It is actually difficult for a member of the Roman Catholic Church to say this but tobacco is inherently harmful. It may serve a purpose in nature but it is, of its nature, inherently harmful. I do not know any smokers who really believe that smoking does them any good. Many of them would maintain that continuing to smoke is the lesser of two evils, but that is not the same as doing them any good. This is a fundamental difference between tobacco and alcohol which I will come back to.