Is it sinful to smoke?

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It is ridiculous to compare smoking with hard drugs.

It’s like comparing a lizard with a T-rex. Sure there are similarities, but to put them at the same category is laughable.
 
It is ridiculous to compare smoking with hard drugs.

It’s like comparing a lizard with a T-rex. Sure there are similarities, but to put them at the same category is laughable.
but at some degree, they are comparable
 
It is ridiculous to compare smoking with hard drugs.

It’s like comparing a lizard with a T-rex. Sure there are similarities, but to put them at the same category is laughable.
They are in the same category- things you do for fun/to feed an addiction that harm your body. I find this to be an intrinsic evil.
 
In the doses commonly consumed by small children, your body will simply vomit. Bleach is only generally fatal if it’s inhaled.

And some people get drunk and crash into a telephone poll after their first time drinking.
We’re not talking about accidents with small children, but being done on purpose. Ask any sane MD and they will tell you bleach is dangerous to drink. Your body will try to rid anything that’s toxic like antifreeze or bleach, but that doesn’t mean it’s less harmful than tobacco. I’m sorry but I just don’t see Bleach being safer to purposfully drink than using tobacco.

What’s that got to do with this “Is it sinful to smoke?” thread. Even so alcohal and tobacco can be used a few times a week and not be addicitive at that rate. You can’t just use herion a few times a week.
 
We’re not talking about accidents with small children, but being done on purpose. Ask any sane MD and they will tell you bleach is dangerous to drink. Your body will try to rid anything that’s toxic like antifreeze or bleach, but that doesn’t mean it’s less harmful than tobacco. I’m sorry but I just don’t see Bleach being safer to purposfully drink than using tobacco.
Well it’s all related to dosages- I’d wager half a sip of bleach does less than damage than a few packs of cigarettes. And when you can find an MD who would do anything but condemn smoking, let me know.
What’s that got to do with this “Is it sinful to smoke?” thread. Even so alcohal and tobacco can be used a few times a week and not be addicitive at that rate. You can’t just use herion a few times a week.
You stated some people get hooked on heroin immediately, I stated some people don’t live to try alcohol a second time. And again- says who? It’s impossible not to get addicted to heroin at any dose? Do you understand the mechanism of addiction at all?
 
Well it’s all related to dosages- I’d wager half a sip of bleach does less than damage than a few packs of cigarettes. And when you can find an MD who would do anything but condemn smoking, let me know.

You stated some people get hooked on heroin immediately, I stated some people don’t live to try alcohol a second time. And again- says who? It’s impossible not to get addicted to heroin at any dose? Do you understand the mechanism of addiction at all?
Oh so now we’re wagering doses now? That’s a Red herring; you keep changing the subject to fit your position. Drinking bleach is less harmful than tobacco > Children drink doses of bleach, your stomich will just rid it > I’d wager half a sip does less damage than few pack of smokes (and I really love this last part) > And when you can find an MD who would do anything but condemn smoking, let me know. Thus again diverting from you’re orginal arguement bleach is less harmful than tobacco. So I’m not going to respond to that othat than what I said above.
You stated some people get hooked on heroin immediately, I stated some people don’t live to try alcohol a second time.
So, that’s about as logical as me saying some race car drivers don’t come home from the track.
And again- says who? It’s impossible not to get addicted to heroin at any dose? Do you understand the mechanism of addiction at all?
Beats the heck out of me, I sure didn’t say it. Anyways, the our society, let alone the church, hold that Heroin(illicit drug) to be dangerous and sinful(this is more so the church here) to use. They also hold drugs like alcohal and tobacco are okay to use in moderation. What is moderation? That’s between the tobacco/alcohal user and his/her priest.
 
Oh so now we’re wagering doses now? That’s a Red herring; you keep changing the subject to fit your position. Drinking bleach is less harmful than tobacco > Children drink doses of bleach, your stomich will just rid it > I’d wager half a sip does less damage than few pack of smokes (and I really love this last part) >Thus again diverting from you’re orginal arguement bleach is less harmful than tobacco. So I’m not going to respond to that othat than what I said above.

So, that’s about as logical as me saying some race car drivers don’t come home from the track.

