Triggering (Substances): Cigarettes vs. Soda

[Brandon]

I walked into my dad's room after work, and he needed to say "5 things" before I went back to my room and did whatever. The last thing he mentioned was "I bought those Cokes..." and I quickly interrupted him and said "it doesn't matter how fast I drank them." He bought the 12-pack of Coke for me, and I finished it off rather quickly. He shook and said "that's not what I...nevermind." So I walked back into my room. A minute later, he walked in my room and talked about his friend being a dentist, and that he won't drink any soda without using a straw to bypass his teeth. He already told me that before, I know that Coke is bad for teeth, and I choose to drink Coke fast simply because I can. A little bit upset, I told him "well, put it this way. At least I'm not smoking cigarettes." He responded by saying "that doesn't matter." I asked "what doesn't matter?" He then commented on how many Cokes I've had yesterday. I then said "you should be a fortunate father." He responded by asking "fortunate?" He walked away.

I've been stressed out about my girlfriend lately. Haven't seen her in about 57 days, had a lot of stuff going on. I make money to the point that I can buy my own Cokes, and what I do with them isn't any of his business. I could be smoking cigarettes, I could be smoking marijuana, drinking alcohol, or practically any other drug that I could afford. But instead of this fact, he gets upset that I drink Coke. If the only addiction I have that's bad for me (besides the internet but that's a given for everyone), then am I right to call him fortunate when I rely on pornography/sex and Coke (the drink) to relieve stress?

[Ambiance]

It sounds like he's more concerned for your health, and the truth is, drinking so much soda isn't good for you. While it does add more water to your system than it takes away, it's not the greatest thing, and I only drink them with a straw to bypass as well.

I'm sorry it sounds like you're going through a stressful time. I'm sure your father IS grateful that you aren't abusing something more dangerous, he's just concerned by the rapid-ness. I think you're fortunate to have a father who cares about your health, even if it seems that he's getting on your case. And it's fortunate for YOU that you take care of yourself so well. It seems like a win/win to me, underneath the stress, which is understandable.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

I suppose there's a chance he may have misunderstood what you meant by fortunate but that's not what this is really about. Drinking a lot of cokes may not have an effect on your teeth but it will have an effect in that you're putting quite a lot of water into your system. While people can and have died from drinking so much water, I doubt that's the case here. If it's normal Coke you bought there's also an issue of how much sugar and electrolytes you're putting into your body. Whether you drink it with a straw, while standing up-side-down, while doing a 900-spin on a skateboard, while having sex or while sparring, it doesn't really matter, the point is, you're getting a shitload into your system. I haven't looked up the data but there's also a risk that with so much caffeine, your heart rate and blood pressure will soar, and depending how often and how much you ingest, you could be looking at theobromine poisoning down the road (can be fatal but before it is, you'll feel like shit, get very weak, may lose your appetite and not eat, blood pressure drops, have seizures, may have body temperature changes and you may die). There are antidotes for it though so you're not completely fucked.

One way to informally measure if you're, "wired", is to look in the mirror or ask someone if you have mydriasis (more than normal pupil dilation).

I've seen three people have caffeine overdoses, it's not graphic or anything but they do have tremors, cannot sit still, sweat a lot, some cognitive impairments and so forth until it's relieved. 2 of them had well over 140 bp. I'm not sure what the bp was for the third one but he was the one I observed the longest.

[Revolution]

I would try to cut down on your soda consumption, but no, drinking a lot of cokes is not the worst thing you could be doing to yourself, smoking and doing drugs is MUCH worse. I would not make this a habit though because of the extreme amount of corn syrup going into your body, and quite a lot of caffeine. But you're stressed, I understand. Dr. Pepper is my weakness, I've never drank this much in a short time, but I have a very thin tooth enamel, so I can't drink a lot of sugar or eat a lot of candy because if I do, I get cavities. Just stay strong dude. Try to limit the soda consumption, but don't beat yourself up over it. And good luck with your girlfriend! I hope she's doing alright.

[Brandon]

Originally Posted by The Man And XX Master

I suppose there's a chance he may have misunderstood what you meant by fortunate but that's not what this is really about. Drinking a lot of cokes may not have an effect on your teeth but it will have an effect in that you're putting quite a lot of water into your system. While people can and have died from drinking so much water, I doubt that's the case here. If it's normal Coke you bought there's also an issue of how much sugar and electrolytes you're putting into your body. Whether you drink it with a straw, while standing up-side-down, while doing a 900-spin on a skateboard, while having sex or while sparring, it doesn't really matter, the point is, you're getting a shitload into your system. I haven't looked up the data but there's also a risk that with so much caffeine, your heart rate and blood pressure will soar, and depending how often and how much you ingest, you could be looking at theobromine poisoning down the road (can be fatal but before it is, you'll feel like shit, get very weak, may lose your appetite and not eat, blood pressure drops, have seizures, may have body temperature changes and you may die). There are antidotes for it though so you're not completely fucked.

