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If someone smokes only once a year, on Purim, is one allowed to do so? To be detailed, this is an adult over the age of 20, a young working professional, and will not get addicted to the one cigar.

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    1 is all you need to get hooked
    – sam
    Mar 24, 2016 at 5:15
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    Doesn't that adult have better things to do with his time?
    – Double AA
    Mar 24, 2016 at 5:48
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    @DoubleAA and his life? Mar 24, 2016 at 5:53
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    Ask a MD if there is a risk with exposure of 1 Cigare/year. (joking aside)
    – kouty
    Mar 24, 2016 at 8:35
  • My doctor told me that if I smoke once a year, on Purim, then זייט געזונט
    – Chaim
    Jul 27, 2016 at 0:51

1 Answer 1

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I assume you are asking about the health risk that smoking causes.

In general, and as documented here on MY, regular smoking is forbidden.

However smoking once a year is a different story as it is like many other low-risk activities that one engages in, e.g., driving for recreational purposes or some more dangerous sports. As I documented at length here, many low-risk activities are permitted, e.g.,

  • based on what society considers reasonable (R Moshe Tendler)
  • when danger is minimal and disaster rarely occurs (R Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky)

As always CYLOR for specific cases.

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    +1 for researched answer. However, a large caveat. IMO, is that I think its a horrible idea to smoke in clear presence of young children whether they are your own or others. Many years ago, while delivering mishloach manot in my neighborhood, a van of "evyonim collectors" stopped on the street. The majority of the men were smoking while young kids were delivering their packages. It's a tasteless example to do this publicly in the presence of parents who try to teach their kids not to smoke.
    – DanF
    Mar 24, 2016 at 15:10
  • @DanF for what it is worth I fully agree that smoking is a terrible idea. So is drinking beyond the very reasonable
    – mbloch
    Mar 24, 2016 at 15:11
  • @DanF I wonder how considerations like those configure themselves into Halacha, if at all.
    – Chaim
    Jul 27, 2016 at 0:54

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