Is Smoking Tobacco Sin?

[jetpack_joe]

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.

I wouldn’t throw pancakes at the monstrance either, but I have no trouble eating breakfast after mass.

 

[PrayHarder]

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.

But the Church has said so in so much as she says that it is sinful to damage/kill/abuse God’s gift of life. I don’t know how old you are, but there was a time when no one was aware just how damaging smoking is. Heck, even doctors didn’t fully realize the damage it did. There were commercials on TV about how Camel cigarettes were the doctors’ choice brand. People who smoked before their was a wide body of knowledge on how bad it is for you couldn’t have been sinning because there was little knowledge of the harm it did in that case.

To me it really boils down to:

• Intentionally damaging your body == sin
• Smoking == intentionally damaging your body
• Smoking == sin

This last point is probably better suited for another thread, but the Church doesn’t explicitly list out all possible sinful behavior. So just because the Church doesn’t explicitly state smoking is a sin doesn’t mean it’s ok. I think we need to use our reason to draw connections between the Commandments, Gospels, and the Catechism to spot potentially sinful behavior.

 

[slywakka250]

But the Church has said so in so much as she says that it is sinful to damage/kill/abuse God’s gift of life. I don’t know how old you are, but there was a time when no one was aware just how damaging smoking is. Heck, even doctors didn’t fully realize the damage it did. There were commercials on TV about how Camel cigarettes were the doctors’ choice brand. People who smoked before their was a wide body of knowledge on how bad it is for you couldn’t have been sinning because there was little knowledge of the harm it did in that case.

To me it really boils down to:

• Intentionally damaging your body == sin
• Smoking == intentionally damaging your body
• Smoking == sin

This last point is probably better suited for another thread, but the Church doesn’t explicitly list out all possible sinful behavior. So just because the Church doesn’t explicitly state smoking is a sin doesn’t mean it’s ok. I think we need to use our reason to draw connections between the Commandments, Gospels, and the Catechism to spot potentially sinful behavior.

People don’t smoke to intentionally damage their bodies.

People smoke because it looks cool, because it relieves stress, because it helps you concentrate and stay awake.

I think the intention to do damage is lacking; A lot of things damage the body. Smoking has a lot of pleasurable feelings associated with it, and is a calculated risk. Would I recommend anyone start smoking? Definitely Not. But it doesn’t seem dramatically more sinful than eating bad food, or not exercising, etc. At least for me, I have much more serious than smoking to focus on. I’m not convinced it is a sin.

 

[Fledgling]

I started smoking when my mother had a heart-attack…Stress reliever.

I did not start to “intentionally hurt my body”…That was a secondary thought after it stuck.

 

[PrayHarder]

People don’t smoke to intentionally damage their bodies.

People smoke because it looks cool, because it relieves stress, because it helps you concentrate and stay awake.

Maybe “intentionally” is the wrong word. But your examples just don’t make any sense. You are saying that if I do something to look cool, relieve stress, or stay awake then it is morally permissable? I can think of plenty of stress relieving activities that are sinful. And don’t even get me started on using “it looks cool” as a justification of certain behaviors. Nearly every sin in the book makes you look cool.

You can’t ignore the large body of research that says smoking has damaging effects. It’s one thing to be ignorant of the facts, but ignoring them is not a defense.

Now, I’m not replying so many times in this thread to sound all high and mighty. We all have our challenges, addictions, and vices in life. It might be drinking, smoking, over eating, etc. These acts aren’t intrinsically evil or mortal in many cases. In other words, just because you smoke doesn’t mean you are a bad person who will forever be separated from God’s grace. But it still is a habit that you should kick whether it be for moral or medical reasons. I just find the question of the sinfulness of smoking to be really interesting since people seem to have such wildly different opinions on it.

 

[kbwall]

People don’t smoke to intentionally damage their bodies.

People smoke because it looks cool, because it relieves stress, because it helps you concentrate and stay awake.

I think the intention to do damage is lacking; A lot of things damage the body. Smoking has a lot of pleasurable feelings associated with it, and is a calculated risk. Would I recommend anyone start smoking? Definitely Not. But it doesn’t seem dramatically more sinful than eating bad food, or not exercising, etc. At least for me, I have much more serious than smoking to focus on. I’m not convinced it is a sin.

