The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
The author reviews rabbinic decisions about smoking from a historical perspective along with the positions of the medical community. The author then brings the current, though limited, rabbinic considerations about vaping given the current state of science, as well as possible discussions for the future, as more becomes known about the safety and health risks associated with vaping.
Today a great deal is known about the harms of smoking and tobacco use. In the United States, the main cause of preventable disease, disability, and death is the use of tobacco. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “as of 2017, about 34 million US adults smoke cigarettes. Every day, about 2,000 young people under age 18 smoke their first cigarette, and more than 300 become daily cigarette smokers. Over 16 million people live with at least one disease caused by smoking, and 58 million nonsmoking Americans are exposed to secondhand smoke.”
However, the harms of tobacco use, particularly smoking, were not always known to the public. According to the American Cancer Society:
(I). It wasn’t even until cigarettes were mass produced and popularized by manufacturers in the first part of the 20th century that there was cause for alarm. Prior to the 1900s, lung cancer was a rare disease. Turn-of-the-century changes though, gave way to an era of rapidly increasing lung cancer rates. New technology allowed cigarettes to be produced on a large scale, and advertising glamorized smoking. The military got in on it too – giving cigarettes out for free to soldiers during World Wars I and II. Cigarette smoking increased rapidly through the 1950s, becoming much more widespread. Per capita cigarette consumption soared from 54 per year in 1900, to 4,345 per year in 1963. And, lung cancer went from rarity to more commonplace – by the early 1950s it became “the most common cancer diagnosed in American men.
Further, it was not until the late 1950s and into the early 1960s, after the completion of large scale studies, that the connection between smoking and cancer became widely accepted. While this change in scientific knowledge profoundly affected medicine and public health, it has also affected the rulings on the part of rabbinic decision makers regarding the religious permissibility or impermissibility of smoking or using tobacco products.
Rabbinic decision makers base rulings or decisions on
This article reviews the
The Torah includes some broad, but important, statements about prevention and health. The Torah instructs Jews to “Guard your life exceedingly,”and to, “take care of yourself and guard your life exceedingly.”
In the Talmud it also states, and was later codified, that " Let a person never stand in a dangerous place, and say to himself that (the Heavenly minions) will perform a miracle for him and save him from harm for perhaps they will not perform a miracle for him, and even if they do perform a miracle for him, they deduct it from his merits”
To understand the application of
Well before these widespread medical reports, some European Jews believed that smoking aided in digestion and was either a benign or helpful habit.
The European Rabbi, the Chofetz Chaim, wrote in the first part of the 20th century that ill or weak persons, even if addicted, were forbidden to smoke. This was consistent with medical conclusions of that time.
As the harms of smoking became more widely known,
Regardless, rabbinic authorities will not establish a new decree if they believe that most of the community is unable to abide by it. This is related to the idea that the practice is so widespread. On the other hand, some have suggested that declaring smoking prohibited may not be a new decree as it falls under the existing decree to guard oneself or one’s life.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, being trained in engineering sciences, took a related yet different approach. He posited that although cigarettes are dangerous, one day technological advances may allow cigarettes to be manufactured with less risk to health. Thus, making a specific mandate might not be necessary. However, in their current form, he said, they are forbidden under the broader Torah mandates discussed above.
Even in earlier years when smoking was not
Today many rabbis now declare smoking is prohibited.
Accordingly, this analysis must lead to the unambiguous conclusion that smoking is clearly and unquestionably forbidden by (halacha) and that this should be made known to all who care about the (Torah) and their health. A final note is in order: People who smoke are not (G-d forbid) doing so in an attempt to flout (halacha). In fact, most would dearly wish to quit, but shedding an addiction is no simple matter. While it is important to make clear that (halacha) prohibits smoking, it is also important not to condemn those who struggle with this issue. Rather we must offer our full help and support to aid them in their quest for physical and spiritual health.
E-cigarettes contain nicotine as well as flavoring and other substances. E-cigarettes are electronic and produce an aerosol or vapor from heated liquid. According to the CDC, “E-cigarettes have the potential to benefit adult smokers who are not pregnant if used as a complete substitute for regular cigarettes and other smoked tobacco products.” However, they are not safe “for you, young adults, pregnant women, or adults who do not currently use tobacco products.” The CDC does note that there is still much to learn about the effectiveness of e-cigarettes for smoking cessation and about long-term health effects.
Much of the health concerns for youth have centered around the potential of nicotine harming the developing adolescent brain, including the parts of the brain that control attention, learning, impulse control and mood. Use of e-cigarettes may also lead to future addiction. Even for adults, “some of the ingredients in e-cigarette aerosol could also be harmful to the lungs in the long-term. For example, some e-cigarette flavorings may be safe to eat but not to inhale because the gut can process more substances than the lungs.” There have also been reports, though rare, of e-cigarette batteries causing explosions and injury, as well some poisoning from ingesting the liquid or absorbing it through the skin and eyes.
More recently there have been outbreaks of lung illness associated with flavored e-cigarette usage, and the investigation is ongoing. As of December 27, 2019, the CDC has identified 2,561 hospitalized cases of e-cigarette or vaping use associated with lung injury in the United States and 55 deaths have been confirmed.
As the risks still have not been shown in large studies, most of the
Normally one would need to eat or drink something for it to need a kosher symbol. This is why one can be injected with a vaccine containing non-kosher products since it is not being ingested. In the case of E-cigarettes one is inhaling a vapor not drinking the liquid. However, there were early
Based on everything we have seen, it seems that there may be some considerations that could lead one to be stringent only as a stringency (i.e. require a kosher symbol). However, the basic ruling should be that it is permitted (no kosher symbol required). It seems that some Kashrus organizations today in the U.S. adopt the lenient approach, while others, such as the Chicago Rabbinical Council (C.R.C.), do require certification.
Less has been discussed by rabbis about safety at this date. At least one rabbi, Rav Yosef Greenwald acknowledges that E-cigarettes may be useful and permitted for someone trying to quit smoking, but also notes they may contain some dangerous elements and concludes that one is not allowed to start vaping given the obligation to take care of one’s health.