I wouldn´t call those who do being wise (or call them unlogical, insane whatever) when they still do it while seeing this warning everywhere.

Many later admit that they were indeed dumb doing it.

Observation from an expat.

Coming from the UK where the weather is a lot colder, I used to laugh at how Turks thought if they went out in the cold they would get ill.

Now I definitely laugh at those who sit OUTSIDE in the cafes so that they can smoke. Smoking is proved medically to make you ill. The very people who are afraid to stand outside in the cold because they may get flu are very happy to go outside to smoke ... running even bigger risks!

I would like to reply to Scalpel here. It has nothing to do with smoking. I bet acute will withdraw his "liked my comment" after reading this. He should. He didnt know my thoughts. I do not judge people by what they smoke, eat or drink.

Scalpel, darlink, the only reason I dislike those "wise" men is that some of them are connected to Masons. Oscar Wilde was really wild, he was a satan worshipper.

Freud had a distructive influence on the society bringing chaos into it. He thought he was wise he could learn and read the people´s minds, thus becoming a god in his own eyes.

All these men are heading to hell. For they fooled many and misled. 

Lemon, darling, as the thread locked, acute has no chance of withdrawing her/his comment.. but I think s/he wouldn´t do that as s/he must still be thinking the same way as you do in disliking those people.. It was nice to see how "fraternity of smoke" could make old enemies become good friends  

Don´t you like this one also? (please, say you like!)

I like this lonesome cowboy, Lucky Luke (Red Kit)

His creator let him quit smoking in 1983. Here is the reason: "The reason why I took away Luke´s cigarette, is the fact that children usually have a tendency to imitate the heroes whose adventures they read."

This sounds good, but why didn´t he take away his pistol as well?

Aren´t fire arms more deadly than tobacco? 

Another question:

Aren´t religions more deadly than tobacco?

I cant believe my own eyes you scalpel wrote such things to  me.  

acute whatever gender, can still change his like/dislike option.

I have friends who smoke, and I dont hate them. Apologize me now. 

and for goodness sake dont serve me with cowboyish stuff  or  whatever supermen or hero things. 

I am enjoying reading 1 and 2 Samuel about David. About how he was merciful to Saul, how he respected his king although had good reasons to kill him. amazing stories. recommend!

I just found this:

Have you thought of the elders of Israel after Moses, and how they said to their apostle: "Set up a king for us, then we shall fight in the way of God?" He replied: "This too is possible that when commanded to fight you may not fight at all." They said: "How is it we should not fight in the way of God when we have been driven from our homes and deprived of our Sons?" But when they were ordered to fight they turned away, except for a few; yet God knows the sinners.

—Qur´an, sura 2 (Al-Baqara), ayah 246

And when their prophet said to them: "God has raised Saul king over you," they said: "How can he be king over us when we have greater right to kingship than he, for he does not even possess abundant wealth?" "God has chosen him in preference to you," said the prophet "and gifted him abundantly in wisdom and stature; and God gives authority to whomsoever He will: God is infinite and all-wise."
Their prophet said to them: "The sign of his kingship will be that you will come to have a chest (tabu´t) full of peace and tranquility (Sakina) from your Lord and remainder of the legacy of the children of Moses and the children of Aaron, carried over by the angels. In this certainly shall be a sign for you if you really believe."

—Qur´an, sura 2 (Al-Baqara), ayah 247–248

Things like this remind me of Leonard Cohen and his song :

Maybe there’s a God above
But all I’ve ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
It’s not a cry you can hear at night
It’s not somebody who has seen the light
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
....
There´s a blaze of light in every word
It doesn´t matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah

Whoever your list may include! That doesn´t change the fact that they all do a dumb act!

Who can count the victims of religions, those who still live and those who have lost their lives?

But there is also the other side of it. Religions bring good things to people’s lives as well. They encourage to high moral, honesty, brotherhood, sobriety and mercy against the weak. These are things that we can’t read about in the news but they exist.

Egypt is a very religious country. I mean people are truly religious. Of course in an environment like this hippocracy blossoms also but my experience is most people are sincere in their beliefs. As a European it is a new experience for me.

When the results of Egyptian elections were reported in Finnish news the victory of Muslim Brotherhood and the salafists was explained mainly as the result of poverty and illiteracy. In my opinion this is only part of the truth and maybe not even the most important part of it.

