus, his horn was so stuffy I could'nt play it.
He gave me back my horn after one song. He said he was out of breath.

Smoking is bad!

John

bophead · Posted: Tue Mar 16, 2004 11:44 am Post subject:

I am a regular cigar smoker (2 - 3 per week). I find the day after I smoke, it is rough to get started playing, I feel winded. I do not inhale cigar smoke. I can only imagine what smoking a cigarette would do. I am in the habit of brushing my teeth thoroughly before I play and then flush my horn afterwards. Day old blow through cigar smoke is foul.
_________________
Earl
CG Benge

allstarbugler · Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 5:01 am Post subject:

Tobacco should be illegal. There is no drug more harmful to the body. Not only does the smoker slowly kill himself, he kills others around them with the poisonous gasses given off from second hand smoke.
There is no argument for the pro's of tobacco, tobacco in ANY FORM is poison.

After all we know today, the facts are simply this :

Smoker = IDIOT

nyc_lurker · Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 6:44 am Post subject:

allstarbugler,

I would personally hestitate to label all smokers "idiots". Yes, smoking does drastically increase your chance of contracting cancer or dying from heart disease. As for the ill affects of second-hand smoke, I do not consider that fully documented but if anyone has information please supply. As I understand it there is research showing a second-hand smoke->cancer link but, if I recall correctly, if you feed enough Nutrasweet to a rat it will develop cancer as a result.

Recently in NY there have been strict anti-smoking laws passed and I am disappointed in them despite not currently being a smoker. I do not believe the gov't should legislate behavior and where exactly will it stop? Once smoking is off the list will over-eating be the next target?

Let's play devil's advocate:
The second leading cause of preventable death after smoking is weight-related and 65% of Americans are statistically overweight (with 31% of U.S. citizens being classified as "obese" as well). Here's an MSNBC report:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4486906/

Will you then come onto an online forum and state "overweight people=idiots"?

I personally have smoked cigarettes, abused alcohol, and habitually used hard drugs; I stopped not because it was illegal but because I felt there was better ways to spend my time & money. Now, as I get older, I find myself putting on weight so I am adjusting my diet; I do not do this because it is against the law...it is called self-control and dicipline. This is why I do not think cigarettes should be outlawed; it should be up to the individual. (Note: there's also the possibility that making cigarettes illegal will create a black market with unregulated nicotine doses causing a harsher addiction cycle but that's personal speculation.)

"But smoking is different from over-eating because it harms those other that the individual", correct? What about those parents raising their children with horrible diet habits? I have read that children of overweight parents statistically tend to be overweight due to over-eating (vs genetics...I'd have to scour around to verify such a fact). Sure metabolism plays a role but a diet can be adjusted to compensate. Does the gov't outlaw junk food? Or perhaps sin-taxes? I ask, where does gov't involvement end?

On a humorous yet tragic note, yes...second-hand obesity does kill:
http://www.ny1.com/ny/TopStories/SubTopic/index.html?topicintid=1&subtopicintid=1&contentintid=38184

Please note that I do not think smoking is a "good" thing and I am not defending it. It was more addictive than drugs or alcohol for myself and incredibly hard to kick. My point is that I believe some of the current local gov't crusades against smoking is bordering on legislation of behavior and it makes me uncomfortable. The use of obesity in my argument is to show that every argument on why smoking is horrible (health & financial) can be applied to obesity and it's selective ostracizing to target one and not the other.

[ This Message was edited by: nyc_lurker on 2004-03-17 09:54 ]

Strawdoggy · Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 6:49 am Post subject:

I smoke a few cigars a week, also. Mostly in the warmer weather since I smoke them outside.

I have found that it does not have an effect on my playing whatsoever. Sometimes I spark one up on the way to a job. The smell does get in your tux, though. Not good for the breath, either. Especially the cheap cigars. I know it is not good for the mouth and throat (I don't inhale cigar smoke) , which is why I only do it every so often.

That "I don't inhale" statement reminds me of someone.

I don't have a dependency on nicotene like most smokers of cigarettes do. I never crave a cigar. The idea of taking smoke into the lungs just sounds dangerous to me.

