Which is the more serious issue?(possible debate)

[cruisnfamily]

DH and I were having a conversation and got into somewhat of a debate about these two medical scenarios.

1)Smoking eventhough it causes lung cancer
2)Not treating high cholesteral eventhough it can lead to heart attacks

Which one of these two issues is more deadly?
Would you worry about one and not the other?
Would you say it's dumb to take action on one issue and not the other? For example; Would you say you might as well not treat your high cholesteral if you're going to continue to smoke?

Opinions please. This is purely hypothetical. We were having the conversation based on a story about a friend.

 

[bicker]

No matter what the Nicorette people may claim, you cannot take a pill to "treat smoking". Similarly, you cannot take a pill to treat poor eating and exercise behaviors that caush high cholesterol. What you can do is take a pill to treat high cholesterol. To refuse to do that seems indefensible to me.

However, I don't think you were talking about taking pills. I mentioned the pill-taking to illustrate that it doesn't really matter whether the danger of high cholesterol is greater or less than the danger from smoking, because the danger of high cholesterol is substantially mitigated by medication, while most of the danger from smoking is not.

So my priorities would be to (1) take the pill for the cholesterol; (2) quit smoking; (3) address the poor eating and exercise behaviors, in that order.

 

[poohandwendy]

Which one of these two issues is more deadly?

These two issues cannot be separated, they are both dangerous and together even MORE so.

Would you worry about one and not the other?

No, as they are definitely related.

Would you say it's dumb to take action on one issue and not the other?

Yes, it's not a very good plan. But, you have to start somewhere.

Would you say you might as well not treat your high cholesteral if you're going to continue to smoke?

No. High cholesteral needs immediate attention. Why throw in the towel completely? I think sometimes the quitting smoking takes more time, it is easier to take a pill every day than quit smoking altogether. I agree with Bickers priority list. I would be working on the bigger picture.

Whoever you are referring to, I wish them luck in resolving their health issues.

 

[auntpolly]

I once heard the surgeon general (whichever one it was at the time) speaking on the radio (think it was C. Everett Koop) and he said if you don't listen to any other health advice in your life, Don't Smoke! He said that that is the single, by far, most dangerous thing.

Smoking doesn't just affect your lungs. When it killed my Dad, it had also affected his circulatory system to the point that he couldn't breath -- he didn't have lung cancer or emphasema. It can cause heart disease, too.

 

[golfgal]

With smoking, you are also polluting the air and if you live with anyone or smoke around anyone, you are also endangering them. With the cholesterol issue, you are only damaging your own body.

 

[bgirldeb]

Smoking is a totally voluntary thing and never has to be started in the first place.

Healthy eating DOES has to do with self-control, but also has to do with education about what is healthy, etc. You don't HAVE to smoke, but you do HAVE to eat.