Beats the heck out of me, I sure didn’t say it. Anyways, the our society, let alone the church, hold that Heroin(illicit drug) to be dangerous and sinful(this is more so the church here) to use. They also hold drugs like alcohal and tobacco are okay to use in moderation. What is moderation? That’s between the tobacco/alcohal user and his/her priest.
I don’t shift the subject, I simply follow your claim- you say tobacco isn’t as bad as heroin/bleach. I say that’s relevant to the dosage. Is this a false claim? Would you reject that some minute dose of heroin could still deliver some effects, albeit weak ones, while posing less of a health risk then some dose of tobacco products?
Btw-
Sodium hypochlorite solution causes moderate mucosal
irritation, the extent of which depends very much on the
volume ingested, the viscosity and concentration of the
preparation and the duration of contact. Although sodium
hypochlorite solution is alkaline it does not tend to cause
corrosive damage except in large quantities or concentrated
solutions. Sodium hypochlorite may release small amounts of
chlorine and hypochlorous acid when acidified, but usually in
concentrations too small to cause any significant damage.
This release of chlorine often causes problems when bleach is
mixed with an acidic cleaning agent in the home.
Code:
         Most children who ingest sodium hypochlorite bleach swallow
         only small amounts and suffer nothing more than vomiting and
         gastrointestinal discomfort. Pulmonary complications, such as
         ARDS, usually resulting from aspiration, often contribute to
         death. The ingestion of industrial bleaches may pose more of
         a risk because of additional chemicals or higher alkalinity.
 
I don’t shift the subject, I simply follow your claim- you say tobacco isn’t as bad as heroin/bleach. I say that’s relevant to the dosage. Is this a false claim? Would you reject that some minute dose of heroin could still deliver some effects, albeit weak ones, while posing less of a health risk then some dose of tobacco products?
Btw-
Yes you did shift the subject and I already pointed it out; not to mention we just went from half a sip of bleach to minute dose of herion. Our arguement is, is bleach less harmful than tobacco; our arguement with herion is, can it be used in moderation, which you said it could in the beginnning. You are getting the arguements mixed up. You never said anything about dosage in the beginning. I never came to this thread to make a claim bleach is less harmful than tobacco. Only responded that bleach isn’t less harmful than tobacco.

Even so I fail to see the logistics of comparing a tiny amount of one dangerous substance to large amount of a less dangerous substance. I’m not really sure where this is going. What purpose does that serve?
 
Sugar is essential to survival. You can not go without some form of sugar for very long and not die. It can form an addiction, but that’s a risk you have to take.

Lacking a benefit is different from a guaranteed harm. Drinking bleach is less likely to kill you than smoking tobacco (because your body has the common sense to vomit it up)- does that mean I can drink bleach if I enjoy it? Why does all this “temple of the holy spirit” talk disappear on this issue?

ditto with heroine.

I believe it’s possible, people generally don’t.

Your ability to reason declines naturally when you’re sleepy- which makes sense, since you’re brain is asking for a break. Impairing yourself for no cause other than enjoyment is clearly an intrinsic evil- the extent to which you become impaired is irrelevant.
I was discussing deserts, not natural sugars. It would be hard to avoid eating all sugar and obviously unhealthy to do so. But why eat desert? It is extra sugar that you don’t need, it is unhealthy, it is addictive and not necessary? Why go to the beach? You don’t need to, it is a waste of gas money, and sunbathing is just going to give you cancer.

I take great issue with your statement that all the talk on being a Temple of the Holy Spirit disappears with this issue. The idea that what we can not enjoy things that are possibly addictive in moderation is directly against the idea that we are temples of the Holy Spirit. Being a Temple of the Holy Spirit does not mean avoiding anything that is a possible harm (it is not a guaranteed harm, since many people are able to enjoy it with out harm). It is also not harmful in moderation…draft beers and red wine have anti-oxidants in them.

Maybe you should read some Chesterton on the proper appreciation of creation.

Enjoyment is a reason as long as it is not a sin. Enjoyment itself is a good, it is only wrong when it is sinful or intemperate. Temporarily impairing your mental ability is not wrong. Otherwise staying up late, mountain climbing (lack of oxygen), and being in a stressful situation (stress kills brain cells) would be sinful, since all those things are avoidable and the first two are mostly done for enjoyment.

The extent to which you are impaired is entirely relevant. Not having 100% of your mental ability is different from losing your moral sense. Do you really want to take on Thomas Aquinas in this issue?

