Smoking a Sin??

[julieanne]

At least in my instance, I think the sin was what led me to smoking in the first place. I was rebelling against the one thing my parents absolutley forbade me from doing when I was younger. I broke a commandment… Honor thy father and thy mother.

 

[ThornGenX]

I think it is a sin…then again, so is my major unhealthy habit of overeating and choosing unhealthy foods.

 

[strongside]

I can’t believe how passionate so many conservative
catholics are about defending smoking. When did this
happen?

I was a child of the 80’s. The smokers were always the guys in the Metalica t-shirts, or the loose girls smelling of too much perfume and makeup on top of the smoke.
Smoking, at least in America, was associated with those who challenged authority, I thought.

If someone wants to smoke in their own private space,
then I say let them be, but what I can’t understand is how many people defend secondhand smoke, especially around children. Just the stink that you put in others clothes and the littering is bad enough.

In a compact car next to me at Kmart, last week, there were two adults in the front smoking away with three young girls all under ten in the back seat. Disgusting.

I also can’t believe how many people use George Burns as an example that smoking isn’t bad. There are always exceptions to every rule. Look at Johnny Carson if you think that smoking won’t kill you, or better yet spend a day at the local VA hospital, though I would probably start smoking if I had to be in a war zone.

 

[Bobby_Jim]

strongside:

I can’t believe how passionate so many conservative
catholics are about defending smoking. When did this
happen?

I was a child of the 80’s. The smokers were always the guys in the Metalica t-shirts, or the loose girls smelling of too much perfume and makeup on top of the smoke.
Smoking, at least in America, was associated with those who challenged authority, I thought.

Who knows, maybe those folks grow up to be conservative Catholics too.

I’m kind of surprised at how many folks who are politically conservative defend smoking, because it’s so popular in Europe these days. I think it’s officially the national pastime in France. I would think the more conservative folks would want to distance themselves from that crowd.

But tobacco is big business in parts of this country that also tend to be politically and religiously conservative. So really I think it’s not fundamentally about conservative politics or religion, but about something much greater and more powerful… THE ALMIGHTY DOLLAR.

And you know with the almighty dollar being pretty weak these days, the Europeans can buy a lot more cigarettes.

 

[jmv]

IMO, whether it’s a sin to do that to your own body or not could be debatable, but the even bigger issue to me is what you are doing to MY body against my will. People who smoke in bunches right outside the doorways and everywhere else in public display a crass lack of respect for others, and a serious bit of selfishness. When your “right” to do what you want results in having my health endangered and quality of life, when I go out, compromised it’s the end of the line for that. Whether it’s a sin to poison your body, IMO, isn’t as big of an issue as the selfishness of doing what you want at the expense of innocent bystanders.

 

[FreeThinker]

In the 80’s before smoking was getting banned everywhere I was at a Chicago Cubs game with a guy smoking a cigar right in front of me. Because of the wind currents, every time he exhaled it blew right back in my face. I was about 11 at the time. My mom asked him if he wouldn’t mind putting it out. He smiled, turned back around and continued puffing, so I put my feet on the back of his chair and curled my toes over pressing into his back. He turned his head and asked if I would mind moving my feet. I replied “sure, if you put out the cigar”. He turned back around and continued smoking, I curled my toes back into his back. Guess who put out his cigar!!

I’ve come up with a plan. It’s really a matter of personal space. If you can keep your smoke in your personal space then puff away. So, how about carrying a small water gun and everytime a smoker disregards your personal space, you disregard his with a shot to the face. How many blasts in a resturant, bar, or public place, getting their hair/face/clothing wet do you think it takes before they finally understand the concept of “personal space”?

Please use common sense, a Harley bar is probably not a good choice. GO GET 'EM!!

 

[puzzleannie]

iguana27:

Is smoking a sin? Fr. Corapi suggests that it is a mortal sin. My own confessor has said that it is not mortal if it is moderate and my doctor has not advised me to quit.

I have already quit, but I would still like to know if it is a sin. It doesn’t appear that the Church has spoken absolutely on this matter.

Thanks for your help.

get a new doctor, yours is incompetent. it would be great if the results of your poll could be tabulated according to those respondents who have seen loved ones through painful, agonizing struggles and death from smoking-related cancers, and those who are ignorant or oblivious to the damage done by tobacco.

