Smoking. Grave matter?

[StarMapp]

The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It also has a Divine purpose while on earth, to serve others and to do the future tasks our Lord as assigned for us. The abuse of the body places an uncertainty in God’s plan for others and for ourselves.

Tattoos are another misuse of the body. Here the body could become a billboard for our personal advertisement and a distraction for someone else. A personal statement if you will. Having said that, there are some modest discreet ones as well out there. I know someone who has a small one around her ankles. It has flowers and vines and such but still comes with a risk of infection.

 

[sealabeag]

Long story short, smoking is not grave matter. Especially smoking in moderation. Is cigarette smoking good for your health? No. Is it recommended? No. But it’s not grave matter.

This illustrates an issue with CAF that I’ve always had - that real questions often do not find a definitive, authoritative answer, because everyone has an opinion. But I think Father has been clear, and the Cathechism quote, as well as the principles of moral theology, are clear in the answer to this.

 

[dochawk]

In my part of the country, where there is a lot of sun and people spend a lot of time out in it,

I haven’t stepped outside without a full-brimmed western hat in about thirty years now. I watched my grandmother and her sister go in about every six months to have skin cancers removed from their faces in their 70s, 80s, and 90s. My father started at about 70 on the same pattern.

I have the same irish skin, and hope I started soon enough . . .

(so why do I keep accumulating convertibles??? but I wear 75SPF and the hat when i drive them )

 

[Anicette]

Somking isn’t a sin, but we now know it’s bad for the smoker’s health as well as his relatives.

It is also addictive.

It can also be very costy and may deprive the individual and hos family to financial ressources that can be very important to have their essential needs met. And many smokers are from poor background.

 

[Mr_Richie]

It would be tough to draw lines in grey areas…like chocolate, coffee, etc

 

[po18guy]

The World Health Organization?

“Physician, heal thyself!”

@Mr_Richie
Dark chocolate and dark roast coffee got me through three cancers. Might have been part of the cure for all I know…

 

[HomeschoolDad]

HomeschoolDad:

In my part of the country, where there is a lot of sun and people spend a lot of time out in it,

I haven’t stepped outside without a full-brimmed western hat in about thirty years now. I watched my grandmother and her sister go in about every six months to have skin cancers removed from their faces in their 70s, 80s, and 90s. My father started at about 70 on the same pattern.

Both of my parents have had skin cancers removed. I have never been one to get out in the sun all that much. I did have to “learn the hard way” when I began shaving my entire head earlier this year, and did some outdoor yard work on a very sunny day with no hat — I just didn’t think of it. My scalp was red for about a week! Now I wear a canvas ballcap-style hat when I’m going to be out that long. If it’s a miserably hot day, I saturate a terry cloth towel and put it over my head, then put the cap on top of that. Makes me look like a total dork, but at least I stay cool and unburnt. A wet collar on a hot day can make all the difference in the world.

 

[dochawk]

It would be tough to draw lines in grey areas…like chocolate, coffee, etc

If your chocolate or coffee (or whiskey, for that matter) is grey, something is seriously wrong . . . .

Both of my parents have had skin cancers removed.

Mine had multiples each time!

yeah, appearance doesn’t matter when faced with this.

I won’t use something as small as a ballcap.

I’ve bought a grommet tool to put a “stampede strap” on one of my good western hats for my convertibles without good air pockets (the miata actually pushes down on the brim!)

 

[edward_george1]

I heard people on this site say they do a little heron but they are not addicted they keep it in check Gee I wonder how long that lasted.

You’ve really heard people on the Catholic Answers Forum say they would do heroin? Which other forum did you copy this comment from?

If there was any credibility to anything you might have said, it was lost here. Again, one cigarette or pipe or cigar does not an addict make. Mileage may vary. You’re not making a moral argument. You’re just being hysterical.

 

[Socrates92]

for non-tobacco-related reasons – that simply ceasing to smoke tobacco will not lift them out of poverty

Hmm… in some cases it could substantially help. Some people spend 10% or more of their wages on tobacco.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Why isn’t smoking or other tobacco use considered grave sinful matter?