Ditto with heroines. I agree. There is nothing wrong with female heros and we can’t have enough of them. Heroin, however is not taken in moderation and honestly I can’t see how you have an argument there. It is not a drug that you can take without impairing your moral sense, or a drug that a normal person can take without gluttony. Alcohol can be taken without impairing your moral sense and without gluttony. How can you argue that you can take heroin in moderation and not alcohol. That is just lacking in common sense.

Also…Jesus drank alcohol…just saying. I’m sure that if there were some nice cubans around he would have lit up too.
 
Anything that threatens life is sinful.
Are you being facetious?

Walking outside is sinful? Driving a car is sinful? Mountain climbing is sinful? Riding horses is sinful? Having a big dog is sinful? Living in a house that could burn down is sinful? swimming is sinful?

Life is dangerous, good and beautiful, that’s what makes it worth living. If you can handle something in moderation and with temperance than there is nothing wrong with you enjoying it.
 
Yes you did shift the subject and I already pointed it out; not to mention we just went from half a sip of bleach to minute dose of herion. Our arguement is, is bleach less harmful than tobacco; our arguement with herion is, can it be used in moderation, which you said it could in the beginnning. You are getting the arguements mixed up. You never said anything about dosage in the beginning. I never came to this thread to make a claim bleach is less harmful than tobacco. Only responded that bleach isn’t less harmful than tobacco.
But whether or not it can be used in moderation is relevant to dosage. For example- one heroin molecule will have no effect what so ever. But a standard dose of heroin with have strong effects. Unless heroin effect on the body operates by discrete mechanics, we can assume by the intermediate value theorem that some dose will have moderate effects.
Even so I fail to see the logistics of comparing a tiny amount of one dangerous substance to large amount of a less dangerous substance. I’m not really sure where this is going. What purpose does that serve?
Because “less” and “more” harmful are misnomers. All substances have the ability to be either inert or fatal.
 
I was discussing deserts, not natural sugars. It would be hard to avoid eating all sugar and obviously unhealthy to do so. But why eat desert? It is extra sugar that you don’t need, it is unhealthy, it is addictive and not necessary? Why go to the beach? You don’t need to, it is a waste of gas money, and sunbathing is just going to give you cancer.
Sugar is not intrinsically harmful and has positive effects at times- at that point, dosage comes into question. Same with sunlight. Not so for tobacco.
I take great issue with your statement that all the talk on being a Temple of the Holy Spirit disappears with this issue. The idea that what we can not enjoy things that are possibly addictive in moderation is directly against the idea that we are temples of the Holy Spirit. Being a Temple of the Holy Spirit does not mean avoiding anything that is a possible harm (it is not a guaranteed harm, since many people are able to enjoy it with out harm). It is also not harmful in moderation…draft beers and red wine have anti-oxidants in them.
Tobacco is a guaranteed harm at any dosage- amount taken in simply varies the degree. If you believe deliberately harming ourselves for “fun” is something we are called to do, then by all means proceed.
Maybe you should read some Chesterton on the proper appreciation of creation.
wha?
Enjoyment is a reason as long as it is not a sin. Enjoyment itself is a good, it is only wrong when it is sinful or intemperate. Temporarily impairing your mental ability is not wrong. Otherwise staying up late, mountain climbing (lack of oxygen), and being in a stressful situation (stress kills brain cells) would be sinful, since all those things are avoidable and the first two are mostly done for enjoyment.
Your examples have impairment as a side effect- the “buzz” from alcohol is the intended effect.
The extent to which you are impaired is entirely relevant. Not having 100% of your mental ability is different from losing your moral sense. Do you really want to take on Thomas Aquinas in this issue?
Sure.
Ditto with heroines. I agree. There is nothing wrong with female heros and we can’t have enough of them. Heroin, however is not taken in moderation and honestly I can’t see how you have an argument there. It is not a drug that you can take without impairing your moral sense, or a drug that a normal person can take without gluttony. Alcohol can be taken without impairing your moral sense and without gluttony. How can you argue that you can take heroin in moderation and not alcohol. That is just lacking in common sense.
Stated in earlier reply- extremely low doses have no effect. Normal or high doses have large effects. By the intermediate value theorem, we can assume some dose of heroin has a mild effect. And I’m not saying you can take heroin in moderation and not alcohol. I’m saying you can take both in moderation, so the argument that heroin is never okay and alcohol is based on moderation is false.
Also…Jesus drank alcohol…just saying. I’m sure that if there were some nice cubans around he would have lit up too.
When you celebrate pass over, you’re welcome to follow in his footsteps.
 