I will tell you an example. Public schools are a problem in Egypt. Teachers are badly paid, they don’t take care of their duties as they should. They may leave the classroom and children on their own if it is hot and the air conditioning doesn’t work. Classes are huge. Physical punishment is forbidden but usual. It is an endless list of problems. Ok, many of them could be solved with better money and resources but people also have a lot to improve in their attitudes. Anyone who can afford it puts his children to a private school.

My 5-year old son goes to a private religious madrasa. It was close to home and there was a place for him. The madrasa is in an ordinary apartment. There are more than a hundred pupils in four rooms, no playground or yard, just a tiny balcony. But the people who work there are something else. They are all veiled women wearing black. They show affection against children, they don’t hit them or even threaten them. One lady is taking care of thirty 5-year-olds in one room. They don’t play, they study: recite the Qur’an, learn Arabic, English and maths sitting on their small chairs shoulder to shoulder. And they enjoy it. They admire the teacher and tell about her at home. They learn: my child didn’t know even Arabic letters when he came and now he can read. He can count ultil thirty and compare numbers. He recites big parts of Qur’an by heart. It is a kindergarten which makes amazing results for 80 Egyptian pounds (10 euros) a month per a child.

The teachers, these believing women, do their work in conditions which no kindergartner would accept in my country. They do it with their heart, hoping for a reward from Allah. My point is, if the candidates of Muslim Brotherhood and salafists were half this dedicated, disciplined and philanthropic one doesn’t have to be illiterate to vote for them. In Egyptian society believers often represent such personal qualities which every common man and woman would like to bring into his own life. This is the good fruit of religion. 

The fact of the matter is most of the persons shown and listed were smoking long before the health hazards were even known about.

I mentioned before how much smoking was promoted in the past. There were even doctors endorsing it. Many became habituated to smoking during this time. I smoked and did enjoy it. I found the social pressures and actual quality/taste of the product changed

Smokers have become the new socialy acceptable scapegoat. Look here how much vitriolic abuse has been heaped on smokers. 

The reality of the situation is American Indians smoked, without the addiction and harmful effects highly adulterated commercial products cause. So many other additives are added to the tobacco that it´s difficult to see what causes what. In fact the American Indians didn´t smoke only tobacco, they added other herbs to the mixture that countered the negative effects of tobacco.

I do feel that words can also cause harmful results as well. Telling a person you will get sick is like putting a curse on them. It sets in the power of suggestion. Instead one would better say you may get sick.

I personally find all the sanctamonious self rightous criticism of smokers highly offensive.

While I´m glad I stopped smoking, I must admit I enjoyed it a great deal for many years as did many others. Billions of humans were born, to grew up and lived full lives during that time.

I suspect all this is actually more of a diversionary tactic to take our eyes off of other issues.  If you really care about the health of the enviornment, what about using some of that energy working against the chemicals spewing out of the exhaust pipes, from smokestacks, factories, radioactive fallout from nuclear products, unhealthy food additives and the list goes on? The fact is, it´s easier to go after smokers. When I still smoked I was amazed at the vitriol leveled against me when I was quietly having a smoke.

You know they are even trying to make it illegal to use our fireplaces now.

Religion is not something we can judge, restrict or even question. Even in secular regimes, religion is sponsored by governments this way or another. Let alone questioning the belief of the masses, even a minute criticism directed at the religious belief of a minority group causes tension and this tension sometimes turns into hatred in the long run.

There are a number of assumptions, although we are born naked, it is inconceivable that we go naked in the streets. Targeting a religious group is comparable to the previous act in terms of the shock it causes.

As for the main question: is religion deadlier than smoking? I would say no, we live the lives of humans and die the deaths of humans. Religion is a part of our societies and therefore it is an essential part of our personalities. It is not one religion written in a certain holy book I am talking about, instead, myriad of ancient religions still manifest themselves in our languages and folklore, in other words, it is one of the main ingredients of our cultural foundation.

One would conclude, smoking can be avoided, it was not a part of our lives until a couple of centuries ago. Smoking habit has gradually become rampant and it has turned into an oddity where the number of smokers constitue a sizeable portion of entire population. This is a new experience. We can predict an enourmous increase in the number of smoking related ailments. Will scientist come up with a cure? I think it is very unlikely. As a results, millions of people will have to die of lung, bladder or similar cancer types directly linked to smoking habit.