social smoking

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Lilsheep88

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Just wondering… I am a young adult in my early 20s. Just wondering if it is a sin to smoke ciggarettes once in a blue moon, like once a month or so?? especially that most of myfriends are in their college / university years…? . its just that most of my friends smoke and that I believe that it is a social bonding tool… much like going for a few beers with friends in a bar once in a while… any thoughts… i also pray the rosary divine mercy everyday… am i siner?
 
Lilsheep88 said:
Just wondering… I am a young adult in my early 20s. Just wondering if it is a sin to smoke ciggarettes once in a blue moon, like once a month or so?? especially that most of myfriends are in their college / university years…? . its just that most of my friends smoke and that I believe that it is a social bonding tool… much like going for a few beers with friends in a bar once in a while… any thoughts… i also pray the rosary divine mercy everyday… am i siner?
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Moderate smoking (like moderate drinking) is not a sin but its still pretty stupid. Anyone who thinks even moderate smoking does not damage their health is be naive. I’m not suggesting this applies to you. Its a general comment.
 
yeah thats thing… its kind of hard to relate to your friends. like for instance your in a bar and everyone leaves outside for a smoke break… kind of awkward that you stay in the table alone… thanks for your advice though.
 
Why do you want to harm yourself and others? Why not give glory to God by avoiding something harmful and by doing what is right?

Priests have different opinions about the sinfulness of smoking. Some think it isn’t a sin at all, others believe it is at least a venial sin.
 
Lilsheep88 said:
yeah thats thing… its kind of hard to relate to your friends. like for instance your in a bar and everyone leaves outside for a smoke break… kind of awkward that you stay in the table alone… thanks for your advice though.
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In my younger days (in my 20’s) I was part of a crowd who all smoked. I smoked 2 packs a day then. I decided to stop and you know what? Nobody in my crowd cared. It did not affect my relationship with them at all. In fact as time went by several others stopped smoking too.
 
I smoke a pack a day and feel no need to confess it. I drink rarely, if I have a dinner, and see nothing wrong with drinking, unless it is a near occasion to sin (e.g. the drinker uses it as an excuse to act immorally). I use no drugs that are not prescribed because I am an addict. Drug use is a trickier question, and it should be stayed away from, for myriad reasons, but, I don’t believe that use of any drug is a mortal sin, unless it’s sinful in another manner (such as suicide/overdose, using dirty needles, stealing to get it, etc.): it’s when addiction or obsession sets in with any drug - or any other thing, food, sex, money, success, shopping - and becomes more important than religion and God, that it becomes a mortal sin, for the “alienation of affections” for lack of a better word.

It never crossed my mind to ever consider that smoking or having a few beers be a sin - Catholicism isn’t Mormonism.

Note: when I say “sin”, I mean something more serious: many things are venial sins, from unwarranted speech and gossip on up; we all commit venial sins all of the time. Smoking is most definitely a venial sin (along with all luxury goods), because any money that is spent on it could be spent on the poor, and it’s not good for the health (it’s not as harmless as the cigarette makers want you to believe, and not as bad as the government and activist groups want you to believe). Back when I was more irreligious and I was chain-smoking while debating some Mormons (as I foolishly decided to order a Book of Mormon, not knowing it came with a pair of missionaries), who found it offensive and contrary to their Word of Wisdom, I cracked a beer and I argued - using Scriptural proof-texts - that smoking was incense for the temple of the Holy Spirit. It shut them up. That’s a condemnation of the proof-text way of reading the Bible, not an endorsement of tobacco having a pleasing odor to God, if you didn’t notice, by the way.

P.S. I also demonstrated in less than one sentence how the Mormon church is apostate by its own criteria, and in another sentence, how its praxis doesn’t match with any of its official teachings.
 
What else do you do to “fit in”?

Honestly, I would not do it. Smoking is addictive. Nicotine is insidious. Stay far away from it.

AND it makes you STINK! Why would you want to smell bad on purpose?
 
It’s not sinful, but it is stupid. “Social smoking” will soon become “I am looking for an excuse to light up”.
 
Quit sending mixed messages. It seems like you’re telling me not to smoke, but your signature is telling me to light ‘n’ up.

Beyond that, you’re right: if someone’s asking about “social smoking” now, I think it’s progressed to the point of looking for a rationalization, and the smoking will continue one way or the other.
 
Khalid said:
Quit sending mixed messages. It seems like you’re telling me not to smoke, but your signature is telling me to light ‘n’ up.
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LOL! Very funny on the signature part. 😃

I’m not telling anyone not to do anything-if you want to smoke, then by all means, it’s your body that’ll suffer.
 
Don’t smoke to fit in. I’m around smokers, join them on their smoke breaks and talk, but I don’t light up. So, that’s really not a reason to smoke.

However, if you enjoy it and know and accept the risks then go ahead. I used to smoke cigars on occasion with some friends and I did enjoy them but I got bored with it after awhile. Also, I work out a lot and it just didn’t make sense to be doing a lot of cardio and smoking- kind of working at cross purposes.
 
I have a couple of prayerbooks from 1925 and in the Examination of Concience section they listen one of the questions as, “Do I smoke?” Kind of interesting how it was then and how it is now.

Just an observation (don’t jump on me 😉 ).
 
CatholicFireman said:
I have a couple of prayerbooks from 1925 and in the Examination of Concience section they listen one of the questions as, “Do I smoke?” Kind of interesting how it was then and how it is now.

Just an observation (don’t jump on me 😉 ).
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And today, only 20% of Americans smoke (although about 80% of Middle Easterners, Turks, and North Africans do), and in 1925, about 70% of American (males) smoked.
 
Khalid said:
And today, only 20% of Americans smoke (although about 80% of Middle Easterners, Turks, and North Africans do), and in 1925, about 70% of American (males) smoked.
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Wow. That’s amazing. 👍
 
Lilsheep88 said:
Just wondering… I am a young adult in my early 20s. Just wondering if it is a sin to smoke ciggarettes once in a blue moon, like once a month or so?? especially that most of myfriends are in their college / university years…? . its just that most of my friends smoke and that I believe that it is a social bonding tool… much like going for a few beers with friends in a bar once in a while… any thoughts… i also pray the rosary divine mercy everyday… am i siner?
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My thoughts are that since cigarettes are bad for my health, it’s something I could do without. Have I ever smoked? Yes, but I can count the number of times on one hand. Most of those times were due to peer pressure. In my opinion, cigarettes are worse than beer. And please don’t take this the wrong way, but personally, as a guy, I would not date anyone who smoked. That said, we’re all sinners. I don’t know if smoking cigarettes is considered a sin, but at least from a health and social point of view, I would highly discourage it.
 
I’m a social smoker. I’ve discussed it with a few priests and it is not a sin. But it is not exacly wise either. I smoke on occasion because I enjoy it. If you smoke in order to fit in then I think that is truly silly. What else would you be willing to do in order to fit in? Perhaps seeing your social smoking from this perspective makes more sense I think.
 
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