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What about...cigarettes...?

2K views 34 replies 22 participants last post by  36166 
#1 ·
I don't really smoke unless its a social event and I'm surrounded by it. I *may* smoke 1-3 a weekend. So, my question is, I know that there are any number of gross things in cigarettes, including dead bugs. Dead bugs = not vegan. But what else is there and how does everyone feel about smoking cigarettes?

Being kind to others brings the most meaningful and lasting type of joy. - anonymous
 
#3 ·
I don't smoke, but I don't really see the point in not smoking simply because of dead bugs. Bugs infest plenty of other products too. It's gross to think about, but it's just a fact of life unfortunately.
 
#4 ·
Cigarette companies (such as Phillip Morris and RJ Reynolds, who own a majority of the cigarette brands in the U.S.) conduct animal experimentation.

So there's that.
 
#7 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElaineV View Post

You might find some good responses in previous threads on the same issue.
You're right, I should have looked before posting another thread...I always forget that. :/
Any reason to avoid the cancer sticks is a good reason for me. Especially if it is an animal welfare reason (said animal probably being me! Lol)
 
#13 ·
OK, well, that's enough for me. I almost always regret it anyway, so why do it anymore? I won't.
But I think my original question was, is it vegan to smoke in general? Whether your primary reason for veganism is for the environment (air pollution), human health (creating second hand smoke for other people to unintentionally inhale), or animal rights/welfare (animal testing), you're met on all sides by factors that make it not vegan. I guess I've answered my own question, and I think its a worthy discussion.
I hope I'm not offending any smokers on VB. I know it can be difficult to quit.
 
#16 ·
Tobacco is not reliably vegan.
Obviously the starting material is and nearly all of the additives are either plant derived or synthetic plant chemicals, but also allowed are things like butter, chemically modified butter fractions, chemically modified milk byproducts, honey, and one can only guess whats allowed to be put in in second and third world countries (I would expect small amounts of fish byproducts since I remember the flavor profile of chinese tobacco quite well).
It does contain some products originally derived from animals but produced synthetically for use in tobacco, sort of imitation animal bits like those imitation meat patties. Such things include skatole, originally found in feces but now made from oil, to give tobacco that nice aromatic faint fecal smell. Another is the drug adjuvant urea, originally derived from human urine it is industrially produced from oil byproducts and serves to produce a more abrupt and short lived buzz from the nicotine (as well as being a major carbon monoxide source).

Clearly growing your own and choosing your own flavorings to add during and after the flavor curing phase could provide pure vegan tobacco but in my experience, with a yield of 'only' one carton of cigarettes per plant, people generally just arent willing to bother.
 
#19 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlainWinthrope View Post

American Spirit is natural and not tested on animals. Loose tobacco might meet some of the same specifications and is usually cheaper.
Yet it still contributes to an increased risk ofcancer, heart disease, lung disease, blindness, impotence and circulatory dysfunction.
 
#21 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlainWinthrope View Post

American Spirit is natural and not tested on animals. Loose tobacco might meet some of the same specifications and is usually cheaper.
That's what I used to smoke and that used to made me feel better about smoking a more "animal-friendly" cigarette, HOWEVER American Spirit is a subsidiary of Reynolds American, holders of of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco (Camels, Kools, Misty, etc.), who test their smokes on animals.

It's a lose-lose situation!
 
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