Islamic ruling on smoking

Abstract

Smoking is, perhaps, one of the most important threats to individual and community health, it is no secret that more than 4 million people die in the world each year from smoking-related diseases, including lung cancer, chronic bronchitis. pulmonary emphysema, coronary heart disease and cancer of the bladder. To date not a single benefit of smoking has been identified. One of the worst forms of smoking is that known as passive smoking and which refers to the involuntary inhalation by nonsmokers of other people's cigarette smoke, whether in the office, on public transport or in the home, Religion has a strong influence in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Many of the principles of Islam call upon people to look after their health, to avoid health hazards and risks and to raise their standards of hygiene. The Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office of the World Health Organization sought the opinions of a number of eminent Muslim scholars with regard to the Islamic ruling on smok-ing. We gratefully acknowledge the thorough and detailed replies received from these distinguished scholars, The general consensus concerning the Islamic ruling was that smoking is either completely prohibited or abhorrent to such a degree as to be prohibited