Why is smoking/ selling cigarettes NOT a mortal sin?

[Burdensome1]

I’m back, baby.

And to hear people talking about a cigarette like it is the most dangerous, addictive thing on earth is about the silliest thing I have seen on CA yet, and I have already seen some amazingly silly stuff.

Like the man said several posts ago, we left the truth behind way, way back there. I sincerely wish upon some of you the opportunity to see someone actually addicted to hard drugs up close, just so you can feel remorse for ever, ever equating them to tobacco.

 

[beenwashed]

Smoking and drinking are things that people choose to partake in. Birth control is a carcinogen as well but there are deeper more sinister things behind birth control. If you are married you are telling God you don’t want the gift of children and if you’re not married and having sex…well I’ll just leave that there

 

[thewanderer]

Take it how ever you want and believe what you want - Ive seen the damage and horror that alcohol has caused in peoples lives - the destruction of families - the murders - the accidental deaths - its playing Russian roulette with your lives just like taking any drug can be and how many of them said Oh it won’t happen to me I’m better then that.Its the most dangerous drug in society today and does more damage then any other drug. I’ll have no part of it. I don’t have to be careful I am allowed to have my opinion - I’m not going to be condemned because I have strong feeling on the negative effects of alcohol. This is a open forum if thats not the case then have the moderators make it a rule to never question the Catechism and blindly follow it and ban those who don’t go alone with it. Then this will not be a forum for discussion anymore more and you can get rid of me and many others.

I’m truly sorry if I have offended you, that was not at all my intention, I assumed that you would be interested in accepting what the catechism teaches as you describe yourself as a Catholic. And please understand that I meant that last sentance sincerely, it is not meant as a jab at you at all, but unfortunately it is hard to convey exactly what is meant online without tones of voice and facial expressions. I am not trying to demean your point of view, but I do strongly disagree with you.

If you think that I am unaware of the harm that alcohol can cause when taken to excess then you had better think again. My father was an alcoholic and abused my mother. That does not change my recognition that alcohol is only sinful when taken to excess. Is alcohol extremely sinful (and dangerous) when taken to excess? YES. Are there people who can drink alcohol moderately without ill effect? YES. I understand that you have experienced some horrific things in your life because of the abuse of alcohol. But none of that changes the fact that these things were caused by the abuse of alcohol, rather than its legitimate, moderate use.

 

[wanabesaint]

Historical books of old, that wrote of the comparison of the Christians verse the Islamic noted that the Islamic religion holds no tollerance to alcohol, drugs, prostitution, and gambling. NO means no…

Yet the Christian religions alow a tollerance to these vices, and for that in comparison it was noted that Europe had huge social issues that ruined and brought Europe to much demise up to the time of writing of the book, about 1900…
Many a fore father escaped Europe not for religious persecution as much as this demise of tollerance to alchol, drug, prostitution, gambling brought ruination to Europe, a tollerance to what the Islamic said no means no to…

The reality is of today, the US has now made Europe why soo many escaped and left to be free of, the US has now in its ignorance brougth here and made the US to be.
Discipline to say NO, your body is a temple of God, and nothing that is not good for it, should not enter. Heaven should be seen the same, nothing that is impure should enter it either… and to be disciplined nothing enters your heart, your eyes, or ears, or any part of yourself that willl defial the temple in any way should be the discipline you impose on yourself… for it is a sin. to put evil in your soul, would contradict that it might be worth of going to Heaven… and your body as well.

alcohol is a self medication of ones self to escape our aflictions, as cigaretts.
rather than the discipline of offering our flictions up to God, as Jesus carried his cross, we in ignorance try to escape reality and what we should, if we had been educated, to welcome our aflictions.

drinking of alcohol to escape puts us on the side of the fence of, of the man on the left who said to save himself, and save them from death, while those on the right admitted their punish ment and didnt escape, that discipline to not accept vices of escape, self medicating…

If you are afflicted and suffering, seek real Help or offer it to God, but dont self medicate.
better to suffer as Jesus did, than to deny God…

 

[thewanderer]

Historical books of old, that wrote of the comparison of the Christians verse the Islamic noted that the Islamic religion holds no tollerance to alcohol, drugs, prostitution, and gambling. NO means no…

Yet the Christian religions alow a tollerance to these vices, and for that in comparison it was noted that Europe had huge social issues that ruined and brought Europe to much demise up to the time of writing of the book, about 1900…
Many a fore father escaped Europe not for religious persecution as much as this demise of tollerance to alchol, drug, prostitution, gambling brought ruination to Europe, a tollerance to what the Islamic said no means no to…

