Christianity and Smoking

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Ah, is that smoke I smell? Spinning off from the debate on the Bible and alcohol, Razormouth has an article on Christians and Cigarettes. Of special interest to me, in my current position as anti-tobacco activist. And sure, Spurgeon smoked, but was he aware at the time of the addictive and carcinogenic properties of those heady vapors? More importantly, if even a moderate Christian smoker were to cause his brothers to stumble because of his habit, would it not be better for him to quit?

Somewhat ironically, I discovered yesterday that the Chairman and CEO of Philip Morris is named Bible.

Comments

  1. The Dane says:
    2002-04-25 at 23:31

    As usual, I didn’t actually finish the article at RazorMouth (for cunning wordsmiths, they’re surprisingly uncunning and not-very-smithy-to-boot). That aside, I would say that tobacco smoking per se is a long way from being as potentially dangerous and harrowingly reckless as the consumption of alcohol. If one takes the simple aphorism “all things in moderation” and applies it to his use of tobacco, the chances of death or illness encroaching as direct result of the smoked plant are far less than the chances of death or illness from leaving the house each day. Tobacco doesn’t kill people. Dependant, socially maladjusted screwballs kill themselves.

  2. Wyclif says:
    2002-04-28 at 17:37

    I’m with the Dane here. If you don’t know that a 2 pack a day habit will kill you, you must likewise believe that denial is a river in Egypt. Americans are in the unfortunate position of supporting a government that believes it is responsible for protecting us from ourselves.

    Then again, you have to look at the additives Big Tobacco puts in their “tobacco” products. The ammonia and all the other carcinogens. If I’m going to smoke tobacco, I’d prefer it straight and unprocessed…I’ve had hand-rolled cheroots and cigars that contained nothing but 100% natural leaf. There are other options.