The straightforward answer to the question above is no. I doubt anyone would say that cigarette smoking is a good thing. Yet many members of the church smoke. Have we forgotten the Bible principle of abstaining from every appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22)? Since little argument can be made against the fact that there is much evil associated with cigarettes, should not smoking be something from which all who are striving to serve the Lord abstain? For years smoking has been justified because the Bible doesn’t specifically mention it. Even if such an argument could be sustained, the Bible does warn us about participating in that which is not good.
Genesis 4:7
7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”
This being said, a strong case can be made for smoking cigarettes, as not only being bad, but being sinful. Let’s look at the case against smoking cigarettes.
Cigarettes Are Addictive
Is there anyone in this day and age who still doubts the addictive nature of cigarette smoking? Obviously, tobacco companies want to deny this truth, but extensive research leaves no doubt. Listen to what the American Heart Association writes on one of its websites:
“Nicotine is an addictive drug. It causes changes in the brain that make people want to use it more and more. In addition, addictive drugs cause unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. The good feelings that result when an addictive drug is present — and the bad feelings when it’s absent — make breaking any addiction very difficult. Nicotine addiction has historically been one of the hardest addictions to break”.
Now, what does the Bible say about being addicted to anything other than the Lord and His ways? In 1 Corinthians 6:12, Paul said, “…All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be enslaved by anything. When you become a slave to something, you lose a portion of your free will. Whatever you are addicted to, dictates how you are going to behave. When cigarette smokers get to the point that they are smoking a pack or more of cigarettes a day, that is not them making a conscious decision to do so, that’s the nicotine deciding for them. Think about it. Smoking results in coughing spells, bad odor, yellow teeth, and bad health in general. People who smoke pretty much hate these consequences of smoking, but they keep smoking anyway. Why? They are addicted. If being addicted to anything to such a degree is not sinful, and I believe it is, certainly sin is crouching at the door.
Smoking Cigarettes Is Bad for the Body
Ask any doctor. The answer will be the same. Smoking cigarettes is terrible for one’s health. Oh yes, we hear stories of those who have smoked for years and haven’t had any problems, but they are the exceptions, not the rule. Experts tell us that a single cigarette contains 200 known poisons. Smoking causes more than 15 different types of cancers, including cancer of the lungs, mouth, voice box, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney, pancreas, cervix, stomach, and some leukemias. Furthermore, smoking increases the risk of getting lung diseases, like pneumonia, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis. Smokers are twice as likely to die from heart attacks than non-smokers. At the end of the day, tobacco is responsible for nearly one in every five deaths in the United States and is the largest cause of preventable death. Who would ever dare to argue that smoking cigarettes are not bad for the body?
Now, let’s remember, it matters to God how we treat our bodies. Paul said, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Rom 12:1). Does anyone believe that filling your body will the poisons of cigarettes is a good way of giving your body to God as a living sacrifice? Furthermore, Paul reminds us in 1 Cor. 6:19 that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Of course, it is not just the Holy Spirit that dwells in us, but the Father and the Son do as well (1 Jn. 3:24; Eph. 3:17). So, with this truth before us, that is, our bodies being the temple of God, would it not be sinful to purposely destroy this temple by willfully doing what is, not only harmful, but deadly to the body? Surely the answer is yes and something that we should all want to avoid doing.
Smoking Cigarettes Sets a Bad Example to the World
We are under specific instructions from Christ to let our light shine (Matt. 5:14-16). Can you do that with a cigarette in your hand and while blowing smoke from your mouth? Be honest. Smoking sets a bad example. How successful do you think I would be in personal work if every time I had a Bible study with a non-Christian, I lit up a cigarette in the middle of the study? You can’t say it would have a negative effect in a Bible study but then turn around and say that smoking doesn’t have a negative effect in general. The truth is it does and only those who are under the power of the cigarette would conclude otherwise. The gospel constantly demands that we walk worthy of the gospel of Christ (Eph. 4:1; Phil. 1 27; 1 Pet. 2:11-12).
Is smoking worth the risk? It is not worth it even from a physical standpoint. Surely it is not something over which you should risk your eternal security. If you smoke, start taking measures to quit, even if it means getting help outside of yourself. If you don’t smoke, don’t ever start. As the saying goes, where there is smoke, there is fire (hell fire that is).