Is smoking wrong or not?

[thistle]

wcknight:

I would agree that excessive smoking is sinful. BUT I have never heard that it is considered a mortal sin.

Has there been some proclamation regarding this or is this a best guess ???

Father Corapi stated this on EWTN.
However, I anyway have a book called How To Make A Good Confession and under the Fifth Commandment is listed as a mortal sin drinking excessively and smoking excessively.

The book has both Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat. These mean the book is free from doctrinal error.

 

[frogman80]

thistle:

Father Corapi stated this on EWTN.
However, I anyway have a book called How To Make A Good Confession and under the Fifth Commandment is listed as a mortal sin drinking excessively and smoking excessively.

The book has both Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat. These mean the book is free from doctrinal error.

I would agree that excessive smoking could be a mortal sin. In these smoking threads, I have heard Fr. Corapi’s name mentioned before. What did he actually say? What was the topic? Did he say using tobacco was a mortal sin… did he say smoking 3 packs a day was a mortal sin… was he specific, or did he just say smoking was a mortal sin. Does EWTN have a clip by any chance?

Thank you

 

[thistle]

frogman80:

I would agree that excessive smoking could be a mortal sin. In these smoking threads, I have heard Fr. Corapi’s name mentioned before. What did he actually say? What was the topic? Did he say using tobacco was a mortal sin… did he say smoking 3 packs a day was a mortal sin… was he specific, or did he just say smoking was a mortal sin. Does EWTN have a clip by any chance?

Thank you

I have a dvd of his talk. I’ll try to view it again this weekend and get back to you. If I remember it was his talk on How To Make A Good Confession.

 

[mumto5]

frogman80:

Yes you are right… slightly off topic! Just trying to understand why people are so sensitive to tobacco use… )

Oh,probably because ever since I was a child I used to get thumping headaches and nausea whenever I was exposed to even small amounts of smoke and had to live in my bedroom whenever my father was home (thank goodness he had to work almost every evening so that wasn’t as often). Eventually he stopped smoking in the house when I had a reaction that almost hospitalised me. Thankfully, the powers that be that have made smoking in any enclosed area in public illegal. So now I can go and eat out at a great range of places. I hate it when my father comes to visit - he stinks and at least I don’t have to deal with it if he’s not around. He’s the only smoker I know, fortunately.

 

[frogman80]

mumto5:

Oh,probably because ever since I was a child I used to get thumping headaches and nausea whenever I was exposed to even small amounts of smoke and had to live in my bedroom whenever my father was home (thank goodness he had to work almost every evening so that wasn’t as often). Eventually he stopped smoking in the house when I had a reaction that almost hospitalised me. Thankfully, the powers that be that have made smoking in any enclosed area in public illegal. So now I can go and eat out at a great range of places. I hate it when my father comes to visit - he stinks and at least I don’t have to deal with it if he’s not around. He’s the only smoker I know, fortunately.

Yeah… I don’t blame you. I grew up with some asthmatics in my home. I would not think twice about smoking around them. I am also very cautious about smoking in my home around my children. I tend to keep my pipe put away until they are in their rooms asleep. Otherwise I tend to smoke outside on the front porch.

When I said “sensitive” I was more speaking to the “if you touch tobacco its a mortal sin” mentality. I think this false “mentality” has been carried over by a lot of political hype. It is my opinion that people should put more emphasis on the moderation and temperance when dealing with smokers.

 

[thistle]

frogman80:

Yeah… I don’t blame you. I grew up with some asthmatics in my home. I would not think twice about smoking around them. I am also very cautious about smoking in my home around my children. I tend to keep my pipe put away until they are in their rooms asleep. Otherwise I tend to smoke outside on the front porch.

When I said “sensitive” I was more speaking to the “if you touch tobacco its a mortal sin” mentality. I think this false “mentality” has been carried over by a lot of political hype. It is my opinion that people should put more emphasis on the moderation and temperance when dealing with smokers.

Haven’t you read all the posts? Nobody has suggested touching tobacco or moderate smoking is a mortal sin. EXCESSIVE smoking is a mortal sin.

 

[frogman80]

thistle:

Haven’t you read all the posts? Nobody has suggested touching tobacco or moderate smoking is a mortal sin. EXCESSIVE smoking is a mortal sin.

Sorry… I attempted exaggeration for the sake of lighting things up a bit. (I need to remember my winkey faces when I post!)

There are a few posts in this thread that appear to label any amount smoking as sinful. So here is my reply without the added exaggeration… plus a bit more least I should lead someone to confusion:

frogman80:

When I said “sensitive” I was more speaking to the “if you touch tobacco its a mortal sin” mentality. I think this false “mentality” has been carried over by a lot of political hype. It is my opinion that people should put more emphasis on the moderation and temperance when dealing with smokers.

Translated:
When I said “sensitive” I mean scrupulous. In America, our society tends to adopt “all or nothing” as its motto. This motto is not always compatible with Catholicism. On the subject of smoking generally people can be classified into two groups: pack-o-day-death-lovers, and anti-tobacco-hippies. Both view points can lead to unhealthy extremes.

There is a minority “in between” group that tends to get labeled with the “pack-o-day” group, or indifferent. Not everyone in the “in between” group uses tobacco!

I hesitate to make this comparison but here I go:
During the Temperance movement (slightly before ans during Prohibition) you had groups of drunkards, and groups of people who to an extreme view against alcohol. Strangely enough the temperance movement did not seem to have much to do with true temperance. As Catholics, most of us know that it is possible to drink alcohol in moderation, without incurring and sin what so ever. Everyone has their own limits.

So to finish the awkward translation… It is my opinion that people should put more (but proper) emphasis on moderation and temperance when dealing with smokers. The American mass-media has never really done that great of job when it comes to properly defining morality. (Reasons why I previously brought up the topic of abortion.)

I am not encouraging anyone to smoke, but I am encouraging those who can handle it… to do so with moderation and temperance. Anything outside of that would be sinful… maybe even mortally sinful.

 

[thistle]

frogman80:

Sorry… I attempted exaggeration for the sake of lighting things up a bit. (I need to remember my winkey faces when I post!)

There are a few posts in this thread that appear to label any amount smoking as sinful. So here is my reply without the added exaggeration… plus a bit more least I should lead someone to confusion:

Translated:
When I said “sensitive” I mean scrupulous. In America, our society tends to adopt “all or nothing” as its motto. This motto is not always compatible with Catholicism. On the subject of smoking generally people can be classified into two groups: pack-o-day-death-lovers, and anti-tobacco-hippies. Both view points can lead to unhealthy extremes.

There is a minority “in between” group that tends to get labeled with the “pack-o-day” group, or indifferent. Not everyone in the “in between” group uses tobacco!

I hesitate to make this comparison but here I go:
During the Temperance movement (slightly before ans during Prohibition) you had groups of drunkards, and groups of people who to an extreme view against alcohol. Strangely enough the temperance movement did not seem to have much to do with true temperance. As Catholics, most of us know that it is possible to drink alcohol in moderation, without incurring and sin what so ever. Everyone has their own limits.

So to finish the awkward translation… It is my opinion that people should put more (but proper) emphasis on moderation and temperance when dealing with smokers. The American mass-media has never really done that great of job when it comes to properly defining morality. (Reasons why I previously brought up the topic of abortion.)

I am not encouraging anyone to smoke, but I am encouraging those who can handle it… to do so with moderation and temperance. Anything outside of that would be sinful… maybe even mortally sinful.