 

[springbreeze]

Dear friends

It is a sin.

Please pray for a young person who has a serious lung disease due to smoking.

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa

 

[tcay584]

I’ve been looking at this thread for a long time, and pondering the idea of smoking being a sin. I smoke…I don’t smoke in moderation…I smoke 1 1/2 packs a day. I’m also a biochemist…I know what’s in it. I still smoke. Weak? Obviously! Sinning? Not too sure. If you look at the rationale behind sin: Conscious understanding…no coercion…still choose to do it. I don’t think I’m committing mortal or venial sin. It’s something I started well before I considered sinfullness at all (14). I’m sad I smoke…it’ll probably kill me…or maybe that bus will. Who knows.

BTW, the poster who said she’s alergic to cigarette smoke…that’s impossible. An allergic reaction can only be brought about by a protein interacting with a receptor to trigger the histamine response. There are no proteins in cigarette smoke. You may be sensitive to it to the point of a gross physical reaction…but you are not “allergic”. I know it’s a detail…but hey, you know where we find the devil.

As far as smoking around children…that stinks! We all know to some degree what this will do to us. If we do it to some innocent child who has no choice in the matter…that’s wrong. For heaven’s sake…go outside!

 

[liberal_friend]

One thing people really love doing is telling others what to do. People especially like it if the government encourages them. People love being “right” when they boss people around.

Sure–people are “allergic” to smoke. People are getting killed every day by evil “second hand smoke.” Our physical lives are in danger…oh…ah…the sky is falling, help us. God, please protect our bodies from smoke.

Grow up people. It is cool to smoke. Sure, you might kill yourself by doing it, but your physical bodies are not as important as your souls. Please focus on what is important, and quit bossing others around (even though I know you feel good doing it).

 

[burnside]

Sherlock:

agname,

You wrote: “It’s very clear…if one knows the facts of smoking (ie, that even in moderation it destroys the human body)…and one knows they’re addicted and do not care, etc…then it is a mortal sin.”

Funny, I must have missed that particular papal decree…

Tell me, agname: since we KNOW that not exercising is bad for one’s health, is one guilty of a mortal sin if a person does not exercise, even if they know they should, but don’t?

Since we KNOW that eating the good Colonel’s chicken is not good for us, is one guilty of a mortal sin if one eats a whole bucket? How about a half-bucket? 3 pieces?

I agree with all of what Sherlock says.However,i could also question if it is a mortal sin to spend long hours at work and end up with broken health,in order to realise ambition and sometimes suffering a broken marriage.I stopped smoking in 1980(38 years old),but when i was younger i used to justify my smoking on the grounds that people had died when they had never smoked in their life.A woman who lived next door to me died of cancer and,as she had worked in a store,she was not subject to passive smoking.
The laugh is that i was a lot fitter when i did smoke,though i would concede that you are moving into the realms of mortal sin when
you do the kind of thing a workmate of mine used to do.She had bronchial problems and would even comment herself on the fact
that she was holding an inhaler in one hand and a lit cigarette in the other.She died in her early fifties.
I am overweight,yet i don’t eat as much as i used to.The problem
is not enough exercise.I used to cycle a lot,but not now,even though there is an exercise bicycle in my Flat.Am i committing a mortal sin?I would agree that smoking 60 cigarettes a day and, knowing that it is having a serious effect on your health,you do nothing about it,then you are into serious sin.However,i read of accidents to people who work well above ground level and wonder how much alcohol they drank the night before.I am 63 years old in November and i drink more alcohol now than i ever did.Previously,
i was a Christmas sort of drinker.Now,i can have a drink and it doesn’t matter if i sleep in.The idea was to reduce my caffeine intake,but it doesn’t work.One drink doesn’t put me to sleep,two or three seem to stimulate me.

 

[Fashina86]

springbreeze:

Dear friends

It is a sin.

Please pray for a young person who has a serious lung disease due to smoking.

God Bless you and much love and peace to you

Teresa

I agree that it is wrong to mistreat your body, thereby making it a sin…

 

[frogman80]

New member here, but I was searching the internet for tobacco using saints, and have come across this thread a few times. I seem to see many people use “tobacco use” and “cigarette smoking” synonymously. I myself am a pipe smoker. I also enjoy nasal snuff from time to time too. I do not care much for cigarettes. Moderation plays a key role in my hobby as I do not wish it to become a habit, nor do I wish to suffer an ill health from it. God bless you all, and Mary keep you.

