Think the occasional cigarette won’t hurt? Even a bit of social smoking – or inhaling someone else’s secondhand smoke – could be enough to block your arteries and trigger a heart attack, says the newest surgeon general’s report on the killer the nation just can’t kick.
Lung cancer is what people usually fear from smoking, and yes, that can take years to strike. But Thursday’s report says there’s no doubt that tobacco smoke begins poisoning immediately – as more than 7,000 chemicals in each puff rapidly spread through the body to cause cellular damage in nearly every organ.
“That one puff on that cigarette could be the one that causes your heart attack,” said Surgeon General Regina Benjamin.
Or the one that triggers someone else’s: “I advise people to try to avoid being around smoking any way that you can,” she said. Read more in AP.
It ENRAGES me that anyone can consider themselves a good orthodox jew and smoke. those seem diametrically opposed. You would not consider yourself a good frum jew, yet cut corners and decide you are too addicted to bacon and will “work on it”. Why is destroying your body, the body that was created in hashems own image something that people are allowed to struggle with and make exceptions to? Need I remind people that before any of the 613 mitzvohs were listed in the torah, the very first mention of a bond between man and hashem was that he was made in his image. Is this not the most important of ALL commandments, to protect that vesell, that image that represents the holiness that is hashem?
I know I will get a lot of slack for saying this… you dont know what its like, its an addiction, blah blah blah. Guess what, I am addicted to TV and internet, but come shabbos, I turn it off, because i respect the laws of judiaism. Before i became religous, I was addicted to KFC, Burger King, and even those delicious sandwhiches from WaWa. But guess what , the moment I took it upon myself to keep the halochos all of that stopped.
How can you sit there, examining your esrog with a microscope for 30 minutes because you are so devout and careful, yet go outside and light one up? Sorry, until you quit, I do not view you as a devout jew.
Guess what , I think if you ask any rabbi , he were to tell you that Internet( I happen to have kosher Internet) and tv is just as assur as smoking just one is physical and one is spiritual , so b/4 you change others habits, perfect yours ( it’s a Gemara) . But it’s always good to have those people who critcize , because it makes these blogs exciting( after all don’t blogs start from critisism?!) . Btw I am not a smoker or pro smoker , I happen to have hit smoking after 7 years about two months ago ,; but I just don’t feel you are the one to do the critisism especially that you mentioned that you are a tv/ Internet addict ! But good luck on taking care of that habit
while we’re on the topic of smoking, perhaps those who do choose to smoke be considerate of others who choose NOT to, and refrain from smoking by doorways of stores where people frequently need to pass through your cloud of smoke. You can shift yourself over several feet to smoke and allow us non-smokers to breathe smoke-free healthy air as we go about our day, thank you very much. same goes for crowded public areas, even if its outdoors, please be considerate before lighting up and look around you. If others will risk breathing in your cigarette smoke, go elsewhere to puff.
Furthermore, to parents who smoke, be aware that as you puff away in your car with the windows tightly shut and then pick up your kid and your kid then sits in this smoke saturated zone, well, second hand smoke also kills. and all that smoke had nowhere to circulate and your kid breathes it in. ( I saw this happen once, i couldn’t believe the guy was sitting there filling his car with noxious poisonos gases for about 10 minutes straight and then carefully buckles his kid in the car seat, with the car reeking of cigarettes and smoke.)
Why is TLS obsessed with smoking? Generaly you focus on local issues, when you find an article related to smoking you post it.
I would imagine this is an issue very prevalent to Lakewood. I work in a pharmacy, and I can tell you I can smell a smoker before he walks in through the door, and I have to try and hold my breath while they ask me questions so as not to have second-hand smoke! It’s quite a problem! I feel like offering these people a mint, just because they REEK from all the smoke!
So yeah, please people who smoke, check your breath before you walk into a store, because the people in there don’t appreciate having to breathe in your noxious gases!
first off- TV and internet is far worse than smoking. What’s worse- having a higher CHANCE of lung cancer or definitely corrupting one’s soul and value system with all the trash on TV and internet.
Next, I don’t believe second hand smoke is as bad as advertised. The study from the lung society, or whatever it’s called, can’t be trusted for two reasons- they are vested in this and want to say second hand smoke is bad, and the p-values of the study were too high. For those who are somewhat familiar with stats- for any study to show correlation, the p-value must be lower than 5. I believe the p-value in their study was higher.
And, the studies that I did see, only indicated possible harm for those exposed to second hand smoke for 5 days a week for 20 minutes at a time. So walking by, or even having a quick chat, with someone who is smoking is completely harmless.