# Just how bad IS alcohol exactly



## Speratus (Jan 24, 2009)

Just wondering if anyone knows exactly what the effects alcohol has on overall health. I have a friend trying to make me lose my alcohol virginity among other things, and I'm considering just trying the whole social drinking thing to see if it helps at all, but I want to know precisely what I'm getting myself into before I do anything.


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## Fairyxo (Jan 28, 2009)

Really, don't do it - for someone with SA it's easy to become an alcoholic by starting drinking in social situations to make you feel better.


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## rdrr (Dec 31, 2008)

drinking alcohol in moderation is fine; binge drinking every night is not. you have to know your limits or be able to be an adult enough to deal with the consequences of having too much to drink.


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## Vito (Mar 14, 2008)

I drank steadily for two weeks a while back, and I noticed weight loss, disorientation most of the time and constantly making the same stupid mistakes, and throwing up once or twice because I hit the rum and vodka at the same time a little too hard. Memory loss, drunk dialing, I generally made a fool of myself but didn't care.

I doubt that's what you intend to do, though. Social drinking is okay, but it can turn very quickly into a crutch for everything.. for me it was the first thing I did in the morning and the last thing at night. Heavier drinking can cause liver damage, and if you're new to drinking and aren't careful, you can experience the next morning hangover, which is an excruciating sick feeling and huge headache that render you bed ridden for the day, usually. In other words, don't get drunk off beer, which will give you a hangover. As well, don't get so drunk off anything that you vomit, since that'll be a sure hangover too. Either drink a couple of beers, or a lot of wine and vodka, and you're safe.

As for long term, it's probably mentioned more thoroughly in health journals online. Good luck.


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## amg its austin (May 1, 2009)

Just drink on weekends, it will do you good. It's very good for getting rid of anxiety and making you more bubbly.. that's the effect it has on me anyway. Just don't binge drink and you'll be fine.. I'm happier when tipsy from alcohol too tbh.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

I've found myself drinking less & less in the last several months, even though my life clearly hasn't improved. It's gone downhill. Clearly those at AA meetings must have had a different experience than myself where they just went for more & more.


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## Brightpaperwarewolf (Oct 16, 2008)

Drink a beer by yourself and see how it feels. Listen to music, dance a little. There's no need to get ****faced even though it's fun on occasion, your head will thank you for it.


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## TeenyBeany (Sep 3, 2008)

ok, so, you asked about overall health. Beer pretty much makes you gain weight in time (hence the terms "freshman 50" and "beer belly") ... I'm not sure if you're taking SA meds. I know from personal experience that hard liquor is that much more intense for me (more than i would like it to be!) and i'm on Paxil 20 mg. I tend to stick with a glass of Arbor Mist wine every now and then with a meal. Not so much for the effect (b/c it really has none on me) but b/c it is yummy


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## free2live (Apr 30, 2009)

I don't drink much, but when I do down my shots/half of a beer/glass of wine, it usually made me less self-conscious and more likely to converse, if not, I usually just stayed quiet and sleepy. For someone who never drank before, you can expect the alcohol to get you red and flushed, maybe a hot feeling, make your breathing a bit more deeper. If you drink too much too quickly, your stomach may decide to throw up. Personally, I've never gotten to the "pass-out" mark. But I've gotten to the, "I should probably sleep it off in the car first" mark a couple of times.


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## LALoner (Dec 3, 2008)

Here are some young drinkers who say they didn't like it:

http://www.evilmilk.com/pictures/Passed_Out_Shamed.htm
http://www.evilmilk.com/pictures/Shamed_Loser.htm
http://www.evilmilk.com/pictures/Shamed_Friend.htm
http://www.evilmilk.com/pictures/Guy_Is_Shamed.htm


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## kev (Jan 28, 2005)

If you want to have a drink, you can. Don't drink just because you want to fit in though.

Unfortunately, drinking is a "social activity" in the US. Lol, give me a break... yeah, "drinking is okay, but only if you do it on special occasions". Nonsense. People drink basically for four reasons: to fit in (peer pressure), to experiment, to drown out pain, and finally to cure the withdrawal symptoms of alcoholism (in the case of chronic alcoholics). I'm not sure any of these are good reasons, although they are all understandable reasons.

I have nothing against alcohol, it's not morally wrong or anything, but it certainly is not a "safe" drug.

Most (if not all) addictive drugs cause large amounts of dopamine to be released all at once, much more than would be released by natural activites such as food, sex, and exercise. In alcoholics, dopamine is depleted over time to the point where these natural pleasures don't give as much pleasure anymore. The only thing that provides relief is more alcohol.

