Food for the smoking soul

Smoking cigarettes is strongly associated with numerous medical disorders, most of which are the top killers in North America. Many of us think that smoking only leads to cancer, which it does. But the evidence also suggests that smoking is largely responsible for the rising rates of heart disease, chronic respiratory disorders and diabetes (Type 1 and 2). These guys kill more poor fat North Americans than lung cancer does; they deal death a little slower and a little more painfully.

Now, considering the Aristotelian ethical tradition which considers good health somewhat of a responsibility and certainly a necessity for happiness, as well as the Christian revelation which reveals that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, what next? What shall we conclude objectively as to the personal moral legitimacy of smoking...

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