Why ban smoking?

by SusanHere 5 Replies latest jw friends

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  SusanHere

  I have a question ... Why ban smoking, but not drinking? If there is a religious reason to ban the one, why not both? Which is more harmful to society in general, alcohol abuse or tobacco use? Which is more harmful to the family? To the individual? If the Society is not receiving "revelation" in this day and age, where did the fairly recent ban on smoking come from?

  Is there a logic to the reasoning behind it? Please help. I have JW family this is affecting and I want to be as supportive to their struggles as I can, but to me this makes zero sense.

  Susan
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  NameWithheld

  You are right Susan, and you point out the very problem with trying to police people's action as to what they do with their bodies. Yes, drinking can and often does tend to cause far worse social and family problems than smoking. But the PC police have decided to go after smoking. Recall drinking used to be baned in the USA.

  As to why the JWs don't ban drinking, it's because they're all alcholics and if they did that their membership would dry up to about 73 people.
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  DazedAndConfused

  There is no way they could ban drinking......after all, didn't Jesus himself make wine out of water for a wedding feast?
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  ThiChi

  Frist thing I did when I DA myself was light up a cuban cigar! Sooo good!!!

  “We all fell down from the milky way, hanging around here for the judgement day, heaven only knows who’s in command.”- Jimmy Buffet
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  AlanF

  I have no doubt that if the Bible did not specifically allow for drinking, the Society would have banned it along with smoking. But remember your WTS history: Rutherford was a heavy drinker and smoked cigars on occasion. He trained his successor Nathan Knorr in the art of drinking, but apparenly not smoking. Given that Knorr and so many WTS leaders were drinkers but not smokers, they could justify this double standard in their own minds.

  AlanF
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  Englishman

  Susan,

  Aside from the WTBTS pronouncements, some people are fine with moderate alcohol use. Providing it's moderate no harm is done, in fact red wine is actually beneficial.

  Although I agree that an alcoholic person wreaks havoc upon friends and family, many social drinkers have no problems at all with alcohol.

  Smoking though is another matter, over 60% of smokers will be killed by their habit. You can't be a moderate smoker, it's known that smokers who cut down just inhale much more to compensate.

  Englishman.

  Bring on the dancing girls!