I'm not trying to scare you off or anything. But I just think it is important to know the risks.

http://www.healthline.com/galecontent/disease-concept-of-chemical-dependency

Alcohol obviously affects the liver but one night of drinking isn't going to cause any permanent damage.


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## Zoe1988 (May 8, 2009)

I tried drinking in order to ease my social anxiety. It didn't work too well. I just felt really sleepy and I had a headache. I also didn't continue drinking bc I don't want to gain weight. Im not happy about my weight to begin with so I don't want to add to it.
I wouldn't suggest it


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## Wowzers (Jan 14, 2009)

I'm sure it won't kill you.


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## Madison_Rose (Feb 27, 2009)

You may as well give it a try to see if you like it. Maybe a glass of wine or two with a meal, and not at all if it will interfere with any medication you're taking. 

The governent here in the UK advises men to drink no more than 3-4 units of alcohol a day, and no more than 21 in a week. Stick within those limits and I don't think you'll go far wrong. If you haven't had a drink before, you'll get a big effect from a little alcohol anyway - you'll probably notice an effect after one unit.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

TeenyBeany said:


> ok, so, you asked about overall health. Beer pretty much makes you gain weight in time (hence the terms "freshman 50" and "beer belly") ... I'm not sure if you're taking SA meds. I know from personal experience that hard liquor is that much more intense for me (more than i would like it to be!) and i'm on Paxil 20 mg. I tend to stick with a glass of Arbor Mist wine every now and then with a meal. Not so much for the effect (b/c it really has none on me) but b/c it is yummy


Arbor Mist will make one fat too. It's a "wine product" with only 6% alc and sugar & flavors added, which is probably why it tastes so yummy. (I've personally never tried it). To minimize calories I drink real wine where the vast majority of the sugar has been converted to alcohol. At 13% alc you end up with a bitter taste (and minimal residual sugar), but calorie content only marginally higher than that of hard liquor that contains zero sugar.


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## LostPancake (Apr 8, 2009)

If you wanted to avoid sticking out at parties, you could bring a flask with some alcohol in it, and pretend to drink out of it, and just act tipsy and say I love you guys a lot. 

When I was younger they always said alcohol kills brain cells. Does anyone know if that's true?


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## AndyLT (Oct 8, 2007)

I never ever thought I would need to quit alcohol.

But when I moved away from my parents I noticed that alcohol was becoming my best friend. I noticed that I was drinking more than the rest at the parties. I also started doing crazy things while being intoxicated, like gambling away half of my salary.

Yeah, 70% of the world drinks occasionally, but you have to realize that you are on a risk group. So there is a chance that you'll become one of those unlucky alcohol-abusers.

Alcohol will make you careless. And that might be a good and a bad thing.


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## back2life (Feb 27, 2009)

benzo and alcohol abuse can increase anxiety (reference from wiki) i dont know about it, the doctor i quieried said it helps at first but can end up worst.

but thats not a pleasant glass with dinner. alcoholic withdrawal can be worst than heroin withdrawal and it increases chance of dimentia (in binge amounts for years and years)


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

It's dehydrating!


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## DontTrustheGov't (Jun 5, 2008)

Alcohol can be very fun when used in moderation. When drank too much or everyday, it can ruin your life. 

I used to have a drinking problem and I got a DUI and I went to Alcohol Education classes and they basically taught me how to drink responsibly. You must be very careful if you have alcoholic relatives because it increases your chances of being alcoholic. 

When I was younger I used to get ****-faced all the time and it truly is not worth it. I made a fool of myself so many times I cant count and at the end of it I finally got in trouble with the law. I also wreaked havoc on my body and mind.

I still drink sometimes but its usually 1-2 beers only when I do. The most I ever drink anymore is 5 beers. This kind of drinking is very fun and it lowers the dangers of drinking significantly. I never get a hangover and I only buy good beer anymore so it is actually enjoyable to drink them.


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## SomethingTangible (May 8, 2009)

My opinion on alcohol is: why would you put something in your body which doesn't taste good and negatively affects you?
I am amazed whenever I hear someone say "I didn't like the taste of beer at first, but I got used to it after a while and now I really like it." Why do continue consuming something when you don't like how it tastes?! I'm going to start running a hoax experiment that proves eating turds has incredible reverse aging affects and see how people react. :bah

In all honesty, the less you drink the better. The reason alcohol is seen as a positive intoxicant for social interaction is because it inhibits neural activity that would otherwise be engaged in the area of the brain that controls judgment. Your talking may be more freed up, you may feel good but at the cost of your intelligence and functionality the next day or couple days after because this substance is altering your brain.

