Is Smoking Tobacco Sin?

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Fledgling

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I am a smoker.

I’ve always believed that it isn’t because I’ve know of Priest smoking.

Any verses say smoking is sin?
 
Fledgling said:
I’ve always believed that it isn’t because I’ve know of Priest smoking.

Any verses say smoking is sin?
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Obviously there is nothing in the Bible about tobacco, because it was unknown to the “Old World” until being discovered in the Americas. There was no tobacco in the Holy Land in Jesus’ day.

The Catholic Church has always maintained that many “vices” such as drinking, gambling, and smoking are acceptable provided they are done in moderation (ie, to an extent that it is not harmful to oneself or others).

However, the definition of “moderation” is not within the competence of the Church to define. For this, the Church must defer to secular experts, and these experts do not always agree.

How much drinking is “moderate?” Most doctors will not object to one (8-oz) glass of wine each day, and many will not object to two. Few will be comfortable with three or more. Of course, there are many factors - how much does the person weigh? How much food is in his stomach? What is his tolerance for alcohol?

How much smoking is “moderate?” This is a much more controversial question. Some medical experts now claim that ANY amount of smoking is harmful and life-threatening. If this were shown to be true, than any Christian would be obliged to avoid smoking altogether. FWIW, my mother smoked maybe one cigarette every two or three days (one pack would last her more than two weeks), and she died (at the young age of 53) from smoking-related lung cancer.

Don’t look to priests for moral inspiration. Some priests smoke too much, some drink too much, and some take illegal drugs, and some do worse things that I won’t mention here. A priest SHOULD be a source of moral inspiration, but some of them are NOT. A priest is not immune from becoming an addict.

What do YOU think? Based on your best knowledge of current medical research, are you smoking “in moderation” or “in excess?” One is not sinful; the other is.
 
Yes, as pointed out, when the Bible was written, the American natives hadn’t yet introduced the old world to the drug that would go on to kill millions of non-natives, which they sell today without the sin taxes everyone else has to pay. 😉

The latest report from the Surgeon General that even one cigarette can kill smacks of Obama era politics. Cigarettes actually do have some health benefits and one, or a thousand, doesn’t kill anyone. I don’t dispute that they’re generally unhealthy, but smoking should be compared to over-eating. There’s no harm in occasionally doing it and doing it might reduce your over-eating. 😃

George Burns was a chain smoker of cigars, and he lived long than 99.99% of all movie stars who don’t smoke.

There’s no law in the Bible that makes it a sin. There’s not even an analogous law that could be applied to tobacco. If you doubt me, check with any jewish expert on the law.

My conclusion, it’s only a sin if you think it is. Because then you’re violating your conscience.
 
Fledgling said:
I am a smoker.

I’ve always believed that it isn’t because I’ve know of Priest smoking.

Any verses say smoking is sin?
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Smoking per se is not a sin but smoking to excess is. No the Church does not define what is excess and what is moderation in this respect. You have to use common sense.

CCC 2290 The virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess: the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco, or medicine. Those incur grave guilt who, by drunkenness or a love of speed, endanger their own and others’ safety on the road, at sea, or in the air.
 
I smoke a pack a day…I think I ok then.

I know three pack a day smokers, that is excess If I’ve ever heard of it:D
 
Fledgling said:
I smoke a pack a day…I think I ok then.

I know three pack a day smokers, that is excess If I’ve ever heard of it:D
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I am no expert…but i would think about this more…

i pack a day seems like a lot to me…

(and as noted above…some hold any is wrong for it is all dangerous…others hold that one can moderately do so (which also seems problematic in regards to cigarette due to what is in them…their addictive qualities)

I would quit.
 
Steel_Pinwheel said:
Yes, as pointed out, when the Bible was written, the American natives hadn’t yet introduced the old world to the drug that would go on to kill millions of non-natives, which they sell today without the sin taxes everyone else has to pay. 😉

The latest report from the Surgeon General that even one cigarette can kill smacks of Obama era politics. Cigarettes actually do have some health benefits and one, or a thousand, doesn’t kill anyone. I don’t dispute that they’re generally unhealthy, but smoking should be compared to over-eating. There’s no harm in occasionally doing it and doing it might reduce your over-eating. 😃

George Burns was a chain smoker of cigars, and he lived long than 99.99% of all movie stars who don’t smoke.

There’s no law in the Bible that makes it a sin. There’s not even an analogous law that could be applied to tobacco. If you doubt me, check with any jewish expert on the law.

My conclusion, it’s only a sin if you think it is. Because then you’re violating your conscience.
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Enlighten me, what are the health benefits of smoking cigarettes?

I can tell you that smoking is very, very UNHEALTHY. I’ve had several family members that have recently been diagnosed with lung cancer or have died from it and your line of reasoning was exactly the reasons they used to never quit.

IMO, it could be considered sinful, since you are putting your own health at risk as well as anyone around you do to second hand smoke.
 
PatriceA said:
IMO, it could be considered sinful, since you are putting your own health at risk as well as anyone around you do to second hand smoke.
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Exactly. Many years ago, when the health effects were not so well known, you could say it wasn’t sinful. But we know, now, how deadly the stuff is, to yourself and to others around you.

Side note: my mother’s doctor, back in the 1940’s, told her never to start smoking, because someday we’d find out how harmful it is.
 