The reality is of today, the US has now made Europe why soo many escaped and left to be free of, the US has now in its ignorance brougth here and made the US to be.
Discipline to say NO, your body is a temple of God, and nothing that is not good for it, should not enter. Heaven should be seen the same, nothing that is impure should enter it either… and to be disciplined nothing enters your heart, your eyes, or ears, or any part of yourself that willl defial the temple in any way should be the discipline you impose on yourself… for it is a sin. to put evil in your soul, would contradict that it might be worth of going to Heaven… and your body as well.

alcohol is a self medication of ones self to escape our aflictions, as cigaretts.
rather than the discipline of offering our flictions up to God, as Jesus carried his cross, we in ignorance try to escape reality and what we should, if we had been educated, to welcome our aflictions.

drinking of alcohol to escape puts us on the side of the fence of, of the man on the left who said to save himself, and save them from death, while those on the right admitted their punish ment and didnt escape, that discipline to not accept vices of escape, self medicating…

If you are afflicted and suffering, seek real Help or offer it to God, but dont self medicate.
better to suffer as Jesus did, than to deny God…

You are aware that there are many people who drink alcohol because they like the taste of it rather than to drown their sorrows? Also that moderate drinking, especially of red wine, is actually very healthy?

 

[dshix]

You are aware that there are many people who drink alcohol because they like the taste of it rather than to drown their sorrows? Also that moderate drinking, especially of red wine, is actually very healthy?

That is correct.

 

[CaptFun]

I’m one of the stupid ones here. What can I say? I’ve been smoking for over 60+ years.
I’m a sinner! Lord have mercy on me!

After 60 plus years of trying to quit, quitting and falling back into smoking again my Dad finally planted the flag on top of Mt. Everest. He’d lessened his intake to just a couple a day as a “guilty pleasure” but with my Mom being asthmatic and finally needing to take oxgen all the time he QUIT!

I did give him permission to eat all the candy he wanted in its place. He said “Really?”

I said, “Yeah, how does eating CANDY hurt others that much. It hurts YOU more, but if I know you, you’ll cut down on THAT too!”

That said … I long for the day that “pro-aborts” get the kind of “truth” told to them that the smokers do! Ad campaigns. People hiding to talk about it like those who sneak a smoke. People “coming out” like some have and “regretting their abortion” to the praise
and pride of others. And “Doctors” getting back to the business of healing people instead of … uh … ick!

Thanks for your public confession there Like … very humble.

Smoking is not the best thing in the world … but its not the worst … and not even a sin
if you aren’t involving people involuntarily (crabbing their air) or smoking to excess or just chain smoking habitually without ever trying to minimize the damage.

Per the thread … it CAN be a mortal sin under some circumstances possibly. It CAN be mortally dangerous after all. And we like ya Like !

PS: Dad lived to be 87, He died October 3. Thanksgiving will be his first birthday without us (down here). When he went … one lung was not functioning and the other got hit with a virus. He’d been fairly healthy right up to the last week. So … be careful out there!

:hey_bud: < My MOM’s Dad smoked “White Owls” one after the other. Got cancer in his mouth. - He’d be gone by now … but I miss him and he died too young (late 60s).

 

[shaky]

Pretty much this is what I said. Smoking per se is not a sin, the sin is when you let smoking control your life in a few words addiction. The tricky part is how many people are capable of start smoking without becoming addicting to it? Probably less than 1%. This is pretty much like how many people are capable of trying heroine without becoming addicted to it.

I drink tea everyday am i addicted to caffeine ?

 

[shaky]

Historical books of old, that wrote of the comparison of the Christians verse the Islamic noted that the Islamic religion holds no tollerance to alcohol, drugs, prostitution, and gambling. NO means no…

Yet the Christian religions alow a tollerance to these vices, and for that in comparison it was noted that Europe had huge social issues that ruined and brought Europe to much demise up to the time of writing of the book, about 1900…
Many a fore father escaped Europe not for religious persecution as much as this demise of tollerance to alchol, drug, prostitution, gambling brought ruination to Europe, a tollerance to what the Islamic said no means no to…

The reality is of today, the US has now made Europe why soo many escaped and left to be free of, the US has now in its ignorance brougth here and made the US to be.
Discipline to say NO, your body is a temple of God, and nothing that is not good for it, should not enter. Heaven should be seen the same, nothing that is impure should enter it either… and to be disciplined nothing enters your heart, your eyes, or ears, or any part of yourself that willl defial the temple in any way should be the discipline you impose on yourself… for it is a sin. to put evil in your soul, would contradict that it might be worth of going to Heaven… and your body as well.

alcohol is a self medication of ones self to escape our aflictions, as cigaretts.
rather than the discipline of offering our flictions up to God, as Jesus carried his cross, we in ignorance try to escape reality and what we should, if we had been educated, to welcome our aflictions.

drinking of alcohol to escape puts us on the side of the fence of, of the man on the left who said to save himself, and save them from death, while those on the right admitted their punish ment and didnt escape, that discipline to not accept vices of escape, self medicating…

If you are afflicted and suffering, seek real Help or offer it to God, but dont self medicate.
better to suffer as Jesus did, than to deny God…

Anything taken in excess will damage health and kill us. Even drinking to much water will kill us. To say drinking Alcohol in Moderation is self medicating and wrong is false.
In 1 Timothy 5:23 Paul says to Timothy to drink no longer water, But use a little Wine for the sake of your stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.

