Stevie's health and smoking ???

[AliP]

Sorry if this has been discussed already, but I read a review a week or so ago where a fan saw Stevie smoking during sound check. Don't know if it was a cigarette or some other little thing but if she is smoking again even if only once in a while, I can't help but feel disappointed. I have several interviews where she goes off for about 10 minutes about how quitting smoking was the smartest thing she has ever done etc.

I guess I'm just one of those people who gets extremely disappointed in people when they do something good for themselves and then after awhile go back to their old ways Also makes me wonder, that if she is smoking again, this can't be good for her swollen vocal chords or whatever is ailing her at the moment.

[GardenStateGirlie]

Originally Posted by AliP

Sorry if this has been discussed already, but I read a review a week or so ago where a fan saw Stevie smoking during sound check. Don't know if it was a cigarette or some other little thing but if she is smoking again even if only once in a while, I can't help but feel disappointed. I have several interviews where she goes off for about 10 minutes about how quitting smoking was the smartest thing she has ever done etc.

I guess I'm just one of those people who gets extremely disappointed in people when they do something good for themselves and then after awhile go back to their old ways Also makes me wonder, that if she is smoking again, this can't be good for her swollen vocal chords or whatever is ailing her at the moment.

That was in Atlanta If memory serves. I remember people running up to our group saying Stevie was smoking...not in the best interests of someone who suffers from bad cases of asthma quite often as she does. If she is currently battling swollen vocal chords (and they really aren't pleasant...from first hand experience I say this), i'm sure she's not smoking at the moment. They probably have her on a steroid inhaler so it's more comfortable for her to perform and ten to one she has been doing steam treatments a few times daily. If she's doing this and minding her throat while she isn't singing, her range should start to come back in five to ten days and her vocal chords will heal themselves automatically and she should be fine. Frankly, i'd rather she smoked a joint than a cigarette.

[Merf]

Originally Posted by GardenStateGirlie

Frankly, i'd rather she smoked a joint than a cigarette.

Isn't smoking a joint the equivilent of like ten cigarettes?

Anywho, IMO, she shouldn't be smoking at all. I am a smoker myself, so of course I'm not going to chastise her, but someone with her asthma problems, swollen vocal cords, and the fact that she sings for a living, should NOT be smoking at all.

[GardenStateGirlie]

Originally Posted by Merf

Isn't smoking a joint the equivilent of like ten cigarettes?

Anywho, IMO, she shouldn't be smoking at all. I am a smoker myself, so of course I'm not going to chastise her, but someone with her asthma problems, swollen vocal cords, and the fact that she sings for a living, should NOT be smoking at all.

No, you're right, she shouldn't but the fact is that she does. With all of the bad habits she's had in the past, even though this one is incredibly harmful, I look at it this way...she could be doing something else and i'm very glad that part of her life is behind her.

[sparky]

GOOD GOD IN A SIDE CART.

I certainly hope this isn't true. Smoking is the single most idiotic thing a singer can do. It shaves the top off your vocal range, it roughens the sound of your voice, it minimizes the air you have to power your voice. As much as incorrectly singing, this is THE reason Stevie lost her upper range in the first place. If she is smoking again....well, it's her voice. Her choice. Her career. The very thought of it makes me wanna puke. Why not just gargle with Drano ?

[Street Angel]

Sorry but I can totally understand it if she IS smoking again indeed. Undoubtedly it's only the best intentions of some of you to say that she shouldn't harm her health, her voice etc., but it's definitely much easier said than done. It is an addiction and even if you manage to stay away from it for days/weeks/years, sometimes there is a little "spark" that makes you want to smoke another one. And there is no contradiction in being completely enthusiastic about having quit and telling it to the world and then months later suddenly smoking another cigarette.