Damaging their body may not be a smoker’s main goal, but they are intentionally destroying their body, whether they want to admit it or not. Fifty-sixty years ago, there was an excuse; nobody knew. Today, there is no such excuse. Everybody knows that smoking kills you. It’s stated everywhere, from TV, to special posters, it even says it kills you on the pack itself! Therefore, anybody who smokes today simply doesn’t care about the health effects, and smokes it anyway. Not caring and not knowing are two completely different things.

Also, all those reasons you gave are downright horrible. It’s not a sin because it makes you look cool? I’m not even gonna respond to that one. There are also much better and healthier ways to releive stress, and to help you concentrate. None of those cancel out the damage it does.

 

[LuckyOle]

I used to smoke as well.
It took way to long to finally stop.

I do think it’s a sin of sorts, since we should not hurt our bodies.
I’d put it on par with binge drinking

 

[slywakka250]

Damaging their body may not be a smoker’s main goal, but they are intentionally destroying their body, whether they want to admit it or not. Fifty-sixty years ago, there was an excuse; nobody knew. Today, there is no such excuse. Everybody knows that smoking kills you. It’s stated everywhere, from TV, to special posters, it even says it kills you on the pack itself! Therefore, anybody who smokes today simply doesn’t care about the health effects, and smokes it anyway. Not caring and not knowing are two completely different things.

Also, all those reasons you gave are downright horrible. It’s not a sin because it makes you look cool? I’m not even gonna respond to that one. There are also much better and healthier ways to releive stress, and to help you concentrate. None of those cancel out the damage it does.

I was simply stating the reasons that people smoke. I’m not saying it’s not a sin because of these things.

I smoke to relieve stress and anxiety.
Smoking helps me make friends, both by relieving anxiety, and allowing me to bond with other smokers.
I feel cigarettes are often my only friend, when no one else will talk to me.

I certainly do care about the health effects! I’m very scared. But both the addiction, and all the positive aspects I just mentioned make finding strong motivation to quit difficult.

Of course I always appreciate information and advice on how to quit.

So are you suggesting that If I “really cared about my health” I’d have no trouble quiting??
Perhaps blinded by addiction, I see the benefits as a reasonable trade off, * to an extent * I certainly don’t advocate smoking, and I’d love to never smoke again, but is every cigarette a sin??? I don’t think so, I do NOT want to damage my body, only to be social and make friends, (and a cigarette works MUCH better than other anti-anxiety drugs I am prescribed)

 

[PatriceA]

People don’t smoke to intentionally damage their bodies.

People smoke because it looks cool, because it relieves stress, because it helps you concentrate and stay awake.

I think the intention to do damage is lacking; A lot of things damage the body. Smoking has a lot of pleasurable feelings associated with it, and is a calculated risk. Would I recommend anyone start smoking? Definitely Not. But it doesn’t seem dramatically more sinful than eating bad food, or not exercising, etc. At least for me, I have much more serious than smoking to focus on. I’m not convinced it is a sin.

The difference is that eating bad food and not exercising only effect YOUR health. The cigarette you smoke, effects your health AND everyone else that has to be around your second hand smoke. You are not only jeopardizing your longevity, but possibly mine and the people you have to work with, socialize with, live with, any place you go and smoke a cigarette.

Here’s another bit of insight. I can immediately tell when someone is a smoker without them every lighting up a cigarette. Their voice is rapsy, their skin, teeth and hair (if its blond to a light color) is yellowish, their clothes smell, etc. etc. All they have to do is walk by me and I get a wiff of that cigarette perfume and I already know what you do in your time. It doesn’t matter how much you try to mask it with cologne and perfume or how well you look and dress. That odor follows you everywhere.

 

[m134e5]

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.

Knowing how addicting it is, one shouldn’t even start. If there is any sinfulness to the action, it is when the person starts.

I consider smoking in moderation to mean doing it so infrequently that you do not become addicted.

 

[PrayHarder]

Perhaps blinded by addiction, I see the benefits as a reasonable trade off, * to an extent * I certainly don’t advocate smoking, and I’d love to never smoke again, but is every cigarette a sin??? I don’t think so, I do NOT want to damage my body, only to be social and make friends, (and a cigarette works MUCH better than other anti-anxiety drugs I am prescribed)

You should see my previous comment about how addiction might mitigate the seriousness of a sin. I personally don’t think that one’s addiction to smoking cuts them off completely from God’s grace.