Sugar is not intrinsically harmful and has positive effects at times- at that point, dosage comes into question. Same with sunlight. Not so for tobacco.
So lets clarify somethings. Do you admit that alcohol is not intrinsically harmful and can be taken in moderation? So it is tobacco that you take issue with? Also chemical categories are not the only valid ones. You can’t just say that because sugar is needed in our diet that the institution of desert is needed. Or that because we need food, the institution of fast food is ok. I’m not saying that they are not ok, but that looking at things on only a chemical level ignores other important factors.
Tobacco is a guaranteed harm at any dosage- amount taken in simply varies the degree. If you believe deliberately harming ourselves for “fun” is something we are called to do, then by all means proceed.
Regardless of whether or not we need sun. Going to the beach is harming ourselves for fun. We don’t need to be out in sun that much and we don’t need to swim at all. With your logic, swimming is just asking to be drown. There are safer ways of exercising.

The occasional smoke provides minimal health damages while allowing a release of stress. Stress causes health problems as well. Basically I am saying that your argument that there are no benefits is not proven. There are mental benefits if tobacco is used properly. Laughing and enjoyment are not things that cause measurable benefits. But that doesn’t mean that the benefits don’t matter or don’t exist.
I’m recommending Chesterton because your posts seem to imply that to enjoy something is the same as to use something for selfish pleasure. Enjoyment has the word joy in it for a reason.
So you have read the summa on temperance? Do you care to refute his statement that drink is wrong when it takes away moral consideration and/or when it become gluttony? Not just when it causes mild barely noticeable temporary impairment?
Stated in earlier reply- extremely low doses have no effect. Normal or high doses have large effects. By the intermediate value theorem, we can assume some dose of heroin has a mild effect. And I’m not saying you can take heroin in moderation and not alcohol. I’m saying you can take both in moderation, so the argument that heroin is never okay and alcohol is based on moderation is false.
We never said it wasn’t ever ok. There are medicinal uses for it. You could say that the argument centers around the proper use of things, not the possible use of them. I think that you would be very hard pressed to find one case of people using heroin in temperate doses outside of a medicinal setting. Although alcohol is often abused. I could find you millions of cases where it isn’t.
When you celebrate pass over, you’re welcome to follow in his footsteps.
We celebrate passover every Sunday…and the blood has the accidents of wine. Which is kind of besides the point, but I’m just saying.

If you read the bible you will see that Jesus did not only drink at passover…but with the sinners on more than one occasion. He also made wine at the wedding so that the celebration could continue. Apparently Jesus thought that wine was proper to the enjoyment and joy that a wedding brings. I mean really, why did the couple need more wine? They already had served the guests plenty of it? I’m sure the guests were “buzzed” at this point. Was Jesus just encouraging sin in order to save face for the couple?
 
An old parish priest(deceased) of mine was a “cigarrette smoker”, currently a very devout catholic couple members of Opus Dei that i know are “cigarrette smokers”,my deceased father was a “cigar smoker” and my mum is still a “cigarrette smoker”,one of my sisters is a “cigarrette smoker”.I grew up in an age whereby most adults smoked,it was the norm.
I myself have the occasional cigarrette and occasional glass of wine i am lucky im not addicted to either smoking or drinking.Lots of people around me have a real addiction.
My point is,what difference does it make whether a person is a “real smoker” to their life as a catholic?If they practise the churches teachings attend mass,confession and all the sacraments regularly and are good and kind to people and are good examples of the catholic church then i dont see the harm.
Of course we all know now about health benefits of not smoking,binge drinking alcohol,eating a healthy diet etc but the generation that grew up with smoking as the norm apart from not being as healthy as others have lived good lives in many ways.

