The government and established medical authorities in America have conjoined to attack tobacco smoking as the biggest and most dangerous health vice that any human being could interact with on a daily basis. The basic attitude that these authorities seem to have is that the very act of cigarette smoking, even one cigarette, one time, even just one puff of one cigarette at one time, or even a hint of a puff, will irreparably destroy your body and make you to suffer a long, lingering, and painful death. While that may not be the literal words of governmental authorities, it follows the same shibboleth of if you just take a puff of marijuana, one time that you will inevitably degenerate into a chronic heroin abuser.
The fact of the matter is that there is a world of difference between a man that consumes alcohol to his own oblivion each and every night, as compared to a man who consumes a glass or two of wine at his evening meal. So too it is true that there is a great chasm between a man who smokes like a chimney, day in and day out, and someone that smokes for pleasure occasionally, from time-to-time during a given day. We have been told by wise men that moderation in all things is the best policy, so if alcohol commercials and its print media can get away with reminding its consumers to "drink responsibly" and thereby press the validation that drinking alcohol in moderation will not consume your body, then why does it not follow that smokers that smoke in moderation, shouldn't be extended the same courtesy.
The fact of the matter is, to determine the ill effects of smoking are a very difficult thing to determine because in order to do so, you must control a multitude of variables, in addition to the fact that all of this must be measured over an extended period of time. This means that direct things such as the chemical makeup of a cigarette, the inhalation of the cigarette, the quantity of cigarettes smoked and so forth have a measurable impact as to how carcinogenic your cigarette smoking habit could be.
In recent times, smoking in America has decreased, yet on the other hand, the incidence of obesity has increased substantially, as well as welcoming in the creation of an energy drink segment in America. What is not often taken into consideration when discussing cigarette smoking is the benefits of doing so, which can range from social to comfort to just a desire to have something in one's hands or mouth to play with and puff upon. In addition, to these obvious things, cigarette smoking is both an appetite suppressor as well as being a stimulant, which means that the authorities are fundamentally wrong when they believe that the elimination of cigarette smoking is a 100% net gain, because it is not. It would be more honest to state that all the authorities have done is simply to have replaced one bad habit with another bad habit.
The thing about cigarette smoking is the choice should be your own, and smoking when done in moderation, probably will treat your body like most other things that are consumed in moderation.