But in my opinion, one shouldn’t just give in to an addiction especially if you know it is wrong or damaging. As an analogy, think about how Jesus treated sinners (tax collectors, prostitutes, etc.). He didn’t say, “Well, I can see how hard it would be for you to change your ways so you just continue doing what you’re doing. We’re cool.” He challenged people to let go of their vices.

Now, you all may think those in the “smoking is a sin” camp are just really out of touch. So if the moral argument doesn’t cut it, just think about how much money you’ll save and how much cleaner your possesions would be if you quit.

 

[kbwall]

So are you suggesting that If I “really cared about my health” I’d have no trouble quiting??
Perhaps blinded by addiction, I see the benefits as a reasonable trade off, * to an extent * I certainly don’t advocate smoking, and I’d love to never smoke again, but is every cigarette a sin??? I don’t think so, I do NOT want to damage my body, only to be social and make friends, (and a cigarette works MUCH better than other anti-anxiety drugs I am prescribed)

I never suggested it would be easy. I didn’t mean to sound insensitive to your addiction, and if I came across that way, then I apologize. I know it is difficult to quit, and I sincerely wish you the best of luck.

 

[Thoma25]

Tobacco consumption is one of those things that has been demonized in our modern culture, and I believe this results in skewed science. There have been tobacco users that have gotten cancer and other illnesses, but there are also non-tobacco users that get these same illnesses, as well. By virtue of being alive, we’re at risk for nearly every illness in existence. Believing that “post hoc, ergo proper hoc” holds in every one of these cases is just bad logic.

Cigarette smoking in particular has been shown to be more damaging to health; there are many safer forms of using tobacco that have only a very slight increase of relative risk; for instance, pipe and cigar smoking; smokeless tobacco such as snus, and nasal snuff.

Obviously the old addage “The dose makes the poison” comes into play here. If you know that smoking is doing obvious damage to your health, then it would be sinful to continue. The level of sin depends on your culpability: addiction obviously affects willful action.

If we make the sweeping assumption that “Anything that can potentially damage your health is sinful,” then we’ll have to swear off alcohol, fast food, driving, and many other things as sinful. Alcohol in particular is a cancer causing agent, and some studies have shown that its use is comparable in relative risk to tobacco use.

So, to be intellectually honest, if we take this thinking to its logical conclusion, we’ll find ourselves rather dreary Puritans afraid of nearly everything in life.

 

[Holly3278]

Well, if it’s causing your body some serious harm then you should definitely reconsider the habit of smoking. I mean, would Jesus smoke cigarettes if it harmed His body? I know He wouldn’t. Now, I am not saying that smoking cigarettes in moderation would be a sin for everyone or even anyone. However, smoking cigarettes in excess is going against the virtue of temperance. Whether or not you’re smoking in excess is between you, God, and your confessor.

 

[djwright4341]

Ran across this thread doing a search and thought I’d throw in my thoughts I’ve been having lately…

I’m in RCIA so I’m learning alot more than I thought I knew from my Baptist upbringing. I am a smoker and have been tossing around the idea of quitting for health reasons, but now I’m thinking about the spiritual effects of smoking. From what I’ve learned so far, one of the effects of sin is loss of freedom. Being a smoker, I am addicted to nicotine. For me, I must have a cigarette after meals, during breaks at work, while driving, etc., etc., etc. So, to me, I’m beginning to think that smoking has cost me some freedom because I have to smoke in certain situations. I know the CCC says that tobacco use is not a sin in moderation, but I am unable to moderate my use of tobacco because it is something I have to do versus something I want to do. I know people who I’ve known for several years, but they’ve had as many cigarettes since I’ve know them as I have by lunch. They are using tobacco in moderation, I’m not.

I don’t think tobacco addiction is a mortal sin because it doesn’t fulfill all the requirements of a mortal sin:
Grave matter–yes, it’s damaging my body, health, and freedom
Full knowledge–yes, I know about lung cancer, emphysema, and other effects
Deliberate consent–no, I am addicted so I am unable to control consent

Not doing something about it is a mortal sin to me because, although the first two conditions remain the same, I am now deliberating consenting to remain addicted to tobacco.

