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Good subject...There are two different kinds of smoking (and probably more). Most commercial cigarette tobacco is laced with at least 600 additives and goes through a complicated production process. A lot of awful ingredients, including arsenic. Natural tobacco doesn't have these additives. Therefore, smoking natural tobaccos has less, if any, of a deleterious effect. Next is the condition of the smoker. People eating a lot of mucous producing foods get this mucous buildup in the lungs and intestines. The cilia in the lungs cease to function properly and the tars, etc, are not completely discharged. People eating macrobiotically theoretically have functioning lungs and intestines so the stuff is discharged. The effects of smoking may balance something in the macrobiotic lifestyle of which I'm not aware of. I'm pretty sure there that historically, there has never been a culture, until recently, that smoked willy nilly. Native American Indians only did so on special occasions. Personally, I don't feel that smoke is something that I want in my lungs. I've experienced it and don't miss it or even feel like I need it. It does have a narcotic effect and do something to the body function that creates a temporary high. While those that who are macrobiotic who do smoke have their own very good reasons for doing so, I'm not convinced that there are not long term physical consequences on the negative side. Spiritually, I don't know. We each will do what we feel is right until it is determined otherwise. I ask my macrobiotic friends who smoke regularly to stop for awhile and see if there are any changes. Bill |