 

[shaky]

selling someone a product which damages their health and even causes death is evil.
choosing to engage in a habit which puts your life at risk is evil (albeit not as evil as selling it though)

let me guess you probably believe in the legalization of all drugs right?

If the legalization of street drugs came about. It certainly would cause less deaths from overdose because of inconsistency in purity. Stop the drug war with its deaths and put the drug dealers out of business. There would be less Crime. The coverment would save money with its war on drugs. And along with the small profit of selling these drugs through the Pharmacy Industry. Could go to proper counciling regarding to those that use these drugs.

 

[NovusAugustus]

Is it sinful for someone to go to McDonald’s every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and never exercise? Such actions would eventually lead to an early death, but no one would call them sinful. The fact is that everything in excess can eventually lead to death–even we, posting on these forums aren’t being particularly “healthy.” Why is the smoker judged worse than all others in this regard? It is their selected form of pleasure, and while you may look upon them with disdain, it isn’t a sin to take pleasure from something that is morally neutral, even if it may worsen your health.

 

[thewanderer]

Is it sinful for someone to go to McDonald’s every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and never exercise? Such actions would eventually lead to an early death, but no one would call them sinful. The fact is that everything in excess can eventually lead to death–even we, posting on these forums aren’t being particularly “healthy.” Why is the smoker judged worse than all others in this regard? It is their selected form of pleasure, and while you may look upon them with disdain, it isn’t a sin to take pleasure from something that is morally neutral, even if it may worsen your health.

Actually… that kind of disregard for ones health most certainly can be sinful. Just as excessive smoking can be sinful. Its all in the CCC.

 

[minkymurph]

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?

The question I would ask is why would someone want smoking cigarettes categorized as a mortal sin?

Let’s say the Church stated tomorrow smoking cigarettes is a mortal sin. And? Go to confession, give up and if you don’t you’ll go to hell?

The reason I don’t think it is a mortal sin is because I can’t imagine God barring someone from heaven for all eternity because they smoked. No more than I can imagine Him barring someone from heaven for all eternity because they made a practice of driving too fast but were fortunate enough to be able to get away with it without hurting themselves or anyone else. Speed on the road has far more tragic consequences than smoking and kills more people. Does that mean driving too fast should be a mortal sin?

As for those who manufacture cigarettes, exploiting another’s vulnerability for profit and having no conscience about it, I could see being a mortal sin.

 

[NovusAugustus]

Actually… that kind of disregard for ones health most certainly can be sinful. Just as excessive smoking can be sinful. Its all in the CCC.

What is the demarcating line between “excessive disregard” and everyday unhealthiness, like skipping the gym to watch a movie and eat candy?

 

[davidv]

What is the demarcating line between “excessive disregard” and everyday unhealthiness, like skipping the gym to watch a movie and eat candy?

The line is where you and your confessor decide it is. This is determined by what is unloving to God and yourself.

 

[thewanderer]

What is the demarcating line between “excessive disregard” and everyday unhealthiness, like skipping the gym to watch a movie and eat candy?

I am not making any such distinction, whether the excessive disregard comes from everyday bad habits or binge events now and again doesn’t matter.

As to where exactly to draw the line, that depends, its different for different people, although, generally one can look at studies if they are interested to determine what levels are usually unhealthy for most people. This is another one of those areas (like reasons for using NFP to avoid) where the Church does not get super specific about which particular circumstances are sinful and which aren’t. She gives you the general guidelins and then tells you to go use your informed conscience (which ought to be carefully formed) to apply those general rules to your particular circumstances. Seeing as each individuals circumstances are different I’m not sure why you would expect the Church to do more than that.

 

[pnewton]

you are just rationalizing your sin. … i think the people who sell the product and even parents who engage in the habit are guilty of mortal sin.

What you think is sin is totally and completely irrelevant to anyone except you. You are taking a the position of a modern Pharisee, usurping the teaching authority of the Church to make up your own moral code. Then you have the unmitigated gall to accuse others of sin based on your own opinion???

I suggest you study the the Catechism’s teaching on conscience. I be you do not find your name there.