Whenever I go to the doctor or dentist, they make me fill an enormous questionnaire. One of the question is: "have you ever used a tobacco product?"

I do smoke a pipe once a month, but I don't like the idea of telling them this sort of thing. Is it sinful if I answer "no"?

I imagine when they mean "do you smoke?", they mean people who smoke to an extent that it could damage their health, and that way, they could modify any treatments around that. Yours is nowhere near that. So, probably not.

In the past, that used to be the question. Now, the question being asked is, literally, "have you ever smoked or used a tobacco product?"

I wonder why they would need, nay, why they would want such information  :scratchchin:

Some of those forms are a means of data-mining people, therefore there is no sin in protecting yourself by giving decoy data that does not reveal your private info, nor is there sin in skipping the question. Sometimes when I go buy something, the fruitcake clerk will ask my phone number or address (when buying car parts) when I'm checking out / paying for the item. I suppose these retailers want to gauge the living area of their clientele through phone # & address collection for marketing purposes, but in the wrong hands a lot of bad can come of it. However, in these instances that I'm asked for this personal info, I always give them a fake phone number / address. There is certainly no sin there. You have a right to protect your personal info.

I once sniffed snuff given me by an old Irish gentleman. :geezer:

Why not say that you use it as an insecticide in your garden? Here's an interesting read about the weed:
http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/t/tobacc21.html

I think it's a valid question for a doctor to ask, so he should ask it; but why do you have to write on a form?

Only if they make you suck a disclosing tablet.

A couple more reasons I forgot to mention:

Smoking affects your blood pressure.  BP must be taken into consideration when prescribing meds.  The doc will need to know if you have smoking-caused high BP or a cardiac problem.  Tests, money....

If you are a smoker and are hospitalized you may have to quit smoking cold turkey for certain treatments.  This may cause withdrawal, perhaps dangerously high BP among other things.  They would rather wean you off tobacco if you had to quit and they would observe you for the slightest sign of withdrawal so that you could be treated for it immediately and perhaps alternative treatments/meds could be considered.

And this one is VERY important:  People who smoke are considered to be more prone to addictions than those who don't.  What this translates into is, if you ever have to have surgery or are in extreme pain, if you don't smoke you will be given more and stronger painkillers than if you do.  So the day may come when you have to endure pain because you will be prescribed the less-than-sufficient painkillers which are non-addictive.  That's worth thinking about.  It's worth quitting smoking for but I say this only to get you to think about the consequences of which you or anyone reading this may not be aware.  You are certainly free to smoke or not.  

This does not equate to hiding smoking habit to obtain better painkillers.  No.  Tobacco use needs to be taken into consideration when using strong meds -- back to effect on respiratory system and other problems.  Painkillers decrease rate of respiration, thereby causing sedation and affect cognitive ability.  Smoking decreases the amount of oxygen the lungs can take in and expel and at what rate.  Combine the two and you may become too dangerously sedated with confused thinking.  

I've seen more than a few people try to "sneak a cig" and end up in trouble.  One woman fell asleep and dropped a lighted cig into her lap and couldn't wake up to remove it.  Luckily, I was there in time to get it.  Another fell asleep with a cig hanging out of her mouth.  Too sedated to wake up.  It has to be one or the other:  Painkillers or tobacco.  Trust me:  I've had major surgery and kidney stones.  You'll want painkillers if you ever have a major medical problem.  

And speaking of quitting smoking, if you are using a patch or taking a med to help quit smoking, be sure your doc and dentist know that too.  Same reasons as above.  They need to know all that's going on with you.

It's not just about telling a lie.  It's about hiding information that could kill you.  Healthcare professionals can only do their job well if they have all the info they need and it's to your benefit to tell them.  It's 'their business' if you care about staying alive, especially in an emergency situation should you have one.  Same advice goes for alcohol, drug, and herbal or over-the-counter med use.  It all affects your body, your overall state of health.  

Old proverb:  Be truthful with God, your doctor, and your lawyer.  Makes life so much easier!

Thank you very much for putting time and effort in your thorough explanation. You taught me a lesson or two today.

