dbrim: “The effects of smoking are small cumulative effects, meaning that it’s not “this one cigarette” that results in addiction or that causes lung disease.
Smoking on occassion doesn’t guarantee an addiction but on the other hand it’s difficult to pinpoint, and very ideosyncratic, the exact timing of onset of addiction or lung disease. There are poskim who poskin assur; other poskim don’t (the “minhug” of Chosson cigarettes is still going strong). My point of contention is the OTD labeling.
Unfortunately, many of us have done aveiros, and sometimes even habitually: lashon hara, shmiras einayim, being lax in betching, brachos or hilchos boreir, not properly declaring taxes, and on and on – that doesn’t make us OTD – it means we have a weakness that needs tikun. Unfortunately there are sufficient real OTDers out there, that we don’t want to broaden the parameters of OTD and create self-fulfilling prophecies.”
Shkoyach for getting to the heart of the matter! It’s Elul now, and we should be working on being dan l’kaf zchus EVERYONE including those who are OTD, those who smoke, and those who watch movies!! Being dan l’kaf zchus is probably more important than any of these other things, and most likely to bring Moshiach!