Sometimes, the fifth precept of abstaining from intoxicants is narrowed in practice to mere ensuring of not becoming alcoholic. Some feel that social drinking is perfectly alright as long as one does not become addicted to alcohol. (But in denial, few drunkards admit they are drunk.) But the spirit of the precept is to abstain from any substance abuse that affects body and/or mind adversely – and that goes beyond drinking. It should include smoking too.
How many glasses or sticks are too many? How do we know when we cross the safety line? The loss of mindfulness leads to the breaking of the other precepts. The best safeguard against addiction is of course total abstinence, as prevention is better than cure, as illustrated in the “Sleeper Effect”, as reported below. It might apply to more than smoking – From BBC on 24 May 2006 – ‘Children who try just one cigarette are twice as likely to take up smoking as those who have never tried it, a study funded by Cancer Research UK suggests… The 2,000-pupil study, in Tobacco Control, found this was the case even after a gap of three years or more. It is the first to find a smoking ‘sleeper effect’ – where desire remains years after the first cigarette. Cancer Research UK said anti-smoking campaigns should focus on preventing children trying even one cigarette… Nicotine in a single cigarette may effect pathways in the brain increasing the likelihood that someone will start smoking in response to other triggers, such as stress. Alternatively, trying a cigarette may break down barriers that might prevent someone taking up smoking – such as fear of being caught or insecurity about how to smoke.’