Sikhism and smoking
Smoking and drug taking is banned in Sikhism and using tobacco is listed in the Sikh Rehit Maryada (Code of Conduct ) as one of the four transgression (Kurahits). The Sikh Rehit Maryada was drafted by an expert committee of eminent Sikh scholars. Many western friends of mine are surprised that Sikhism explicitly forbids the use of tobacco and this may be because there is no prohibition of tobacco use in other religions. Though tobacco's use is considered haram and disdained by the strick Muslim fundamentalists (Wahabis) of Sa'udi Arabia.
Tobacco first used for smoking around 100 B.C. by native Americans tribes and the Europeans first came into contact with it when Columbus discovered America. During the nest two centuries tobacco use was spread by the Europeans across the entire known world. It is interesting to note that tobacco was paid to the English clergy as wages right upto the 1750's. Tobacco was introduced by the Portuguese into India during the 17th century. It was traded through the Portuguese trading post on the west coast of India. During the time of Guru Gobind Singh tobacco use had become common by the Mughal nobles.
It may appear strange to people of other religions as to why Sikhism has such a anti-smoking stance, the reason for this has fortunately been recorded by Sikh writers of the time of the 10th Guru. According to their many accounts, Guru Gobind Singh was once riding with his Sikhs when he suddenly stopped his horse, dismounted and proceeded to unroot a wild tobacco plant. The Sikhs asked why the Guru had stopped to do this. The Guru replied, that while alcohol was avoided because it destroyed a generation, that tabacco's use could destroy several. The Guru then forbade his Sikhs to ever use tobacco.
Early Europeans who came across the Sikhs in the 1780's were perplexed as to why tobacco was forbidden for the Sikhs as tobacco was being widely used by both the British and the non Sikh Indians of the time. Of all the Peoples and their religions of the many nations that the Europeans came into contact with the Sikh religion was the only one which had a religious injunction against any use of tobacco. An injunction which every Sikh held sacred.
Until the 1950's smoking was encouraged by governments as the taxes they levied on its sell were a ready source of government income. It had recently been found that quitting the use of tobbaco, whether by smoking or chewing is extremely difficult as it ranks with Heroin in its addictiveness. Only in 1950 when Morton Levin published his study into the connection between lung cancer and smoking did any governments take notice. according to the World Health Organization report of 1995 worldwide lung cancer is the biggest single cause of cancer deaths in men. Smoking causes approximately 3 million deaths worldwide and if current trends persist it will kill 10 million a year from 2020. Smoking causes about 20.5% of all deaths in developed countries. These are frightening statistics but the biggest tragedy is that smoking is the single largest preventable factor in premature death, disability and disease. These effects of smoking are not limited to the smokers themselves but to those around them. Family, friends and even complete strangers in the smoker's vacinity suffer. Smoking while pregnant has been linked to sudden infant death syndrome (cot death), bronchitis, pneumonia and higher risk of miscarriage (The Guru had said that tobacco would destroy several generations)
Apart from its effects on health , smoking also takes a large chunk out of family budgets, sometimes as much as 20%, if both parents smoke. Smoking is increasing in developing countries, where cigarettes are even sold individually, amongst people who can ill afford the habit. There are roughly 1.1 billion smokers worldwide about 17% of the total population and about 6000 billion cigarettes are smoked every year. According to some estimates about 300 million is spent on the habit worldwide with about 100 billion being spent in the developing countries. This sheer wastage is borne by families who live in slum quarters unable to better themselves due to the drain on their resources caused by smoking.
The Sikhs have escaped from the effects of the tabacco plant and the evil effects that its use and its associated addiction have produced around the world, the source of so much misery. Today Sikhs can marvel at the foresight of Guru Gobind Singh who by instructing his Sikhs to, not just keep it at arms length but, abstain from any use of it has saved generations upon generations from its curse.
Such foresight is indeed befitting a great prophet of Waheguru.
Also see Smoking
