Comment by sershe

I don't think in terms of forgiveness, there's nothing to forgive for. I've greatly enjoyed smoking, being well aware of its ill effects. After some time I have reevaluated and decided the benefits (that I still miss) are not worth the costs for me.

1) The important part is FOR ME. Back to my original comment, some doctors claim you need 5 hours of cardio a week for optimal heart health and some papers even claim prolonged sitting is harmful regardless of exercise. Woe the furniture maker that sold you a chair to sit upon while commenting, they are harming society by destroying your health! You could also think of coffee, beer, meat, sun exposure, gasoline, cycling accidents, extreme sports; or million things known only to the state of California to cause cancer.

Sure, smoking is a lot more harmful than most things, but why is it that you get to decide which tradeoff is reasonable and which isn't?

So,

2) While I was smoking I was engaging in voluntary transactions with tobacco companies.

While tobacco companies are not angels, and do a lot of shitty things tangential to their main function, like most organizations, I am grateful they provided me with cheap, good quality, varied cigarettes back when I wanted them. That itself is in no way evil.

Deciding for others with moral indignation how they should live though, is.