God bless

This is not intended to be argumentative with the poster who advises that you can say you prefer not to answer, but the truth of it is, from the medical personnel side of things, when we hear that or see it written on a form, we assume the person does indeed smoke, drink, or whatever else they are asked about because no one is ashamed or embarrassed say they don't and will look you right in the eye when they say so, so that really doesn't work well for 'ya.  

One of the two MOST IMPORTANT THINGS to be concerned about when it comes to your privacy and correct information in ANY medical setting is the "Release of Information to Third Parties" form that you are asked to sign.  THIS is what gives away all your privacy rights.  Go ahead -- ask them who these "third parties" are.  No one knows!  Yet, you must sign it to get medical assistance.  You just signed away your privacy as to whether you smoke and everything else you reveal to your physician or dentist about yourself and whatever they put in your file about you.  Yeah, it's THAT bad.  

And that leads me to tell you this:  CHECK YOUR MEDICAL RECORDS TO BE SURE THEY ARE CORRECT!!!  You have every right to your medical records.  They may charge you a dollar or so to copy each page, but you REALLY need to check them periodically for correctness.  Be sure your Past Medical History, Current Medical Problems, and Medications including dosage and how often you take them (every X hours or times a week) are correct.  

I've also done medical transcription.  Every time you see a physician they should dictate a report for the file on your visit.  Some physicians dictate their reports individually after every office visit (when they are rushed) or they wait until after office hours (when they are tired).  Some wait until the weekend to do them all at once (when they have to try to remember).  

Sometimes they get the patients confused with one another or are so tired they say the wrong thing.  It is part of a transcriptionist's job to be sure the reports are correct and we do this by comparing them with the last report done on a patient.  We find mistakes and we have to point them out to the doctor.  

Many doctors don't look at their reports.  They dictate, send the dictation to a transcription service, and then rubber stamp their signature or sign by hand when the reports come back but they never read them for accuracy.  They are too busy.  So it's up to YOU to be sure they are right.

Now many physicians are entering the info themselves on a computer while you are there or they use speech-activated transcription programs which can make mistakes.  Don't assume the docs take the time to proofread what these programs "type."  One common error is "See Alice" instead of Cialis.  Funny but luckily obvious.  Other errors aren't so obvious.  Your doc may know in his/her head all about you but if those records are ever used by another physician (let's say your doc is on vacation or you need to change to someone else), the new person won't know what's correct and what isn't.  All they know is what's "in the record" unless you inform them.  And THIS info is used by insurance companies as well so it needs to be right.  Why?  Read on:

A friend of mine had surgery for gallstones.  His report came back stating he had a major heart problem!  The transcription was done right there in the hospital where he had the surgery, not by somebody in another country (many transcriptions are done overseas by people who are not trained in medicine and don't speak English as a primary language).  Having the gallbladder removed is common but having a chronic heart condition is life-threatening.  There's a BIG difference when it comes to insurance and your future medical care.  

So check your records often and if you don't understand what they say, you have every right to ask for an explanation.  But you at least know your medical conditions and medications.  These are of primary importance.  Check and correct after every few visits to be sure all is right before errors may get passed on to some other person or entity.  

Bet you feel like having a cig now, huh?  Don't mean to scare you.  I just want you and everyone else reading this to know the facts.  

I should have explained better about the "Cialis" error -- many medications sound alike.  When a doctor is dictating rapidly, it is easy to think they said one thing when in fact they said another.  That's why any good transcriptionist is very knowledgeable about medical conditions and their proper treatments and medications.  These days, it's hard to find a good transcriptionist because the pay is so low, so it's more than likely your doc isn't using a knowledgeable one.

Also, you check for correct dosage information because again, when said quickly, "15" can sound like "50" mg and vice-versa.  That's a HUGE difference, especially when it pertains to things like heart medications that can either not be sufficiently high (15 mg) or dangerously high (50 mg).  It MUST be correct on your records!

If the transcriptionist knows her stuff, she knows what the 200 most popular medications and their dosages are, as well as what conditions they are prescribed for.  But when it comes to overseas transcription or kitchen-table transcriptionists trying to make a few extra cents with no formal college-level training in basic medicine such as a good transcriptionist has, it is so very easy to make errors.  And these days doctors are unfortunately often choosing the lowest cost way to have transcription done, which is more likely to produce errors.