One way to informally measure if you're, "wired", is to look in the mirror or ask someone if you have mydriasis (more than normal pupil dilation).

I've seen three people have caffeine overdoses, it's not graphic or anything but they do have tremors, cannot sit still, sweat a lot, some cognitive impairments and so forth until it's relieved. 2 of them had well over 140 bp. I'm not sure what the bp was for the third one but he was the one I observed the longest.

I would say that my blood pressure is normal most of the time, but I use those crappy machines at grocery stores when I go work. You could argue that it's not very accurate. As far as my pupils go, they seem pretty normal to me. But who am I to say? It's only 9 PM and I'm just about to finish my 11th can of Coke. But I'm not really arguing about the effects of Coke, I'm arguing whether or not I'm justified in saying that my dad is more fortunate to have a son who chooses to drink soda instead of smoke cigarettes? Are they equally bad but in different ways, or what?

[Ambiance]

Hell no. Cigarettes are much worse for you.

[Composure]

Originally Posted by iLikeToMoveIt

Hell no. Cigarettes are much worse for you.

Hoold on a second.

Where'd you get this conclusion from? 12 cans a day of coke is something a little more serious than 12 cigarettes a day, I'd say. But heck, because I'm not citing references and not an expert, you can't really rely on my knowledge. Then again, I don't really know whose to rely on without supporting materials.

That being said, mate, I'm a heavy smoker. I smoke about 20-25 cigarettes a day, drink 2x250mL cans of energy drinks (just your standard Red Bull) and eat a fair bit of crap in my day. I can tell you one thing - between all of those factors and rarely feeling up to going to the Dentist's (I haven't been in a long, long time), my teeth are so bad I sometimes have the urge to wash my mouth in bleach. If not for internal health issues, at least consider the cosmetic issues (seems to be the biggest worry for me!).

Also, to the other poster who described caffiene overdoses... I have had many. I used to drink 7-8 cups of coffee a day. I stopped all that in one day and switched to tea - I no longer drink either of them. I recently had a single cup of coffee at home, and it wasn't pleasant. I got light-headed, started shaking really bad, felt like I was going to vomit, and couldn't move without the fear of falling over and drowning in my own vomit.

To the OP; I do not believe drinking a can of coke is as bad as having a single cigarette - because, in truth, a can in moderation on certain time bases can not certainly be as long-lasting as the effects of smoking. But to me, twelve cans of coke a day would not be doing wonders for your insides - and because you don't stop drinking coke, I'd say that your body definitely doesn't have time t recover from the amount of liquid, sugar and caffeine you've digested.

At least, when drinking coke in public, it's seen as socially acceptable - smoking, not so much.

[bipolar]

cigarettes are worse. hugs, not drugs. haha but im kinda like you. i HAVE to drink a coke in the morning. every morning. i started back in 7th grade and ever since then i wake up, get ready, and have a coke and a poptart for breakfast.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

Originally Posted by Brandon

I would say that my blood pressure is normal most of the time, but I use those crappy machines at grocery stores when I go work. You could argue that it's not very accurate. As far as my pupils go, they seem pretty normal to me. But who am I to say? It's only 9 PM and I'm just about to finish my 11th can of Coke. But I'm not really arguing about the effects of Coke, I'm arguing whether or not I'm justified in saying that my dad is more fortunate to have a son who chooses to drink soda instead of smoke cigarettes? Are they equally bad but in different ways, or what?

I suppose it depends how many cigarettes. If it's 11 cigarettes, yes it can be harmful to you but it will cause certain effects that coke won't and vice-verca. Some similarities though are changes in behaviour (generally when you're not on them), poor dental health, cardiovascular harm, possible hematuria (blood in urine), possible kidney damage, etc... . One of the effects cigarettes has that caffeine doesn't have is the increased risk of many types of cancer, which for most people is the deciding factor that cigarettes are worse. On the other hand, caffeine overdoses can lead to various impairments, such as the mentioned theobromine poisoning. Lots of this depends on how long and how much you would drink coke or smoke cigarettes.

Both are harmful and lots of this comes down to how much importance you give the risk of each type of possible cancer from smoking.

I'd say though in the short-term, coke is more harmful because the effects will be visible much sooner and cancer is unlikely to occur in the short-term. In the long-term, I'd say they're roughly even.