I am of the opinion that tobacco should remain legal - just like coffee, cola, salt, alcohol. I wouldn't say that smokers are idiots, either. Maybe they think smoking is stupid, and they are working on quitting. I have met some smokers who are quite intelligent. They just started smoking at an early age, and are having trouble getting out of it.

allstarbugler · Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 1:31 pm Post subject:

At some point in time, all smokers were non-smokers. The moment they made the decision to smoke - that moment in time - is when they were idiots. After that, they were addicts, and maybe idiots still, who knows?

My mother smoked all her life and died at 55. Her father smoked so much that he had his voice box hacked out and spoke thru a hole in his throat (sounded like controlled burping) for the last 30 years of his life.

To argue in defense of tobacco is like saying you might survive a fall off the Brooklyn Bridge - you'd be an idiot to try.

nyc_lurker · Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2004 2:33 pm Post subject:

allstar,

I smoked and I know others who have that I would not consider idiots. Thinking about it, though, you're allowed to disagree and classify whoever you like as idiots. Maybe I'm quicker to defend the smoker because I was one. While I myself no longer like the smell of tobacco smoke I happen to have a stronger dislike for the persons who force a fake cough whenever someone lights a cigarette within a hundred-yards radius.

However, back to the topic: nowhere in my argument did I mean to "defend tobacco"; I simply stated that I believe it should not be illegal and that many of the current arguments to justify making it illegal could just as easily be made against junk-food/obesity. More to the point, my argument is "when do we stop legislating behavior?". Just to fan the flames I also believe people should be able to ride a bike without a helmet, drive without seatbelts, own guns, and climb Mount Everest despite the risks to life and limb.

I do side with you about jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge...that is idiotic and should be illegal because it holds up my commute. I defend this apparently contradictory position by stating I'm pretty certain there is a larger percentage who've been smokers and did not die directly from it than have survived a fall from the Brooklyn Bridge.

AverageJoe · Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2004 10:16 am Post subject:

I smoked for 10 years as a player. I'll only say this: Since I quit, my playing has really taken off. Smoking definitely hurt me as a player.

Paul Poovey

the chief · Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 12:48 pm Post subject:

OK, I'm about a week into quitting smoking. I'm a trumpet player and I decided to quit smoking because I know that you gotta have your lungs in tip-top shape.

It's hard for me to say what differnece quitting smoking has made to my playing at this point. I'm still coughing up all the crap that was in my lungs. My lungs are going through a healing-phase right now, so playing the Clarke-etudes in one-breath is a little difficult. I will keep you all updated on how this plays out.

As a former-smoker, I can tell you that I'm sick of having this constant urge to cough. I focus on taking proper breaths now, trying to comletely fill my lungs. It still hurts a little when I fill to full-capacity, but I expect that to improve.

One thing to consider is that statistically, smoking is the number 1 TURN-OFF that girls talk about with guys.

patrick32378 · Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 4:24 pm Post subject:

Wow you people are pretty harsh. Be it cigarettes. Alcohol. Sky-diving. Whatever! I think it's a human trait to eat away at ourselves in some way, shape, or form; often untill there's nothing left but appetite. I'd be surprised to find out that a SINGLE of one of you does not have a bad habit that affects your health and well-being. Would you like to post a picture of Teeth of a crack addict? Would you like to hold up a banner showing the various effects of sexually transmitted diseases? Do you drive your car in a metroplitan area daily? I'll pass a smoker on the street over the stench and aggression of traffic anyday. Do you know the average life expectancy of a bicycle courier in NYC?? You dont wanna know. Or maybe we could post a chart showing the brain activity of one who watches reality TV...ok, so maybe that one's a stretch but no less pathetic than an idiot smoker. How many times did you eat fast food last year? week? Realize that you might be offending people..people just like you.

ADziuk · Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2004 10:25 pm Post subject:

I don't quite get the relevancy of your post Patrick. So your saying that because many bad habits exist, each of them like smoking are their own validation simply because they aren't the other ones? Thats some contrived logic my friend. Smoking is gonna kill you or harm you, and unlike many other "habits" you mentioned like driving to get yourself around, it has NO FUNCTION, and is almost completely driven by peer pressure.

Nonsense Eliminator · Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 5:11 am Post subject:

SmokING is stupid.

It does not follow that all smokERS are stupid. Smart people sometimes do stupid things.