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Doctrine changes · Claim record

In 1969 The Watchtower said that the Bible does not comment directly on tobacco, that Witnesses strongly discourage its use and regard users as spiritually immature, and that a user would not have the blameless reputation an appointed servant should have and should overcome the habit so as to be available for privileges such as appointed servant or full-time pioneer; it set out no provision for expelling a baptised member who continued to smoke.

Claim ID claim-doctrine-tobacco-1969-discouraged-not-expelledConcerns 15 February 1969Explicit statement
Explicit statement · 15 February 1969 Verified

In 1969 The Watchtower said that the Bible does not comment directly on tobacco, that Witnesses strongly discourage its use and regard users as spiritually immature, and that a user would not have the blameless reputation an appointed servant should have and should overcome the habit so as to be available for privileges such as appointed servant or full-time pioneer; it set out no provision for expelling a baptised member who continued to smoke. The Watchtower, 15 February 1969

Show the evidence (1 source)
Primary JW publication Verified

The Watchtower, “Questions From Readers”

15 February 1969 · pp.126-127 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society

“So Jehovah’s witnesses strongly discourage its use, and they view as spiritually immature any Christians who continue to use tobacco.”

Answering ‘What is the attitude of Jehovah’s witnesses toward the use of tobacco?’, the magazine says the Bible does not comment on tobacco directly, argues from Bible principles that the habit is unclean, and says a user would not have the reputation required of an appointed servant. It gives practical advice on quitting. It does not say that a baptised member who continues to smoke will be expelled.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Document opened on the Watchtower Online Library and re-opened for audit on 19 September 2026 and read in full; the quoted sentence sits after the page 126 marker. The tobacco answer ends on page 127, before the next question in the same column, which is where the page 128 marker falls. The absence of any expulsion provision was checked by reading the whole answer.

Notes. The published position four years before the 1973 change.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-chg-p-w-1969-0215-qfr-tobacco

Claim page

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