I am currently trying to get rid of smoking once and for all (and God knows how many times I've tried already without any permanent success) and if you've experienced it as well you KNOW that your "inner voice of craving" can be very creative to give you good reasons to smoke just ONE MORE cigarette (as if there were any ) and how that "voice" can push away ANY rational thoughts, no matter how good these arguments against smoking are. Going by my own experience as a smoker, I know what a fool I am when I light another one and yet I do it. (Nicotine can be a very powerful substance, and like Allen Carr put it correctly it's like some sort of brainwash when it comes to your habit)

I hope I don't sound too harsh or like a preacher man etc. in this post (this is definitely not my intention!) but apparently some of you haven't experienced that for yourselves - and be glad that you haven't! Put yourself in her place before judging her... Stevie isn't a careless or stupid person (I know none of you said that, but especially to you non-smokers some of us must give you that impression! ) just because she couldn't resist the temptation - she certainly KNOWS what consequences smoking can cause but like I said before it's easy to say "You're a fool, stop smoking because it's not good for you" when you're not addicted and you don't go through that "conflict" yourself, especially when you try to stay absent from it. (And BTW, congratulations to everyone who got rid of smoking without the problems I described above - I suppose I'm a more difficult case! )

[TwistedGypsy]

Yes me and Steph saw her smoking in Atlanta. But remember Atlanta was the last place she performed SS. Which I guess caused her swollen vocal chords. So my assumption is that she is not smoking now.
I also heard that one joint equals like 3 cigs. So if she is having one every once in a while then so be it. If I was about to go on stage in front of thousands of people I'd be doing the same thing.
Brit

[GardenStateGirlie]

I think it's more the fact that she's around a myriad of people who continue to smoke. John smokes...probably a large percentage of the roadies smoke... if you're around it all the time and you're trying to not smoke, I can see where the temptation would be there to pick up a cigarette now and then.

[StevieRox2]

The Poor thing - think of all the stress and pressure she's under. As I former daily smoker, I can well understand the urge to have one every now and again, and if she does, she does. I can also understand her wanting to light up a j before a show to help with her stage fright. No big deal IMHO.

[strandinthewind]

Well, pot is a harsher smoke inhalation because unlike a cig., a joint has no filter. But, the chemical additives and the chemicals in the filter of a cog. are far worse for you than pot, which is natural, etc. In any event, both are not that great for the voice. Also, the fact that Stevie is 56 tommorow probably has a lot to do with it. Everyone's singing voice lowers with time whether they smoke or not

[darklinensuit]

Originally Posted by strandinthewind

Everyone's singing voice lowers with time whether they smoke or not

Not Jacko's.

- Jake

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by GardenStateGirlie

Frankly, i'd rather she smoked a joint than a cigarette.

There are far more carcinogens in a joint than a cigarette. Just sayin'.

[gldstwmn]

Originally Posted by AliP

I guess I'm just one of those people who gets extremely disappointed in people when they do something good for themselves and then after awhile go back to their old ways Also makes me wonder, that if she is smoking again, this can't be good for her swollen vocal chords or whatever is ailing her at the moment.

I'll go as far as to say it doesn't just disappoint me, it pisses me off.

[Sarah]

I've smoked enough cigarettes and pot to be able to comment on this, I think.

Yeah, smoking pot might be a harsher inhalation because you hold it purposely.. but I'll go on record as saying that I'd prefer to see her smoke weed over cigarettes. There are fewer chemicals in pot, it stinks less, and at least you get high off of it. Blah blah blah about the equivalent of cigarettes and carcinogens.. sorry, but comparable amounts of tobacco and weed have around the same amount of carcinogens. And don't forget that menthols have fiberglass and all that extra ****.

And you gotta think about it from a real perspective, not from a "drugs are bad" perspective - someone who is hooked on cigarettes is gonna smoke more cigarettes than someone who smokes weed will smokes joints. (Sorry, that sentence was hard to phrase.)

[estranged4life]

that she is smoking while being diagnosed with Epstein/Barr syndrome...

That cannot be healthy in the least (I know for a fact it isnt healthy because my wife Debbie suffers from Epstein/Barr which possibly contributed to her current diagnosis with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, aka Cancer of the lymph nodes/system. Debbie's Dr's said Epstein/Barr definitely can drain your immune system, And if she hadnt quit smoking several years back her current bout with this cancer could have been more severe than it is.)