God bless you all
 
So lets clarify somethings. Do you admit that alcohol is not intrinsically harmful and can be taken in moderation? So it is tobacco that you take issue with? Also chemical categories are not the only valid ones. You can’t just say that because sugar is needed in our diet that the institution of desert is needed. Or that because we need food, the institution of fast food is ok. I’m not saying that they are not ok, but that looking at things on only a chemical level ignores other important factors.
I state that all things can be taken in moderation. You do not knowingly take any intrinsically bad things into your body when you eat desert or fast food. Moderation becomes the parameter of interest here.
Regardless of whether or not we need sun. Going to the beach is harming ourselves for fun. We don’t need to be out in sun that much and we don’t need to swim at all. With your logic, swimming is just asking to be drown. There are safer ways of exercising.
You’re horribly mischaracterizing what I said. You do not start drowning yourself when you go swimming for fun. Take this scenario pair- thing.
You go to a party. People are smoking. You know that you are inhaling second hand smoke, harming you. However, this is an outside effect. Your actions do not have a causation relationship with the harm.
Situation two- You are smoking. You know this harms you. The harm is directly tied to your action.
The occasional smoke provides minimal health damages while allowing a release of stress. Stress causes health problems as well. Basically I am saying that your argument that there are no benefits is not proven. There are mental benefits if tobacco is used properly. Laughing and enjoyment are not things that cause measurable benefits. But that doesn’t mean that the benefits don’t matter or don’t exist.
apa.org/releases/smokestress.html
If you’ve smoked since 1999, there has been information available that contradicts the idea that smoking causes stress relief.
I’m recommending Chesterton because your posts seem to imply that to enjoy something is the same as to use something for selfish pleasure. Enjoyment has the word joy in it for a reason.
I understand the difference, but damaging your body for enjoyment is not mere enjoyment.
So you have read the summa on temperance? Do you care to refute his statement that drink is wrong when it takes away moral consideration and/or when it become gluttony? Not just when it causes mild barely noticeable temporary impairment?
Would you care to copy/paste it here? I’m having issues locating that statement :confused:
We never said it wasn’t ever ok. There are medicinal uses for it. You could say that the argument centers around the proper use of things, not the possible use of them. I think that you would be very hard pressed to find one case of people using heroin in temperate doses outside of a medicinal setting. Although alcohol is often abused. I could find you millions of cases where it isn’t.
But you are allowing for the possibility of responsible recreational heroin use?
We celebrate passover every Sunday…and the blood has the accidents of wine. Which is kind of besides the point, but I’m just saying.
If you read the bible you will see that Jesus did not only drink at passover…but with the sinners on more than one occasion. He also made wine at the wedding so that the celebration could continue. Apparently Jesus thought that wine was proper to the enjoyment and joy that a wedding brings. I mean really, why did the couple need more wine? They already had served the guests plenty of it? I’m sure the guests were “buzzed” at this point. Was Jesus just encouraging sin in order to save face for the couple?
And according to some translations people at the party were drunk- not a stretch, sine the couple had gone through a party’s worth of wine. Does this mean Jesus was encouraging drunkenness?
 
But whether or not it can be used in moderation is relevant to dosage. For example- one heroin molecule will have no effect what so ever. But a standard dose of heroin with have strong effects. Unless heroin effect on the body operates by discrete mechanics, we can assume by the intermediate value theorem that some dose will have moderate effects.

Because “less” and “more” harmful are misnomers. All substances have the ability to be either inert or fatal.
This absoultly pointless. Nobody is going to inject one molecule of herion. It is not possible to take the required dose to produce a normal heroin high in moderation. It is possible to take the required dose of nicotine via tobacco. That right there is what matters.

Of course, a famous scientist once said, “Everything is a poison, the poison is the amount.” However, and I can’t stress this enough, the required dose to produce a typical/normal heroin high is more fatal more harmful, than the normal dose of nicotine via tobacco is. This is common fact.
 
This absoultly pointless. Nobody is going to inject one molecule of herion. It is not possible to take the required dose to produce a normal heroin high in moderation. It is possible to take the required dose of nicotine via tobacco. That right there is what matters.

Of course, a famous scientist once said, “Everything is a poison, the poison is the amount.” However, and I can’t stress this enough, the required dose to produce a typical/normal heroin high is more fatal more harmful, than the normal dose of nicotine via tobacco is. This is common fact.
But you would admit that, for some dose of heroin, there would be less negative side effects attached than a cigar?
If so, would taking this much heroin be sinful?
 
But you would admit that, for some dose of heroin, there would be less negative side effects attached than a cigar?
If so, would taking this much heroin be sinful?
Sorry I can’t answer that question with a sound answer. If you’re comparing one molecule of heroin to a gram of tobacco leaf, or some ratio of the sort, possible yes. Again, this doesn’t matter because nobody is going to take such a small amount of heroin to avoid the side effects of a cigar. It’s moot to do so.

Heroin is an illicit drug and extremely dangerous to your health deemed by the church. It doesn’t matter if you’re taking one molecule (intentionally) or a syringe full. Yes it would be sinful. Once again, the church does approve moderate use of tobacco.
 
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