"_Alcohol is a fat soluble molecule. Fats (called lipids) are a major component of all cell membranes, including the cell membranes of neurons. Alcohol enters the cell membranes of neurons and changes their properties. Receptors are located on cell membranes and this means that receptor properties are altered by the presence of alcohol. Cell membranes also control the release of neurotransmitters and this means that the release of neurotransmitters is also affected by the presence of alcohol._"
http://ezinearticles.com/?id=1319880

The brain is the organ most negatively affected by alcohol. In instances where people consume a large amount of alcohol, a couple highly alcoholic drinks, they can have memory lapses in memory or "black out" due to alcohol actually starving their brain of oxygen, killing hundreds of neurons.

My advice is that you do some research before even considering trying it out. Someone with SA is more likely to become addicted to alcohol for it's freeing effects and with that long-term addiction or usage it will alter their ability to think and their memory. Don't give your body something bad for it to fix a problem that can be solved by changing your behavior because in the end, when you've decided to quit, you'll still have the behavioral problem.


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## euphoria (Jan 21, 2009)

SomethingTangible said:


> Why do continue consuming something when you don't like how it tastes?!


Because people drink it for the way it makes them feel, not the taste.



> In all honesty, the less you drink the better. The reason alcohol is seen as a positive intoxicant for social interaction is because it inhibits neural activity that would otherwise be engaged in the area of the brain that controls judgment. Your talking may be more freed up, you may feel good but at the cost of your intelligence and functionality the next day or couple days after because this substance is altering your brain.


The positive effects are due to sub-receptors distinct to the ones that impair judgement. The judgement ones aren't what people drink it for, they're more a side-effect.



> they can have memory lapses in memory


Haha.


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## DontTrustheGov't (Jun 5, 2008)

SomethingTangible said:


> My opinion on alcohol is: why would you put something in your body which doesn't taste good and negatively affects you?


I used to think this way as well and the answer for most people is "to get drunk". Eventually I learned that getting drunk isnt really all that fun because of the negative aspects.

I started talking to friends and found that they actually do make beer that is meant to taste good. And they're certainly not just "chick drinks". I used to drink mass produced, really bad tasting beer and it was always a "struggle" to drink them. I would end up getting hammered and puke in the morning. It was not fun at all.

Then I met a friend that turned me on to good tasting beer and I can fully enjoy the beer drinking experience. There is beer out there that tastes better than soda. The max I drink anymore is 5 beers so it doesn't cause problems anymore.


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## Panic Prone (Mar 5, 2006)

Using any substance to fill any void is getting on the train to addiction. 

This is what I wrote in another thread..

I have wierd issues with alcohol myself from years of abuse. I get a quick buzz right away after one drink. (the dopamine rush) but then after that nothing... no matter how many beers I have I cannot hit euphoria will alcohol anymore. Within 3 drinks I will get depressed... and then anxiety big time! I won't be able to sleep right for days too. I also have weird affects like tearing of the eyes.

I haven't touched alcohol in a 1.5 years


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## beaches09 (Feb 1, 2009)

Moderation drinking is fine. Like everyone said just don't by any means fall in love with it and use it as a vice. Medications are far better for that sort of thing. If you start drinking heavily everyday it will cause neurological issues and screw with your life.


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## kos (May 19, 2009)

alcohol is a drug i never want to touch again. Far too many negatives. I'd much rather smoke a bowl. Some people seem to get uptight when they do but its just the opposite for me and its not as destructive for your health as alcohol is.


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## cortiflo (Jun 1, 2009)

don't bother drinking. any weakness alchohol will find it. get some nootropics, they give you a much better feeling and you have alot more fulfilling life.


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## bezoomny (Feb 10, 2007)

Alcohol is very fun in moderation. I had to learn my limits to actually start to enjoy it (before I'd used alcohol to induce total oblivion, which I don't recommend). Try to avoid binging, and space out your alcohol with water (prevents hangovers too), especially if you haven't drunk before.


