@squating_bear
Question for you. Is smoking cigarettes Haram? It’s going to be a long one because I want to explain WHY i’m asking this question
Nicotine does have mind altering properties and is incredibly addictive for many. It’s classified as a stimulant and although the effect is short lived the sensation imparted from nicotine is much, much stronger than say… coffee
Rather regular smokers get used to the sensation and build a tolerance like any drug. There’s an Arabian style of tobacco called “Dohka”. I’ve tried this and it absolutely floored me. Literally, I lost my balance and fell
Dokha actually means diziness/vertigo in Arabic… therefore the idea of it having no effect is erroneous
Cigarettes aren’t as bad as alcohol/most drugs in terms of the aberrant behaviour you see when people are drunk or on drugs
But from a pharmacological perspective the way it releases dopamine and acts on reward centres in the brain is EXACTLY the same as most addictive recreational drugs. In medical literature nicotine is often described as an intoxicant
Cigarettes induce DeltaFosB overexpression which occurs with just about any addictive substance… or behaviours/activities (think gambling, watching pornography etc). Once levels of deltafosb are consistently elevated for long enough a series of events are triggered that eventually alters brain chemistry/morphology and produces an addictive state defined as compulsively seeking out the same rewarding stimuli.
Cigarettes in terms of the rate of addiction are extremely addictive. Depending on what surgey you look at between 35-45% of people who smoke become addicted… so anyone who has EVER smoked, that’s the proportion who became addicted
Meaning if you are eighteen and pick up a cigarette there is a 35-45% chance at some point you will become a daily smoker who needs to compulsively use… even 1-2 per day is a habit if you crave it when you try to quit. Rate of addiction is even higher if you start younger
There is not a single substance out there with such a disturbingly high addiction level.
Heroin and methanphetamine are likely the most addictive. For heroin the addiction rate is 25-30% of lifetime users and around 30% for methamphetamine
Obviously if everyone only tried addictive substances once and once only the addiction rate for everything would be 0%
So if nicotine is this addictive AND it IS psychoactive (there is no debate about this… pharmacologically speaking it’s defined as a stimulant and imparts a short lived intoxicating effect)
How is it Halal? Look at the smoking rates in muslim countries. Some countries push 40% and have well over 50% of the male population addicted to cigarettes.
My country has the most expensive cigarette prices in the world (with Gaza being more expensive at 30$ per cigarette currently)
We are about 60$ for a pack of 20 now and it increases every year (but now we have such a big black market over 35% of tobacco purchases are estimated to involve under the counter imports)
I believe there’s even a quote in the Qaran that says something along the lines of “don’t throw yourself into destruction”
With the context being “don’t deliberately destroy your body”
Smoking is the number one preventable cause of heart disease, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease… everyone gets caught up with lung cancer when only 11% of smokers actually get lung cancer compared to 0.1% of non smokers
But smoking increases risk of developing heart disesse four fold. A pack a day smoker is six to eight times more likely to have a stroke or blood clot.
In Australia smoking rates haven’t budged in over a decade… but rates are low at 12% or so. However in the muslim communities the rates are closer to 40%
I was of the belief part of Islam included maintaining a good bill of health… preserve the body you’ve been gifted so it can be returned in adequate condition or am I getting my religions confused?
I get the feeling these communities are being taken advantage of just as secular communities were taken advantage of by tobacco companies all the way up until the 1980s.
It appears muslim countries have become a target… and some of these countries now have the equivalent of the marlboro man campaigns the western world had in the 60s and 70s.
So why is the muslim world embracing and accepting tobacco like this?
Another question
I have a few muslim friends… all from the same community. They are from a tightly knit islamic community about an hours drive from where I am.
These friends of mine talk a great deal about being devoted to the concepts of Islam… although they’ve come to my brothers place for joint Shabbas dinners.
Ok so they all smoke cigarettes… won’t dare touch alcohol understandably because it’s Haram
But they turn a blind eye to things like cannabis
The one won’t drink but has done cocaine and tells the most outrageous stories in terms of his exploits… he has been to a strip club…
I understand we have jews who don’t eat kosher and all christians sin (no one is born without sin). Is the concept the same (no one is perfect, repent for your sins, but it’s not the end of the world etc).
How can you look me in the eye, call yourself a dedicated follower adherent to the principles of Islam and at the same time tell me you smoke grass and use harder stuff on occasion… but you don’t drink so it’s ok?
To my knowledge Islamic law explicitly forbids all forms of intoxicants and heavily discourages destroying the body you are gifted.
But they aren’t the only muslim young adults I’ve met who will never touch alcohol yet find odd loopholes to justify doing things that are sometimes even worse than drinking.
In Iran cannabis is strictly illegal just like alcohol BUT the law is unenforced and it’s use is very widespread amongst teenagers just like it is in the Western world but perhaps even more prevalent
Even in Saudi Arabia hashish is not uncommon amongst teenagers. Morocco is notorious for hashish and for the longest time a good portion of the worlds hash came from Morocco. I’ve been to Morocco and confirm the stuff grows wild… everywhere… depending on where you go.
How can these muslim countries that are often extremely strict when it comes to minor offences ignore pot? Actually Lebannon is involved in serious drug trafficking… and Afghanistan for the longest time supplied the world with almost 94% of ALL naturally produced opiates for the illicit market.
I’d understand if they were growing medicine e.g. opium for hospitals and pharmacies but no… it all went to the black market
This is the antithesis of Islamic values no?
I’m not asking this because I like drugs… I’m asking because it’s a repeated trend i’ve noticed and in theory none of this should fly given Islamic communities tend to be more dedicated to the princioles of their religion relative to western jewish or christian communities
Is there some sort of loophole i’m missing
I know there was a vigorous theological back and fourth between Islamic scholars when coffee became popular
Caffine is the most widely consumed mind altering substance. The conclusion was caffiene was a stimulant and didn’t impair reasoning hence it was ok
And that makes me wonder if the same logic is applied to stimulants like Khat in yemen
Yemen is so addicted to Khat (which is considered a recreational drug in line with amphetamine in terms of safety/toxicity profile) they use HALF of the nations yearly supply of agricultural water on growing Khat
Yemen has a crisis… a humanitarian catastrophe involving shortages of food and water
They could use that water to grow food to feed kids… water to drink… not grow recreational drugs…
I actually don’t understand it because the majority of muslims in these countries and even my friends ARE strict (like prey 5x daily, go to mosques, eat halal)
But then there’s this? Smoking has to be haram… give me a good arguement as to why running straight into preventable cancer, heart disease and blood clots just to feel calmer/more relaxed (further proving cigarettes do alter the state of mind).
