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That doesn't win any argument, ever. I wonder how many arguments you've ever won.

Smoking doesn't cause me any pleasure. I am highly allergic to it. It does cause some people pleasure, granted. There is something else that causes some people pleasure, too. Self-mutilation. A little self-mutilation every day, with clean, disinfected blades, won't have any long term health effects, just like smoking. As Ayn was a famous smoker, there are many famous 'cutters' to further add to the validity of this as a cultural practice, just like smoking. The aspiring Dagny Taggart herself, Angalina Joelie (spelling?) is a former cutter. Do you know what else causes some people pleasure? Strip clubs and sex with prostitutes. It is the second oldest profession, after all. Still another blossoming pleasure that has exploded with the use of the internet - pornography! It is the ultimate in pleasure - and it hasn't killed anyone ever. ---- Smoking can cause pleasure. A lot of things can. But there is a degrading kind of pleasure given the knowledge you must have of the health effects of smoking. Even one cigarrette causes damage to your lungs. Objectivism recognizes a differnce between real enjoyment and banal, mindless headonism. Smoking is in the latter catagory and is immoral. Oh - and running three times a day for 30 minutes - you can build up to that pretty quickly if you have good coaching and it is far more pleasurable - the good, productive kind that Objectivism supports and that improves your life - than using a low-grade chemical stimulant plus a whole lot of other stinking, cancer causing toxins. ---- For the record, I oppose all bans of smoking on private property.