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## socially inept (Mar 6, 2009)

Speratus said:


> Just wondering if anyone knows exactly what the effects alcohol has on overall health. I have a friend trying to make me lose my alcohol virginity among other things, and I'm considering just trying the whole social drinking thing to see if it helps at all, but I want to know precisely what I'm getting myself into before I do anything.


if you have SA and have never drank before then you should count your blessings. keep it tha way, dont drink

if yo drink you will most likely become confident and sociable and your anxiety will disapear. but then you will wake up the next day and be back to square one only this time u will crave to feel how you did when you was drunk therefore you risk becoming socially dependant on alchohol. you wont be able to go anywere without a drink

it really doesdo more harm than good, its not worth t


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## Inscrutable Banana (Apr 1, 2008)

Alcohol in moderation isn't bad for you, and in some cases can be mildly beneficial by thinning your blood and lessening the chance of blood platelets sticking together to form a blockage. I drink occasionally, but I never drink more than two beers or one full glass of wine in any given day and I try to only drink with or following a meal.

Your own personal self-discipline and genetic predisposition to alcoholism plays a large role in whether or not you will fall into addiction or not. My father was an alcoholic, but I personally don't feel any intense need for it and would usually rather drink something else. Lucky for me, alcoholism can skip a generation from what I've read.

If you believe that you may be susceptible to alcoholism, I'd have to agree with others in this thread in saying that it would be best to air on the side of caution and just drink something else. There's plenty of other drinks out there that don't carry a risk of destroying lives.


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## Unknownn (May 27, 2009)

I started drinking at parties to ease anxiety, i always felt like i was the odd one out and basically never said anything. Having a drink made me not care and despite not being able to walk in a straight line, i felt much more relaxed, however i now feel that i have to drink in order to act normally at parties : (


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## Halfie (Dec 29, 2007)

The point of drinking is to get drunk, duh. Drinking just one or two beers defeats the whole purpose.


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## Phibes (Mar 8, 2009)

It's not good. I quit for good a week ago.


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## LostPancake (Apr 8, 2009)

DontTrustheGov't said:


> I started talking to friends and found that they actually do make beer that is meant to taste good. And they're certainly not just "chick drinks". I used to drink mass produced, really bad tasting beer and it was always a "struggle" to drink them. I would end up getting hammered and puke in the morning. It was not fun at all.
> 
> Then I met a friend that turned me on to good tasting beer and I can fully enjoy the beer drinking experience. There is beer out there that tastes better than soda. The max I drink anymore is 5 beers so it doesn't cause problems anymore.


Hmm, what are these beers that taste good? I'd like to try them.

I drink very rarely, but when I do it'd be nice to have something that actually tasted good.


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## LostPancake (Apr 8, 2009)

SomethingTangible said:


> My opinion on alcohol is: why would you put something in your body which doesn't taste good and negatively affects you?
> I am amazed whenever I hear someone say "I didn't like the taste of beer at first, but I got used to it after a while and now I really like it." Why do continue consuming something when you don't like how it tastes?! I'm going to start running a hoax experiment that proves eating turds has incredible reverse aging affects and see how people react. :bah
> 
> http://ezinearticles.com/?id=1319880


It's probably like coffee - your brain learns to associate the positive effects with it, which overrides the bitter taste and makes you think you actually like it. For me the buzz is usually very short lived, followed by lots of bleary depression, and sometimes weird pains in my shoulder, so I never really got into heavy drinking. Nowadays half a beer is about all I'll drink.

Great article by the way - I'd never understood exactly how alcohol worked.


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## Halfie (Dec 29, 2007)

Alcohol kills brain cells, but being a chronically depressed shut-in who avoids life experiences and the intellectual stimulation that an active social life provides also kills brain cells. A developing brain needs both of those things to grow. I had no social life whatsoever from middle school until a few years ago, and I can't have conversations now about music, about food, about relationships, about money, about life. I just know so much less than almost anybody else my age. And it's not because they're big readers or intellectuals, it's because they live an active life and you can't help but learn an incredible amount by simply living and exposing yourself to different people and experiences. Alcohol helps me do that. Meds did not.

I'm not speaking figuratively, by the way. Brain scans of chronically depressed people indicate permanent reductions in grey matter similar to that found in chronic alcoholics:

http://bjp.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/abstract/172/6/527


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## IllusionOfHappiness (Sep 6, 2007)

SomethingTangible said:


> My opinion on alcohol is: why would you put something in your body which doesn't taste good and negatively affects you?
> I am amazed whenever I hear someone say "I didn't like the taste of beer at first, but I got used to it after a while and now I really like it." Why do continue consuming something when you don't like how it tastes?! I'm going to start running a hoax experiment that proves eating turds has incredible reverse aging affects and see how people react. :bah


Negatively affects you? Okay if we're talking about going overboard maybe. But one beer and I'm more relaxed for a while. It's got almost the same effect on me klonopin does. And I know it's already been mentioned, but I'll echo that people don't drink for the taste unless we're talking fruity sugary low alcohol content drinks. I don't think turds provide a relaxing feeling. And if they do, I'll still stick with my alcoholic beverages :b.


