Why is smoking/ selling cigarettes NOT a mortal sin?

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someperson555

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why has the catholic church not taken an authoritative stance on this harmful drug? those who sell cigarettes basically profit from harming the health of others.
is this not morally reprehensible?
 
For the same reason that selling beer and cheese-covered pretzels is not a sin.

And, Deo Gratias, some pleasures are still allowed.
 
Now, if you want to get upset about selling something, you could get exercised about birth control pills, which are ALSO a class 1 carcinogen.
 
Burdensome1 said:
For the same reason that selling beer and cheese-covered pretzels is not a sin.

And, Deo Gratias, some pleasures are still allowed.
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this is crazy. cigarettes are harmful and so is alcohol. its insane that many catholics rail against the “evils” of contraception yet do not do a thing about tobacco.
the proprieters of tobacco companies KNOW that their products harm and kill millions, yet they still sell them.
cigarettes are not the same thing as food. (however putting chemicals in food should be addressed by the church too).
it is a drug, and it is unnatural.
and the smoker also knows he is harming his own body by using the product! the catechism states that we must take reasonable care of our bodies!
these pleasures should not be allowed.
 
Yes, it’s totally frustrating not to be the moral lawgiver to humanity, isn’t it? But, sadly, you are not, and are instead just a person. Being in your position means that what is moral and what is not is something you receive, and then decide whether you will follow or not. No amount of argument will invert the relationship and render your opinions law.

Sorry, bud. I know it hurts.
 
I’m not sure the sarcasm helps make your argument any stronger either.
 
someperson555 said:
this is crazy. cigarettes are harmful and so is alcohol. its insane that many catholics rail against the “evils” of contraception yet do not do a thing about tobacco.
the proprieters of tobacco companies KNOW that their products harm and kill millions, yet they still sell them.
cigarettes are not the same thing as food. (however putting chemicals in food should be addressed by the church too).
it is a drug, and it is unnatural.
and the smoker also knows he is harming his own body by using the product! the catechism states that we must take reasonable care of our bodies!
these pleasures should not be allowed.
Click to expand...
I think cigarettes are immoral, but for a long time, we did not know they caused cancer. It sometimes takes ethics a while to catch up. We don’t want to rush in and call amoral things immoral, despite what people typically think of the church. As for drinking, when done in moderation, it is not harmful and can even be beneficial!
 
There is an old saying that “Anti’s” are people who can’t stand the fact that somewhere, someone is enjoying himself!
You should wake up to the fact that prohibition of anything just lures some people into obtaining it. Believe me, the more that you as a person becomes a prohibitionist, the more some people will go against you with great glee and gusto. Right or wrong, it is just human nature. A classic example is what happened during the Prohibition era in the USA.
 
waanju said:
I think cigarettes are immoral, but for a long time, we did not know they caused cancer. It sometimes takes ethics a while to catch up. We don’t want to rush in and call amoral things immoral, despite what people typically think of the church. As for drinking, when done in moderation, it is not harmful and can even be beneficial!
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How so? Which beverages do you recommend that are beneficial?

WAIT WAIT Eucharist doesn’t count
 
minion said:
How so? Which beverages do you recommend that are beneficial?

WAIT WAIT Eucharist doesn’t count
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Red wine for one.

Also I read a report recently that moderate and even heavy drinkers live longer than teetotalers. time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2017200,00.html
Moderate drinking, which is defined as one to three drinks per day, is associated with the lowest mortality rates in alcohol studies. Moderate alcohol use (especially when the beverage of choice is red wine) is thought to improve heart health, circulation and sociability, which can be important because people who are isolated don’t have as many family members and friends who can notice and help treat health problems.
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Read more: time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2017200,00.html#ixzz2CKMwMi76
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someperson555 said:
why has the catholic church not taken an authoritative stance on this harmful drug? those who sell cigarettes basically profit from harming the health of others.
is this not morally reprehensible?
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As far as smoking cigarettes is concerned, I would say that becoming a frequent smoker and/or letting oneself become addicted is sinful - for, smoking in excess is harmful to one’s body. However, smoking is not, per se, immoral - it is only so when there is a real risk to one’s health. I know people who smoke a pipe, cigar, or a couple cigarettes on occasion, but nowhere near a frequency that would be dangerous to the point of being immoral.
As such, selling tobacco is not evil per se - Aquinas says that one can make and sell things which have a proper use, even though some will abuse it (weapons or jewelry I think are the examples he uses, though alcohol and tobacco would also be obvious examples). That being said, I would say that to the extent that tobacco companies seek to promote cigarette addiction and profit thereby, this is immoral.
 
