Why is it that with such a shidduch crisis going on, the girls are so against if the boy smokes? Now, before everyone goes ballistic on me, I amnot suggesting the girl marries a smoker; but rather agree to go out, and trust me, if you get to date #5, and the boy is interested, he will probably quit. Most yeshiva boys only need that motivation to drop it.
Any ideas?
You really ARE an idealist! Smoke stinks. It stinks up the smoker, the people around the smoker, their clothing, stains their teeth and nails, costs a fortune (it would be healthier to simply set fire to a wad of money), and I won’t even discuss the health issue, because anyone in this day and age who still smokes or plans to start, is really unintelligent. I don’t care how many rebbeim do it. Every single one of them is a chotei and machti for putting their own health at risk and encouraging others to follow their example.
That aside, the urge and addiction to smoke is so powerful that to believe someone would quit just like that because he likes a girl he has met, is really naive. Someone who is a real smoker could have lung cancer chalilah, with a tracheostomy tube in his throat, and he will continue to puff away until he can no longer hold the cigarette. Do not be fooled into thinking this is as easy as you claim. Quitting smoking is harder than any other bad habit, because the addiction to nicotine is one of the strongest in the world. Cigarettes should not even be legal IMO, any more than marijuana is, but the tobacco lobby is a powerful one as well.
I broke up with a guy to whom I was close to getting engaged, and we knew each other for a long time before dating, and actually dated for about three months. He was a smoker, and I kept telling myself he would quit for me. He didn’t, he wouldn’t and I turned him down. Thank G-d for that, because he died at age 40 of a sudden massive coronary, after finally quitting a few months before. The damage he had already done to his heart, was irreversible. So he left a widow and two small boys, and for WHAT?????? For a stupid leaf wrapped in paper!!!!!!!
Sorry if I am really passionate about this issue. I also lost a beloved uncle to emphysema, brought on by his lifelong smoking. His end was not a pretty one. He suffered greatly, and that is something the tobacco companies will NOT tell you. Most girls do not want to be widowed at an early age, or have their kids suffer from upper respiratory problems because “Daddy has to have a cigarette.” So I would tend to think that most girls will NOT want to go on that first date with a smoker, if they are smart.