Posted by Todd (216.199.4.128) on April 12, 2000 at 20:59:07:
In Reply to: Smoking and CH posted by Tim on April 12, 2000 at 20:47:28:
Tim, I have to disagree with one of your statements. I have never seen any evidence that smoking is a 'contributing factor' to ch. (Shut up, Jack)
There IS a strong correlation between smoking and clusters, in that far more clusterheads smoke than the average of the general population.
But, does that mean smoking causes clusters or clusters cause smoking? Most likely, neither. Many of us started smoking before we got clusters (or at least before our first attack), but many, many more smokers have never had clusters.
My personal theory is that clusterheads are, on average, more likely to have 'addictive personalities' than non-clusterheads. This may be due to a fatalistic attitude; i.e., "If I have to endure this crap, I want to enjoy the rest of my life and if I kill myself early, I'll just end the clusters sooner"
Now, that all said, the consensus from past threads on this subject is that quitting smoking has no effect on clusters. It IS, of course, the smart, healthy thing to do, but I'm afraid it won't end your clusters.
KTSSU,
T