Except for a few
Christian denominations, the
Abrahamic religions originated before
tobacco smoking was introduced to the Old World from the New World. Therefore, these religions do not address it in their foundational teachings; however, modern practitioners have offered interpretations of their faith about smoking.
Christianity In the 19th century, smoking was considered inappropriate by certain
Christians. In the autumn of 1874,
George Frederick Pentecost got into the so-called
Daily Telegraph scandal: a smoking controversy, over which his counterpart
Charles Spurgeon, known as the 'prince of preachers', was exploited by the
tobacco industry. Tobacco was listed, along with drunkenness, gambling, cards, dancing and theatre-going, in J.M. Judy's
Questionable Amusements and Worthy Substitutes, a book featuring anti-smoking dialogue which was published in 1904 by the Western
Methodist Book of Concern. However,
Johann Sebastian Bach was known to enjoy smoking a pipe, and wrote poetry on how doing so enhanced his relationship with God.
Roman Catholic Church The
Roman Catholic Church does not condemn smoking per se, but considers excessive smoking to be sinful, as described in the
Catechism (CCC 2290):
Orthodoxy Though there is no official
canonical prohibition regarding the use of tobacco, the more traditional among the
Eastern Orthodox Churches forbid their
clergy or
monastics to smoke, and the
laity are strongly encouraged to give up this habit, if they are subject to it. One who smokes is considered to be polluting the "Temple of the Holy Spirit" (i.e., the body), which has been sanctified by the reception of the
Sacred Mysteries (Sacraments). In Orthodox cultures, various derogatory terms have developed to describe smoking, such as "
incense of Satan". Father Alexander Lebedeff described the Orthodox approach as follows:
Other churches The view of the body being the "temple of the Holy Spirit" is also common in Protestant circles, and is quoted as a basis against not only tobacco use, but recreational drugs, eating disorders, sexual immorality, and other vices which can be harmful to the body. The Bible reference is I Corinthians 6:7-20.
Methodist churches recommend abstinence from the use of tobacco, reflecting their support of the
temperance movement.
Jehovah's Witnesses have not permitted any active members to smoke since 1973. The
Seventh-day Adventist Church also recommends that its members abstain from tobacco use. It has called for governments to enact policies that include "a uniform ban on all tobacco advertising, stricter laws prohibiting smoking in non-residential public places, more aggressive and systematic public education, and substantially higher taxes on cigarettes." North American Adventist health study recruitments from 2001 to 2007 found that 98.9% of Adventists were non-smokers. In
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the use of tobacco is against the
Word of Wisdom, the church's health code adherence to which is necessary for
baptism and full participation in all church activities such as entry into the church's
temples, service in
full-time missionary work, and attendance at
church schools. However, violation of the Word of Wisdom is not normally grounds for withdrawal of membership or other
disciplinary action. The
Word of Wisdom quote regarding tobacco alludes to its historical use in medicine and states:
Islam Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur was one of the first authorities to take action on smoking in 1602, towards the end of his reign. The ruler of the
Saadi dynasty used the religious tool of
fatwas (Islamic legal pronouncements) to discourage the use of tobacco. A couple of years later, his ally, the Christian ruler
James I would publish his
treatise,
Counterblaste to Tobacco. The holy book of
Islam, the
Qur'ān, does not specifically prohibit or denounce smoking, but gives behavioral guidance: In recent years,
tobacco fatwas have been issued due to health concerns. The prominent scholar
Yusuf al Qaradawi argues that smoking is no longer an issue of dispute among Islamic scholars due to the knowledge of health risks. The reported juristic disagreement among Muslim scholars on the ruling concerning smoking, since its appearance and spread, is not usually based on differences between legal proofs, but on the difference in the verification of the cause on which the ruling is based. They all agree that whatever is proved to be harmful to the body and mind is prohibited, yet they differ on whether this ruling applies to smoking. Some of them claimed that smoking has some benefits, others assured that it had few disadvantages compared to its benefits, whereas a third group maintained that it had neither benefits nor bad effects. This means that if scholars had been certain about the harmfulness of smoking, then they would undoubtedly have considered it prohibited.... Second: Our inclination to consider smoking prohibited does not mean that it is as grave as major sins like adultery, drinking alcohol, or theft. Prohibited matters in Islam are relative; some of them are minor prohibitions, whereas others are major, and each has its own ruling. The major sins, for example, have no expiation other than sincere repentance. However, the minor sins can be expiated by the Five Prayers, the
Friday Prayer, the Fasting of
Ramadan, the Night Vigil Prayer in Ramadan, and other acts of worship. They can also be expiated by avoiding the major sins. All contemporary rulings tend to condemn smoking as potentially harmful or prohibit (
haram) smoking outright as a cause of severe health damage.