A wide variety of things you probably do on a fairly frequent basis (drink soda/alcholol, eat potato chips, and watch TV) are “unhealthy” in many ways. While cigarettes are certainly detrimental to one’s health, so are many other risky, everday actions. Besides, plenty of people have lived to a ripe old age (90+) all the while smoking cigarettes.

I’m not saying cigarettes aren’t unhealthy, but if you are asking the Church to be the health police, beware that you may get more than you asked for.

P.S.: Also consider that many studies have shown that sex, regardless of whether it is had in or out of marriage, is quite healthy and beneficial. Do you want the Church to promote immoral actions that just so happen to be healthy?

You can’t have it both ways.
 
Well my point of view is that maybe smoking per se is not a sin, but if you analize why people smoke it may become a sin. Most people smoke simply because they are addicted to it, that is what makes it so difficult to stop. Addiction can easily become idolatry because most people who suffer addictions tend to workship the object that they are addicted to. Maybe the person that smokes is not on their knees adoring a cigarrette but the minute that the act of smoking takes over that person’s will and desires it becomes idolatry because your will should be towards God not to a material objection. In that sense, yes smoking and alcoholism can become very easily a mortal sin.
 
A priest I know said that any religion that doesn’t allow drinking and smoking isn’t one made for real people. And he’s celibate.
 
triumphguy said:
Red wine for one.

Also I read a report recently that moderate and even heavy drinkers live longer than teetotalers. time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2017200,00.html
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There is a cost-benefit ratio to imbibing alcohol. While it is true that much of the research concerning red wine, as well as some studies on other types of alcohol, reveals certain beneficial effects, these effects tend to decrease with excessive consumption. Some of the studies also suggest that those who drink WITH meals, as in the diets found in Mediterranean countries (Italy, France, Spain, Greece), reap more of the benefits.
 
someperson555 said:
this is crazy. cigarettes are harmful and so is alcohol. its insane that many catholics rail against the “evils” of contraception yet do not do a thing about tobacco.
the proprieters of tobacco companies KNOW that their products harm and kill millions, yet they still sell them.
cigarettes are not the same thing as food. (however putting chemicals in food should be addressed by the church too).
it is a drug, and it is unnatural.
and the smoker also knows he is harming his own body by using the product! the catechism states that we must take reasonable care of our bodies!
these pleasures should not be allowed.
Click to expand...
If the majority of people enjoy something, it becomes very difficult to outlaw it permanently: witness prohibition. When the drug also has the strong potential of being dangerous to others, not only to oneself, its use should probably be restricted or at least monitored in some ways. But again, drugs such as tobacco and alcohol are the elixir of the masses, so they are not illegal.
 
George_Stegmeir said:
There is an old saying that “Anti’s” are people who can’t stand the fact that somewhere, someone is enjoying himself!
You should wake up to the fact that prohibition of anything just lures some people into obtaining it. Believe me, the more that you as a person becomes a prohibitionist, the more some people will go against you with great glee and gusto. Right or wrong, it is just human nature. A classic example is what happened during the Prohibition era in the USA.
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Too funny! The young kids have a name for the people (the Anti’s) that you describe. It’s called being a funsucker.
 
George_Stegmeir said:
There is an old saying that “Anti’s” are people who can’t stand the fact that somewhere, someone is enjoying himself!
You should wake up to the fact that prohibition of anything just lures some people into obtaining it. Believe me, the more that you as a person becomes a prohibitionist, the more some people will go against you with great glee and gusto. Right or wrong, it is just human nature. A classic example is what happened during the Prohibition era in the USA.
Click to expand...
When you take the opposite, sell cigarettes everywhere and put pretty people in ads smoking, more people buy cigarettes.
Is there any way to discourage people from buying cigarettes??? lol

What my mother spent on cigs in a year was the equivalent to a trip to Hawaii. One year I went to Hawaii and she had something to say about it until I pointed out her habit and it’s cost. I thanked her for complaining, otherwise I would not have seen how much cash it literally burned up every year. 😛

To allow oneself to take on an expensive habit like smoking, that has no redeemable qualities, is harmful to the person and people around them, and puts the person under it’s slavery, is a sin to me. Today we know better. We are all free to go to confession about it as well.
 
Who was it that said that the first Puritan who set foot on American shores was representative of all Americans to come in the same way Adam represented humanity?
 
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