For your health, I certainly recommend quitting, but I don’t think smoking is a sin unless it’s part of a willful disregard for your health. Life is made up of risks… countless daily decisions could have an impact on our health, and I don’t think it’s necessary to make every decision based on doing whatever is “healthiest.”

At the same time, there is a difference between enjoying the world and the bodies that God gave us and outright disrespecting them.

You might want to consider whether you are properly appreciative of the gift of your health and whether you do what you should to take care of your body. You might then decide that you need to change your smoking habits. But, I wouldn’t worry about the morality of smoking outside of the context of a general need to take care of yourself. And, while respect for the body is important, the body is far from the primary concern of Christianity. The body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which deserves proper treatment, but it’s the spirit that’s most important… the body shouldn’t be worshiped as a temple of itself.
 
In today’s world, there are millions of people ready to decry tobacco smoking as deadly, but a lot of people reluctant to decry incest as even a bad idea. Sometimes you can’t pay a lot of attention to secular medical sources, either. 😦

Ingesting moderately risky substances in moderation may be either a minor pleasure or a minor bad habit, but it’s not generally considered to be even a venial sin. If you’re an adult, use your own prudence to determine what to do about such matters.
 
I don’t believe that smoking is a sin. It is however something that is harmful to our health and shows a disregard for the body that the Lord gave us.
I view smoking as a worldly attachment that is unhealthy and one of those things that I seem to think I need to cope with the stress of daily life. If I could truly offer this addiction up to the Lord and trust that He would take it from me, I could probably quit.

Anne, the lay apostle smoked. She said Jesus asked her if she would blow smoke in the monstrance and of course she was horrifed by that thought. Jesus said he was within her so that was essentially what she was doing. I can’t get that out of my head.

Smoking may not be a sin, but it isn’t a very intelligent thing to do. Lord, give me the grace to toss these things in the New Year. 😉
 
Father Corapi, who I believe is very knowledgeable in these types of questions, says that it is a sin because you are breaking the “though shall not kill” Commandment. I think there is enough medical research out there to support the idea that smoking damages your health and shortens your lifespan. You are basically abusing your gift from God. However, Father Corapi went on to say in one of his lectures that smoking may not be a mortal sin because you may not have full consent since it’s an addiction. Or you may not have full knowledge if you took up smoking without knowing the damage it causes.

Let’s also remember that priests are human beings capable of sin. They receive the Sacrement of Confession just like everyone else. They have vices and addictions that they might also be fighting.
 
There is no such thing as moderation when it comes to smoking. Each and every cigarette you smoke is damaging your body, and if you never quit, it will kill you. The only way to give your body a chance to repair itself is to quit smoking. It’s irrelevant how much you cut back. Smoking even just two or three a week will build up the tar and other bad chemicals in your lungs. Smoking a pack (which is about twenty) a day is definitely going to kill you (just because some people smoke three doesn’t excuse it). The only cutting back that can actually help your health is to just plain quit.

Yeah, some people got by with long lives smoking. Those people are incredibly lucky, and they’re few and far between. If somebody survives a gunshot wound with relative ease, would suddenly make bullets healthy?

I am no theological expert, so I can’t say if it’s sinful or not. However, if it’s sinful-ness indeed relies on it hurting you, then yes, I would say that smoking is a sin, since it definitely hurts you, and there is no way to keep it moderation. Even if it weren’t a sin, there are so many other perfectly good reasons to quit.
 
Not to derail the point but…

My great grandmother turned 101 last month and not only does she smoke…She snuffs too.

My other grandmother is near 90 and she chain smokes.
 
PrayHarder said:
Father Corapi, who I believe is very knowledgeable in these types of questions, says that it is a sin because you are breaking the “though shall not kill” Commandment. I think there is enough medical research out there to support the idea that smoking damages your health and shortens your lifespan. You are basically abusing your gift from God. However, Father Corapi went on to say in one of his lectures that smoking may not be a mortal sin because you may not have full consent since it’s an addiction. Or you may not have full knowledge if you took up smoking without knowing the damage it causes.

Let’s also remember that priests are human beings capable of sin. They receive the Sacrement of Confession just like everyone else. They have vices and addictions that they might also be fighting.
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Smoking for priests was not a confessable sin when I was a teenager. I remember one priest smoking when talking to us kids in front of the parish church. So, at exactly what stage it did become a sin after those days I don’t think anyone could seriously say. If it did become a sin the Church as a whole has not said so. Some individuals may say so but that would not make it binding… even when Father Corapi says so.

We are better off not smoking and we don’t need any further scientific proof of that. We also have scientific proof that eating ‘fast food’, refined foods, are very bad for you, not eating such foods as fresh vegetables is bad for your. Can such things be sins too?

Just give it up and replace it with some physical activity and you will have reward enough. Cigarettes are heavily taxed in this country and so you save so much money when you give up smoking, you can afford gym membership or go for a trip overseas with the proceeds after a while.
 
The difference between smoking and fast food is that fast food can be done in moderation. Eating a bunch of fast food all the time will make you overweight and unhealthy. However, eating a little fast food and getting some excercise is harmless. Smoking on the other hand constantly deteriorates your body, and the only way to make it stop doing that is to quit completely.
 
I smoke about 3 cigs a day.

I am much more concerned about the damage I’m doing to my body, then by the potential sinfulness of smoking.

I highly doubt smoking could ever be a mortal sin, given how addicting it is.
 
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