726. Smoking on Yom Tov

98:31 On yom tov, we may not make fire from a flint, from a lens, or from matches. (Rather, it must be taken from an existing flame. If one made a fire impermissibly, after the fact it may be used – Mishnah Brurah 502:4.)

Editor's note: The following halacha discusses the permissibility of smoking on yom tov. This law does not reflect the health hazards of smoking, which were unknown in the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch's time.

98:32 We don't make incense by sprinkling spices on coals, neither for smelling nor to perfume one’s house or clothes. The Torah tells us (Exodus 12:16), “for everyone” – only things everyone needs equally are permitted on yom tov. Incense is not a necessity most people need, it's a luxury indulged in by finicky people. Concerning cigars and cigarettes, the authorities differed. Those who follow the lenient opinion must be careful not to light their tobacco using a piece of paper or a coal because it is extinguished when he throws it on the ground. One can easily make a mistake and do this on yom tov through force of habit. If there are letters on the paper and it is burned, it also violates the prohibition against erasing. One must therefore only light from a fire. Also, one may not smoke a new pipe on yom tov, nor may one cut a cigar.