The Use of Tobacco 103
God , blessed be He, created the world in Kindness, to do good to His creatures.” In other words, he says to neglect one’s health would be a denial of God ’s merciful intention to us.
Therefore, if, for example, a man has had a heart attack or has some lung infection or some other bodily ailment, because of which his physician orders him to stop smoking, it is not ordinary caution for this man to obey his physician, but it may be considered a mandate of Jewish law that he should do so.
As for other people who smoke, whether Jewish law would have them give up the habit would depend upon the degree of conviction that the medical profession has come to with regard to it. If ever the medical profession definitely agrees that the use of tobacco is of danger to every human being, then, of course, it could well be argued that Jewish law, which commands selfpreservation, would prohibit its use. Until such time, we can only say that those for whom it is surely harmful would be carrying out, not only the recommendation of their doctor, but the mandate of Jewish law if they give up their use of tobacco.