 

[Scott_Waddell]

frogman80:

New member here, but I was searching the internet for tobacco using saints, and have come across this thread a few times. I seem to see many people use “tobacco use” and “cigarette smoking” synonymously. I myself am a pipe smoker. I also enjoy nasal snuff from time to time too. I do not care much for cigarettes. Moderation plays a key role in my hobby as I do not wish it to become a habit, nor do I wish to suffer an ill health from it. God bless you all, and Mary keep you.

Welcome! I too am fond of incensing my temple with a pipe. If you have not already, you should read this excellent defense of pipe smoking by a Catholic here: Why I Smoke a Pipe

Scott

 

[Travesty]

FelixBlue:

Not that it really matters…but I’ve always heard the Pope has a Sunday cigarette. This doesn’t seem too out of line, as most eastern Europeans are better described as chimneys. But can anyone confirm?

Hello, I am a forward deployed, military police officer currently serving in Kosovo on an 18 month tour. I **can confirm ** that here in South-Eastern Europe (Balkans) nearly 9 out of 10 people smoke. They always have a cigarrette in hand, and a few translators that have accompanied us in our Humvee on an 8 hour patrol smoked 3 packs during that time. I don’t notice any difference in the correlation of smokers between Albanian’s and Serbian’s either.

Also while outside the wire on patrols, I often run into children usually anywhere from age 4-8 carrying boxes of ciggarettes and trying to sell them either on the streets, to soldiers, or door to door like girl-scout cookies. I have not once seen these children accompanied by any adults, much less their parents.

Pretty sad, if you ask me.

Having said that, I have often wondered whether or not smoking was a sin, being that I have been smoking for about 2 years now. It seems to be very prevalent here in the military, but considering how stressful it is sometimes, I believe it is more of a stress reliever. Considering the hours most days (by the time you add up P.T, Shower, breakfast, Pre-combat inspection checks, an 8 hour patrol followed by cleaning the vehicle, and mission debrief) can run around 12-14 hours a day. Try doing that 6 days a week, sometimes 7, for a year and a half, and you can probably understand why most military personnal smoke. It certainly does help me to relax, or calm down and most days I don’t even smoke half a pack. Sometimes a pack will last 3-4 days, and sometimes 1-2 days depending on our mission load.

However, I was blessed right before my deployment, by the birth of my daughter, and I promised my wife, and my daughter that I would never smoke around them. I never smoked around my wife during her pregnancy, so its really not that hard.

Come to think of it, I really don’t smoke until I am stressed. Its not really a habit, its more of a “stress-reliever” and helps me calm down, and think about things. As far as Military personnal are concerned, and the stresses they endure, I can only pray that God understands my situation, and why I do smoke.

 

[frogman80]

I thought I would add this tidbit of info. I cannot verify if all of this is 100% fact. This info is NOT to add an argument that we should all become tobacco users. I was hoping some might be able to add to the list, or verify some of the information. For the few saints that are on this list, there are many more Saints who are not!

St. Joseph of Cupertino - Snuff - His was the first case in which the use of tobacco was an issue during canonization process. His advocate successfully argued that snuff-taking was an aid to holiness.

St. John Bosco - Snuff & Smoke -

St. Pius X - Smoker - Occasionally borrowed cigarettes from Swiss Guards. When reprimanding a bishop for his scandalous misbehavior with wine, women and song, the pope offered the errant bishop a cigar from the papal humidor on his desk. The bishop declined the offer with the protestation, “I do not have that vice, Your Holiness,” to which His Holiness replied, “If cigars were a vice, I would not offer you one, for you have quite enough vices already.” Tobacco use was an issue during canonization process.

St. John Kemble - Pipe - Martyred in England. When the hour for execution arrived, he persuaded the official to delay a bit until he had finished his prayers, smoked a pipe and had a drink. The offical joined him.

Saint Vincent de Paul - Snuff - Tobacco use was an issue during canonization process.

St. Bernadette - Snuff - Her snuff box is a relic on display in Lourdes. Took snuff for her asthma.

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati - Pipe - He smoked a pipe, enjoyed female society, took delight in poetry and operas, and called himself Robes Pierre.