Just my two cents, but I’ve decided to meet with my doctor and do what I need to do to quit.

 

[Thoma25]

djwright,

You’re right, it would be much better for you to kick the addiction. One way you might want to do this is to replace your cigarettes with a safer alternative, and then taper down. One of the safest alternatives is nasal snuff, which is powdered tobacco that is inhaled.

It may sound strange, but it is the original way of using tobacco throughout Europe and America, and it is much safer since most of the toxins in tobacco are created when it is burned. Not only that, but many people have found that snuff is up to four times easier to quit than smoking. It is also very cheap, a 25g tin (large amount!) can be had for around $2 to $4.

The general protocol is to use snuff to replace cigarettes, and then taper down your snuff intake. Some are able to put it down immediately, while others continue to use it since it is safer and isn’t nearly as addictive since most of the other chemicals cigarette companies put in their product are absent in snuff.

If you’d like, you can PM me and I’ll give you a couple links to some resources so you can learn more about it.

 

[stownsin]

Hello All!

Does anyone here have experience with smoking the hookah? My understanding is that it is less harmful than cigarettes. Firstly, one is not actually ‘burning’ the tobacco, as the tobacco or shisha does not come in direct contact with a heat source. Whereas a cigarette/cigar burns at about 800 – 1100 degrees Fahrenheit, shisha ‘bakes’ at around 300 Fahrenheit. My understanding is that tobacco must combust in order to produce tar and other nasty chemicals. Combustion being necessary to produce true ‘smoke’, smoking hookah is more like “smoking” water vapor with nicotine/flavor infusion.

Seems like a relatively healthy alternative to traditional tobacco smoke. My only concern regarding the hookah and sin is related to the amount of idleness associated with it. A session of hookah can last a couple hours. A couple of my friends who are Muslim tell me that this is one of the things that causes some Muslims to forbid the practice: that it creates idleness. Is there anything in the Catholic Church that would associate something as sinfulness due to the amount of idle time that naturally goes with it?

Sean

 

[John_of_Woking]

I’ve got something mildly bothering my conscience. I work for a tobacco company albeit in a low to middle income job doing the company payroll and offering tax advice. The company match my donations to the catholic church and catholic charities and are investing in research and development to reduce health risks. Should I leave? It’s not easy to find work at the minute…and I am relatively happy there

 

[RosaryFan]

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?

Hi, Fledgling. I am what you call the “social smoker”. I always confess it when I go to confession. I don’t consider it a mortal sin, but venial because it is not good for us physically, and it sets a bad example to others, especially children.

Once a priest in confession said “Stop confessing that!”. He said it was more like a human frailty rather than a sin. Of course, I didn’t agree with him, as I believe human frailty is the same as sin. But nonetheless, he was adamant that I didn’t need to confess it.

Hope that helps.

 

[Thoma25]

Hello All!

Does anyone here have experience with smoking the hookah? My understanding is that it is less harmful than cigarettes. Firstly, one is not actually ‘burning’ the tobacco, as the tobacco or shisha does not come in direct contact with a heat source. Whereas a cigarette/cigar burns at about 800 – 1100 degrees Fahrenheit, shisha ‘bakes’ at around 300 Fahrenheit. My understanding is that tobacco must combust in order to produce tar and other nasty chemicals. Combustion being necessary to produce true ‘smoke’, smoking hookah is more like “smoking” water vapor with nicotine/flavor infusion.

Seems like a relatively healthy alternative to traditional tobacco smoke. My only concern regarding the hookah and sin is related to the amount of idleness associated with it. A session of hookah can last a couple hours. A couple of my friends who are Muslim tell me that this is one of the things that causes some Muslims to forbid the practice: that it creates idleness. Is there anything in the Catholic Church that would associate something as sinfulness due to the amount of idle time that naturally goes with it?

Sean

Sean,

Who said that we must be engaged in work/productivity all of the time? If we fulfill our obligations throughout the day, and make time to practice our faith through prayer and devotion, why shouldn’t we have recreation time for ourselves? To neglect our own “downtime,” so to speak, is a surefire way to burn ourselves out. True, if we spend all day in idleness, this would be sin; but there is moderation in everything. So, if you unwind in the evening with an hour or two at the hookah, this is time well spent in the grand scheme of things.