> the purported health effects of smoking are almost all mental or neurological in function rather than physical Don't you mean 'purported beneficial effects'?

> the purported health effects of smoking are almost all mental or neurological in function rather than physical Don't you mean 'purported beneficial effects'? Damage to the lungs is most certainly an 'effect', albeit a negative one. The way you wrote it, it reads as if something like lung damage is all in one's head, imagined (and I'm sure that's not what you meant?). While I don't condone smoking, Wikipedia[1] summarized certain physical benefits of nicotine from specific sources (and I cannot comment on the reputation of the sources themselves): >Nicotine is frequently used for its performance-enhancing effects on cognition, alertness, and focus.[40] A meta-analysis of 41 double-blind, placebo-controlled studies concluded that nicotine or smoking had significant positive effects on aspects of fine motor abilities, alerting and orienting attention, and episodic and working memory.[41] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine#Enhancing_performance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine#Enhancing_performance