Am I sinning by smoking?

[ChunkMonk]

They should reimburse me if they want to pull the “We shouldn’t pay for your healthcare” card. Well if I have to pay for my own healthcare then they should give me back the money (probably over ten thousand dollars) I’ve spent in taxes.

Quick question, do you lecture strangers who are fat?

 

[exnihilo]

Non smokers benefit tremendously from smoking. Smokers are charged exorbitant taxes. It isn’t fair at all. Would you like it if your favorite item was taxed unfairly?

 

[exnihilo]

They should reimburse me if they want to pull the “We shouldn’t pay for your healthcare” card. Well if I have to pay for my own healthcare then they should give me back the money (probably over ten thousand dollars) I’ve spent in taxes.

That is a lie anyway. Smoking if anything actually saves the state money. End of life health care is expensive for almost everyone. Unless you drop dead you’ll probably consume a lot of resources at the end of life.

 

[lilypadrees]

It’s too bad you don’t want to accept responsibility for your own actions but want to place the blame on others.

Non-smokers aren’t responsible for your healthcare costs, ChunkMonk. They didn’t make you start smoking. You are responsible for your own healthcare costs and for the consequences of the choices you make in life including your smoking habit.

 

[Shakuhachi]

Would be happy if the risk was just taken seriously. Same goes for a lot of our "foods’. Or as someone called it, “synthetic foodlike substances”.

 

[Lara]

Say somebody has diabetes which they are not managing well. They aren’t checking frequently enough, or using the correct amount of insulin, or whatever. If I’m a friend, I’d try to convince them to take better care of themselves. It wouldn’t make me sanctimonious, just rightfully concerned. Likewise, smoking is very concerning.

If I see a younger person smoking, I make a point of letting them know they shouldn’t. I start coughing on purpose when I walk by a smoker. I tell them, “That can’t be good for you.” I tell them to get out of the bus shelter when it’s 20 below Celsius and they think they can break the rules.

ChunkMonk, you can collect thoughts, have conversations, meet people, take breaks, and maintain good cognitive functions without smoking. All that’s left is being a rebel.

Now as Catholics, we’re already rebels, fighting social catastrophes in a world of people who don’t follow the rules. Why run to more people who don’t follow the rules? I think of most smokers as the opposite of cool. I’m around 50, and whenever I meet smokers my age, they’re still wearing the jeans and haircuts from the 1980’s when they had started smoking and thought they were cool. They’re stuck in time.

Emotionally aware people don’t need a crutch like a cigarette to feel like they’re part of a community. They don’t rebel against things like taking care of themselves, but rather against people who want to ruin social order.

People would sometimes call me goody-two-shoes when I was younger. I absolutely want to be goody-two-shoes. I want to be healthy and follow the teachings of the church.

As to obese people, whenever they give me a chance to advocate for exercise, I’m all over that topic.
I’m studying obesity now, and they have labelled it a disease now since 2015. I think it is NOT a disease and definitely affected by diet and exercise despite whatever contributing factors mitigate one’s moral contribution to the problem, such as genetics etc… If I get a chance to correct their diets, I will take it.

 

[ChunkMonk]

You are responsible for your own healthcare costs

Of course. And since I have paid well over ten thousand dollars in extra taxes already, I’m putting my down payment on those potential health care costs already. However, since I don’t qualify for public health care, I’ll be paying double, which means you got a bunch of free money out of me.

You’re welcome.

If I’m a friend, I’d try to convince them to take better care of themselves.

If I see a younger person smoking, I make a point of letting them know they shouldn’t. I start coughing on purpose when I walk by a smoker. I tell them, “That can’t be good for you.”

I bolded the important part. You go out of your way to lecture strangers about smoking, but I doubt you stop random fat people to talk to them about healthy eating. This is because it’s socially acceptable to lecture a stranger about smoking, but not about being fat (even though being fat is far more costly and unhealthy).

As to obese people, whenever they give me a chance to advocate for exercise, I’m all over that topic.

See? Whenever they give you a chance. But you don’t bother with that politeness with smokers.

I tell them to get out of the bus shelter when it’s 20 below Celsius and they think they can break the rules.

Well they should be doing that anyway, but I wonder if you ever thank them for doing it. If so, good for you. If not, that is pretty rude.

Emotionally aware people don’t need a crutch like a cigarette to feel like they’re part of a community. They don’t rebel against things like taking care of themselves, but rather against people who want to ruin social order.

Yes, and I’m sure you lecture random strangers about their bad behavior. Or more likely, you keep your mouth shut when it’s actual bad behavior and lecture smokers.

 

[Shakuhachi]

Smokers invade my air. I don’t want to inhale their vice.

 

[Reuben_J]

Reuben_J:

Today, much discovery is made about the hazardous effect of cigarettes - from simple irritant to allergy to cigarette smoke related diseases including cancer.

They knew smoking was bad for you years ago. They called them coffin nails. Interestingly chewing and dipping used to be more popular ways of using tobacco. But the experts, wrongly, decided all the spit was spreading tuberculosis. So they encouraged people to switch to smoking. Beware of popular research.

I always take the so-called popular research with a pinch of salt especially if it is sponsored and done by huge organization that has vested interest in in the outcome or intentionally promoting their agenda.

Cigarette is hazardus to health made more so because of additive. Manufacturers want you to buy their products and if you become their one regular customer that would be definitely their gain.

We should believe by evidence based outcome. That’s why the real harm known from cigarette smoking is not that ancient. Not until medical science has their proof in real time patients suffering from cigarette caused ailments. That would take years to verify because researchers have to follow the lives of the people from from their sample.

Now, your cigarette companies would not be able to lie their way to get people to smoke. Not unless if you are hooked to it already.

Now we know without a doubt that cigarette smoking causes health consequences. We should talk about the context of present day cigarette smoking. There should be no more excuse, “I do not believe cigarettes are harmful.”

If you smoke today you are signing your own death warrant. Saying that you smoke just to get kick does not stick; it is more of having your regular dose to treat your malaise. But as you do it, you are sinking deeper into your affliction. You simply just add into your nicotine level in your body. It will keep on increasing as ypou live a life of cigaarette smoking and one day your body could not take it anymore, it has to manifest into something else - cigarette caused diseases. That’s the consequences of cigarette smoking.

 

[Lara]

So if I told obese people how to trim down, and I told people who were rebels against Christ where they could improve, you’d be all right with me telling you stop smoking?

I’ll think about it.

 

[lilypadrees]

Smokers invade my air. I dont wan tot inhale their vice.

That’s why they do it. They know we don’t like it. Remember, it’s their need to smoke that’s important. The rest of us wanting to stay healthy isn’t.

 

[MrsBoley100717]

Yeah… I caught that lol. Lesson learned, I suppose.

My issue is always that the most “holy” people are also the most judgmental, and that is what caused me to stray the first time.

We all sin, we all ask forgiveness… I’m just taking it one day at a time.

 

[Joe_5859]

We all sin, we all ask forgiveness… I’m just taking it one day at a time.

That’s where we are all at.

I’ve never been tempted to smoke and have never had the desire to do so. But I do have sweet tooth (probably more than one), and I could easily eat candy all day long if allowed to do so. We all have temptations we struggle with and we all have things we enjoy doing that we can easily find ourselves doing immoderately.

Improving ourselves and listening to the voice of God guiding us in our behavior is our life-long struggle here on earth. But, as you said, we take it one day at a time. Availing ourselves of the sacraments (particularly Reconciliation and the Eucharist) is a big help.