For the same reason that use of alcohol, caffeine, sugar, or french fries in moderation isn’t considered grave matter.

The key word is “in moderation”.

There are plenty of people who smoke occasionally without “ruining their life”. Not everyone who smokes does it every day or has a nicotine habit.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Respectfully, your posts about smoking are so over-the-top extreme as to lack credibility.

I appreciate that some people have a big aversion to smoking; however, the Catholic Church does not demonize it (or alcohol, or sugar, or caffeine etc) in the manner that you are doing, and you need to accept that.

If your goal is to convince people not to smoke, then claiming that all smokers are miserable addicts and comparing it to opioids is not persuasive. Just sayin’.

P.S. I don’t smoke, never did. Just mentioning that before anyone responds that I must be making excuses for my tobacco habit.

 

[harshcshah]

Thank you @Vico for referencing my post. As the study cited in it says, the risk for smoking a small number of cigars is nearly 0 and I would think the same for smoking pipes. Indeed, it is my understanding that those who occasionally smoke pipes are more likely to live longer due to the stress relieving effect this has. This is unrelated to people’s potential private negative experiences with cigars and pipes since good studies try to account for the impact for groups as a whole. Using cigars and pipes in moderation like alcohol, are at worst morally neutral and at best morally good since their proper use would exercise the virtue temperance. As regards cigarettes specifically, however, I don’t know the moral implications.

 

[Vico]

Thank you @Vico for referencing my post. As the study cited in it says, the risk for smoking a small number of cigars is nearly 0 and I would think the same for smoking pipes. Indeed, it is my understanding that those who occasionally smoke pipes are more likely to live longer due to the stress relieving effect this has. This is unrelated to people’s potential private negative experiences with cigars and pipes since good studies try to account for the impact for groups as a whole. Using cigars and pipes in moderation like alcohol, are at worst morally neutral and at best morally good since their proper use would exercise the virtue temperance. As regards cigarettes specifically, however, I don’t know the moral implications.

My father and mother both smoked. I sat by my father where he smoked his pipe so was a second hand smoker. I am a non smoker.

Nondaily smokers that reported smoking a median of 15 days and 50 cigarettes per month, in a study published online Oct. 24, 2018 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that, compared with nonsmokers, the lifelong nondaily smokers had a 72 percent higher mortality risk.

 

[harshcshah]

Nondaily smokers that reported smoking a median of 15 days and 50 cigarettes per month were found in a study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine published online Oct. 24, 2018, found that compared with nonsmokers, lifelong nondaily smokers had a 72 percent higher mortality risk

I would, then, conclude that smoking tobacco products is not in itself a grave matter because there are a wide variety of them - some even beneficial to health. However, the use of cigarettes specifically I would consider to be, in many cases, a grave matter. Of course, various other contextual factors would have to be accounted for to judge the morality of each individual action.

 

[Vico]

Vico:

Nondaily smokers that reported smoking a median of 15 days and 50 cigarettes per month were found in a study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine published online Oct. 24, 2018, found that compared with nonsmokers, lifelong nondaily smokers had a 72 percent higher mortality risk

I would, then, conclude that smoking tobacco products is not in itself a grave matter because there are a wide variety of them - some even beneficial to health. However, the use of cigarettes specifically I would consider to be, in many cases, a grave matter. Of course, various other contextual factors would have to be accounted for to judge the morality of each individual action.

Second hand, and third hand, smoke does injury to other about. Third hand smoke is, for example, nicotine on the carpet that babies get from crawling around on the floor, and also on the telephone receiver.

 

[AlNg]

Why isn’t smoking or other tobacco use considered grave sinful matter?

IMHO, smoking is a sin. Since there are about 50 carcinogens involved in smoking tobacco, smokers are slowing killing themselves and others around them and therefore it looks to me like it is a violation of the commandment: Thou shalt not kill.

 

[dochawk]

You’ve really heard people on the Catholic Answers Forum say they would do heroin?

With this, it’s time for clips and memes from Airplane!

 

[sealabeag]

Let’s wreck the joint. No smoked-drug related pun intended.

 

[dochawk]

I can’t help with it, though.

I sat on the glue . . .