Question: My father drank a couple glasses of wine every day for most of his adult life (he made his own wine) and died at age 89 (emphysema) — even though he was a pack-a-day smoker. Is it possible the wine helped him keep from developing lung cancer?
 

Dr. Hibberd’s answer:
 

Not likely. He just got the lucky draw on his immune system and his genetics. Most smokers have died or suffered with cancer many years younger than your father.

The biggest risks are to who have smoked a pack a day for 20 years or more. But many will suffer early heart attacks, lung disease, stroke, and cancer within 5 years of starting to smoke.

Remember, there are those who have heart attacks and cancer as young as age 16, and almost invariably the majority have been cigarette smokers who never had any warning of their impending doom.