I had never heard it claimed that cigars pose less/different cancer risks than cigarettes.

Google search provides mixed (as you might expect) results.

Cancer.gov, the Mayo Clinic, and WebMD all seem to suggest that cigar smokers in general tend to have lower rates of lung cancer than cigarette smokers (because they generally don't inhale, which I didn't know), but higher than non-smokers. And they have comparable or possibly higher rates of other cancers (oral, esophageal ... pancreatic) as compared to cigarette smokers.

Several results suggest that there is less data about cigars, results aren't statistically significant, etc. etc. and that they believe that cigars are much safer than cigarettes, if not entirely safe. But frankly, the pages I see (in a cursory search that I don't really have a personal stake in) promoting that view don't seem as ... trustworthy to me as the Mayo Clinic, or Healthcare Triage videos like this one (that list references right in the video).


No holier-than-thou attitude intended. ...Although I can say that I'm personally very glad I never acquired a taste for tobacco products of any kind. And a very low interest in alcohol consumption -- I go months on up to a year+ between drinks of booze without ever missing it. I sometimes avoid social situations because of smoke, which I suppose is a downside. But on the other hand, I'm enough of an introvert that avoiding social situations is probably something I'd be doing anyway... So at the very least I have more money to waste on other things since I'm not a smoker or much of a drinker.

yeah, great..celebrate someones alcoholism. Now I like Christopher Hitchens, don't get me wrong..but he was clearly an alcoholic, and it probably contributed to his cancer. So they're celebrating him with what is killing him.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/CancerPreventionAndTreatment/christopher-hitchens-alcohol-cigarettes-contributed-esophageal-cancer-diagnosis/story?id=110
68126

Even Bill Maher called him out on his drinking:



Instead of this insensitive gesture, pray for Chris, that God would have mercy on his soul.

He's already got a couple kids.
He's also got esophageal cancer.

>> ^rabidness:

This man needs to start having children for the sake of our future.

>> ^westy:

although its gr8 having people say , want u to get better ect or sayign hwo sumone has inspired them .
at the same time this video is kinda stupid i realy dont think hitchens or allot of people r the typ that go RIGHT IM GIVING UP ON LIFE NOW BECAUS EI HAVE CANCER , evan though cemo is realy shit and the whole process is realy bad in the end people just go through it as they would annything else.
i think evan hitches said the whole "fight with cancer" thing is pritty retarded elivating cancer when it is just as mundane as annything else. it almost implies that people dont fight with other malidies allso for one person vomiting fealing phgiscaly fucked is far less worse than what another person might go through with family issues , or metal helth , or anny other number of illness or problems that arise in life.


This depends on which type of cancer you get. For the one hitchens has, the statistics are, to put it mildly, very poor.

Wikipedia: In general, the prognosis of esophageal cancer is quite poor, because so many patients present with advanced disease: The overall five-year survival rate (5YSR) is less than 5%.

Less than 5% survive 5 years, in addition, Hitchens' cancer has spread to his lymph nodes and lungs, so i hate to say it, but his future isnt looking too bright at the moment. I hope he pulls through tho.

>> ^Ryjkyj:

"These results suggest that the incidence of these cancers may be decreased by reducing the prevalence of smoking, gastroesophageal reflux, and being overweight and by increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables."
"...no study has comprehensively examined their contributions to the cancer burden in the general population."
And I'm sure the fact that it's what his father died of is just pure coincidence?
Lucky for me though. Even though I smoke, I also eat pizza:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12949808
...so the two should cancel each other out right?


No. Reflux is a major risk factor for adenocarcinoma, a different disease than what Hitchens has. Smoking and drinking account for the vast majority of squamous cell carcinoma.

Genetics is important in certain kinds of cancer, like breast or colon, but it plays a much smaller role in this particular disease than smoking or drinking. Considering that Hitchens does not have any of the other risk factors, such as notable esophageal disoders, smoking and drinking are almost certainly what caused his cancer.

And yes it is impossible to ethically conduct clinical trials to definitively prove the causation between smoking and drinking and cancer. However, the science and world wide epidemiological data supporting this causation is overwhelming. Hitchens, a man of reason, has taken responsibility for his disease, but you still seem to be in denial. In any case, there's no need to bring the straw man into this discussion, as we are talking about a completely different level of evidence.

>> ^Ryjkyj:

The type of cancer Hitchen's has may be linked to smoking and drinking. No other reputable source would say otherwise.


No. Smoking and drinking as well as diet is accountable for 90% of cases of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, which is most certainly what Hitchens has.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/13130116

Different cancers have different causes. Many are unknown, but in this case it is well established.

Wikipedia: Esophageal cancer

Prognosis

In general, the prognosis of esophageal cancer is quite poor, because so many patients present with advanced disease: The overall five-year survival rate (5YSR) is less than 5%. Individualized prognosis depends largely on stage. Those with cancer restricted entirely to the esophageal mucosa have about an 80% 5YSR, but submucosal involvement brings this down to less than 50%. Extension into the muscularis propria (muscular layer of the esophageus) has meant a 20% 5YSR and extension to the structures adjacent to the esophagus results in a 7% 5YSR. Patients with distant metastases (who are not candidates for curative surgery) have a less than 3% 5YSR.