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The Bible doesn't mention smoking. But it does say your body is the "temple of God" (1 Corinthians 6:19). We want to be careful with what we put in our body—whether it is nicotine, alcohol or drugs. I don't know anyone who thinks it's smart to smoke.

I don't question the salvation of those Christian adults you know who smoke, but I do question their decision to keep smoking. They are addicted to a drug called nicotine. It is a difficult drug to get off. The addiction is strong and intense. Most if not all of those people you know who smoke would probably tell you they have tried to quit at sometime in their life. They probably also wish they weren't smokers.

Besides the addiction issue, here are a couple of other concerns for me. Right on the cigarette packages it reminds us that smoking is harmful to our health. Cigarette smoking causes lung cancer, greater heart attack risks and a bunch of other deadly health problems.

Not only that, but nicotine can lead to addictions with other health risks. According to a former White House drug expert, teenagers who smoke are twice as likely to use alcohol, 10 times as likely to use marijuana, and 14 times as likely to use cocaine and heroin than non-smokers. In fact, researcher Dr. John Q. Baucom found that 81 percent of teenagers addicted to nicotine will try marijuana. Of young adults who do not smoke, only 21 percent will ever even experiment once with marijuana. For this reason alone, I vote for not smoking.

All evidence tells us that smoking is harmful in so many ways. True, the Bible doesn't say, "Thou shalt not smoke" but it doesn't need to. There are areas where God gives us guidelines and trusts us to decide for ourselves what is best for us. We know we're not supposed to harm our bodies because they are not our own. And we understand plenty about the harmful effects of smoking. Those two facts help us make the decision not to smoke. And remember: Smoking, drinking and drugs aren't the only ways to harm our bodies. Habits like overeating or chronic dieting, failing to exercise and frequently eating unhealthy foods can also damage our bodies.

Due to the volume of mail, Jim cannot answer every letter.

Copyright © 2004 by the author or Christianity Today International/Campus Life magazine.
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