Did Alexandra Allow The Girls to Drink Alcohol?

[CountessKate]

I wonder IF, in any ways, the smoking did affect any of their health at all (the IF)? But that's depending on how much they actually smoked really...

I think it unlikely that the women of the IF would have smoked enough to do serious damage to their health, since they could not do this except within the limitations of being unobserved except by close and trusted extended family, friends or retainers during Nicholas' reign, and during their imprisonment they would have been limited in their supplies (I think also they would be used to particular types of cigarettes made especially for women - floral, scented, etc., and might not have been able to tolerate less refined types of tobacco, or desirous of obtaining it from their guards).

[Jen_94]

I understand. Thank you! Out of them all, Nicholas smoked the most didn't he? I would also assume that was the cause of his bad teeth too.

[Lady Macduff]

Yes, Nicholas smoked like a chimney. Of course we'll never know, but I'd venture to say he wasn't in the best health at the time of his death. 

[Sarushka]

Of course we'll never know, but I'd venture to say he wasn't in the best health at the time of his death. 

Outwardly, Nicholas was in fine shape at the time of his death. At least one of the men who assisted with the burial of the corpses made note of the tsar's excellent physique. However, it is hard to imagine that decades of chain-smoking hadn't affected his internal organs to some degree.

[Lady Macduff]

I read in Peter Kuth's TSAR that he had been taking cocaine as an antidote for depression, but I've never come across that from any other source.

[Kalafrana]

Nicholas was barely 50 at the time of his death, and apart from smoking had lived a healthy life throughout his adulthood (moderate eating, relatively little alcohol and plenty of exercise). It may simply be that the smoking had yet to catch up with him. For comparison purposes, George VI had a lot of digestive trouble as a young man, which seems to have been largely resolved by an operation for ulcers in 1917. The smoking (and a generally poor constitution) caught up with him in his early 50s, from 1948 (first arteriosclerosis, then lung cancer). Romanov men weren't long-lived, so it's quite possible that Nicholas's health would have declined within a few years.

Ann

[edubs31]

Nicholas was barely 50 at the time of his death, and apart from smoking had lived a healthy life throughout his adulthood (moderate eating, relatively little alcohol and plenty of exercise). It may simply be that the smoking had yet to catch up with him. For comparison purposes, George VI had a lot of digestive trouble as a young man, which seems to have been largely resolved by an operation for ulcers in 1917. The smoking (and a generally poor constitution) caught up with him in his early 50s, from 1948 (first arteriosclerosis, then lung cancer). Romanov men weren't long-lived, so it's quite possible that Nicholas's health would have declined within a few years.

Ann

I agree with Ann. We are quick to point out some of the nasty habits and Nicholas's fear of dental work which, above all else, resulted in poor teeth. But aside from that he was really the picture of health. His men seemed to have barely been able to keep up with him on his lengthy hiking tours. He was a good equestrian, and genuinely enjoyed any excuse to be active, get his heart rate up and build some muscle. I believe he was considered to be quite good at sports such as tennis. I've read things that indicate he was better than a lot of his men, or at least very competitive in defeat. Keep in mind also that some of these stories were of Nicholas's from well into his 40s competing again officers presumably in their 20s and 30s, ie, their athletic prime. Ultimately he packed a lot of punch in that otherwise smallish frame.

I read in Peter Kuth's TSAR that he had been taking cocaine as an antidote for depression, but I've never come across that from any other source.

Lady) Orlando Figes mentioned that too I'm pretty certain. Far as a specific reference goes there is at least one. During Nicholas's wartime letters to Alexandra he talks about using it for medical purposes related to a minor sinus condition that must have been keeping him up at night (as in not being able to breath through the nose). I always found it interesting that this was the only true reference to cocaine I stumbled upon. Perhaps he mentioned it because it was unusual that he would have used the drug/stimulant for any reason, or perhaps the casual nature in which he includes it in his letter to Alexandra means it was something used regularly. Could go either way I guess.

[TimM]

Maybe I'm just biased against smoking.  I lost both my parents (my Dad in 1990, my Mom in 2010) to that nasty habit.

[Jen_94]

I disapprove of smoking too Tim, it's a horrible habit.

I do agree that Nicholas was an overall, healthy and if I am using the right word, athletic and also, active man? I know he loved going on nice long walks didn't he?

[Kalafrana]

I too think smoking is  horrible habit, and cannot work out how smokers fail to realise how disgusting and pervasive the smoke is.

But apart from smoking and his neglect of his teeth (something else I find difficult to understand - his breath must have reeked!), he led a pretty healthy lifestyle.

Ann

[CountessKate]

I too think smoking is  horrible habit, and cannot work out how smokers fail to realise how disgusting and pervasive the smoke is.

But apart from smoking and his neglect of his teeth (something else I find difficult to understand - his breath must have reeked!), he led a pretty healthy lifestyle.

Ann

I think people were desensitized to the smoke from tobacco, as smokers are today.  Though never a smoker myself, I remember as a child in London (in particular - but certainly this pertained elsewhere) the tubes, buses, offices, cafes, restaurants and pubs (the latter until relatively recently),  were full of smoke and about the only one I really noticed was going upstairs on a London bus (as smoking was not allowed on the first level of the buses) which, because it was a very small enclosed space with windows seldom opened, seemed to reek more.  But I genuinely didn't really notice smoke from other, better ventilated places until non-smoking became much more common and people generally became more sensitized, and me with them.  Now I would notice if a smoker had been in a lift before me, as I am much more sensitized, but I wouldn't have done when smoking was so much more pervasive.  I also think that the general atmosphere of cities was more imbued with smoke from fireplaces and industrial furnaces, so even in grand houses in the country there would have been smoke from fireplaces and stoves.  People just got used to it and essentially didn't notice it, or at least not as much.

[edubs31]

I also think that the general atmosphere of cities was more imbued with smoke from fireplaces and industrial furnaces, so even in grand houses in the country there would have been smoke from fireplaces and stoves.  People just got used to it and essentially didn't notice it, or at least not as much.

This is a good point Countess Kate. Smoke was rather omnipresent in society in the era of the industrial revolution and beyond. It was probably considered more of an acceptable nuisance than as anything so serious as we treat it nowadays.