Arab Muslims tend to prohibit smoking (despite
Saudi Arabia ranking 23rd in the world for the percentage of its population that smokes) and, in South Asia, smoking tends to be considered lawful but discouraged: In many parts of the Arabic-speaking world, the legal status of smoking has further changed during recent years, and numerous religious edicts or fatawa, including from notable authorities such as
Al-Azhar University in Egypt, now declare smoking to be prohibited. The reasons cited in support of the reclassification of smoking as prohibited include Islamic law's general prohibition of all actions that result in harm. For example, the Qur'an says, "And spend of your substance in the cause of God, and make not your own hands contribute to your own destruction (
Q2:195)." Additionally, jurists rely on the exhortations in the Qur'an not to waste money. Greater appreciation of the risks associated with
passive smoking has also led recent jurists to cite the obligation to avoid causing willful annoyance, distress, or harm to other people. A study of young Muslim Arab-Americans found that Islamic influences were correlated with some diminished smoking. Conversely, an Egyptian study found that knowledge of an anti-smoking
fatwa did not reduce smoking. Overall, the prevalence of smoking is increasing in Islamic countries.
Response of the tobacco industry From the 1970s to the late 1990s, tobacco companies including
British American Tobacco and
Phillip Morris were involved in campaigns to undermine fatwas against smoking in
Muslim-majority countries, equating a Muslim opposed to smoking with "a threat to existing government as a 'fundamentalist' who wishes to return to
sharia law". Early on in the Hasidic movement, the
Baal Shem Tov taught that smoking tobacco can be used as a religious devotion, and can even help bring the Messianic Era. Rabbi
Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev is quoted as saying that "a Jew smokes on the weekdays and sniffs tobacco on the Sabbath". Rabbi
Dovid of Lelov taught that it is a good religious practice to smoke on Saturday nights after the Shabbat, and this practice is followed by the Rebbes of
Lelov and
Skulen, however the current Rebbe of Skulen discourages people from following his example, in light of current views opposing smoking, and he himself only takes a few brief puffs of a cigarette after
Havdalah. Many Hasidic Jews smoke, and many who do not smoke regularly will smoke on the holiday of
Purim, even if they do not do so any other time of the year, and some consider it to be a spiritual practice, similar to the smoke of the altar in the ancient Temple. However, in recent years, many Hasidic Rabbis have come out against smoking, as have rabbis of other movements. Rabbi
Yisrael Meir Kagan was one of the first
Jewish authorities to speak out on smoking. He considered it a health risk and a waste of time, and had little patience for those who claimed addiction, stating that they never should have started smoking in the first place. A shift toward health-oriented concerns may be observed in different rabbinic interpretations of Jewish law (
halakha). For instance, at a time when the link between smoking and health was still in doubt, Rabbi
Moshe Feinstein issued an influential opinion in 1963 stating that smoking was permitted, although still inadvisable. He later stated that a non-smoker is prohibited from developing a smoking habit. More recently, rabbinic
responsa tend to argue that smoking is prohibited as self-endangerment under Jewish law and that smoking in indoor spaces should be restricted as a type of damage to others. The self-endangerment rule is grounded partly on a Biblical verse that is read as an injunction to watch one's health - "ונשמרתם מאד, לנפשתיכם" [Vi'nish'martem Me'od Li'naf'sho'tey'chem] "And you shall watch yourselves very well ..." Similarly, rabbinic rules against damaging others are traced back to Biblical and
Talmudic laws. Famous
Ashkenazi Haredi rabbis have called on people not to smoke and called smoking an 'evil habit.' These rabbis include Rabbi
Yosef Sholom Eliashiv, Rabbi
Aharon Leib Shteinman, Rabbi
Moshe Shmuel Shapiro, Rabbi
Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz, Rabbi
Nissim Karelitz, and Rabbi
Shmuel Auerbach. Rabbi
Shmuel HaLevi Wosner forbade people from starting to smoke and said that those who smoke should stop doing so. All of these rabbis also said that it is forbidden to smoke in a public place where others might be bothered by it. Among important
Sephardi Haredi rabbis, Rabbi
Ben Tzion Abba Shaul, Rabbi
Ovadia Yosef and Rabbi
Moshe Tzedaka called on youth not to start smoking. Other major Ashkenazi rabbis who explicitly forbade smoking include Rabbi
Eliezer Waldenberg, Rabbi
Moshe Stern, and Rabbi
Chaim Pinchas Sheinberg, and Rabbi
Asher Zelig Weiss. Among
religious zionist rabbis, the view that smoking is strictly prohibited is very widely accepted, and more pronounced than among Haredi rabbis. Smoking is also much less accepted as well as prevalent in zionist
yeshivas, as compared to Haredi yeshivas. == Buddhism ==