Freud's Cigars: He Was a 20 Cigar A Day Man

Famous historical people

Freud was nearly always photographed with a cigar in hand. This is not really surprising, as he usually smoked 20 per day. When Freud was in his late 30's, he began experiencing chest pains and shortness of breath. His physician/friend Wilhelm Fliess urged Freud to give up cigars, attributing his problems to excessive smoking and hypersensitivity to nicotine. Fliess' warnings and the suggestion of a connection between his heavy smoking and poor health concerned Freud, but in spite of his anxiety, he kept smoking cigars at his regular rate throughout the day. Obviously Dr. Freud was not convinced that cigars were linked to his heart problems.

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