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## wiselittleracoon (Jun 4, 2009)

I think if you were smart enough to wait this long to have your first drink then your smart enough to realize when your body has had enough,but alcohol is deceaving.If your doing it socially and your feeling good and your talking and having a good time you might think its ok to keep drinking to the point of get totally sloshed before you know it.And then you wake up wanting to die because your soooooo sick,plus it doesn't do depression very good since its a depressant.And then there is the inhabition part where you might not be so affraid to do things you would not do if you were sober.Little silly things that are harmless to big things that might put your life or someone elses in danger.
I'm not saying that everyone who drinks booze does this or you will do this.I am only speaking from experience and I am alittle frustrated with myself for being a partygirl at such a young age.The SA combined with the booze really made things worse for me.


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## warcraft (Jul 27, 2008)

Alcohol calories are processed very differently than regular calories.


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## Inscrutable Banana (Apr 1, 2008)

kos said:


> alcohol is a drug i never want to touch again. Far too many negatives. I'd much rather smoke a bowl. Some people seem to get uptight when they do but its just the opposite for me and its not as destructive for your health as alcohol is.


Trading potential liver disease for potential lung cancer seems like an exercise in futility.



Halfie said:


> The point of drinking is to get drunk, duh. Drinking just one or two beers defeats the whole purpose.


I disagree. I find the idea of getting drunk absurd. If I wanted to abuse my liver I'd just punch it a few times. Drinking to the point where you're on the verge on drowning in a pool of your own vomit is reserved for idiotic frat boys trying to prove how "awesome" they are by comparing how much punishment their livers can take.

When I do drink a beer or two it's mostly because of the Hops, which is a known relaxant. Moreover, it's also because of the studies which suggest that when consumed in moderation the alcohol could reduce the chance of blood clots forming. When you sit in a chair as much as I do, the possibility of such a benefit helps take away some of the deep-vein thrombosis paranoia.

I have no problem drinking non-alcoholic beer due to the fact that I still get the hops. I could drink hops Tea, but if you've ever tasted that you'd prefer to drink a beer or two. Hops Tea is one of the most bitter things I've ever tasted in my life.


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## Halfie (Dec 29, 2007)

RAY16 said:


> Trading potential liver disease for potential lung cancer seems like an exercise in futility.
> 
> I disagree. I find the idea of getting drunk absurd. If I wanted to abuse my liver I'd just punch it a few times. Drinking to the point where you're on the verge on drowning in a pool of your own vomit is reserved for idiotic frat boys trying to prove how "awesome" they are by comparing how much punishment their livers can take.
> 
> ...


Like I said, the point (for me, anyway) is to get drunk, which enables me to enjoy socializing--not to prove anything to anybody about how much abuse my liver can handle. The less I have to drink before I get drunk the better, because I like saving money. Also, smoking pot does not significantly increase one's risk of lung cancer. Nobody understands why yet. And if you use a vaporizer, the risk of lung damage is virtually nil.


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## Inscrutable Banana (Apr 1, 2008)

Halfie said:


> Like I said, the point (for me, anyway) is to get drunk, which enables me to enjoy socializing--not to prove anything to anybody about how much abuse my liver can handle. The less I have to drink before I get drunk the better, because I like saving money. Also, smoking pot does not significantly increase one's risk of lung cancer. Nobody understands why yet. And if you use a vaporizer, the risk of lung damage is virtually nil.


Smoke doesn't belong in your lungs regardless of the source. If I wanted smoke in my lungs I'd stand in a burning building.

As for vaporizers, that would be one way around it.


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## Halfie (Dec 29, 2007)

RAY16 said:


> Smoke doesn't belong in your lungs regardless of the source. If I wanted smoke in my lungs I'd stand in a burning building.
> 
> As for vaporizers, that would be one way around it.


You do realize that drinking and smoking pot have other effects besides damaging your liver and putting smoke in your lungs, which might have something to do with why people choose to do them?


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## Inscrutable Banana (Apr 1, 2008)

Halfie said:


> You do realize that drinking and smoking pot have other effects besides damaging your liver and putting smoke in your lungs, which might have something to do with why people choose to do them?


Nope, that never occurred to me. In fact, what you have said has just blown my mind. Excuse me while I pick up the pieces of my shattered reality.

That wasn't really what I was getting at, but I've derailed this thread enough so I won't continue to do so.

In closing I offer you this argument: RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE.


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