I am a smoker. I started smoking when I was 17, young and feeling like the typical teenager where nothing in the world could hurt "me". I started smoking because I felt like it would make me seem more "grown up". Now at age 38 I feel like I look older than I should. I contribute it to my smoking habit. At 17 I did not know about all the chemicals and dangers of smoking. Both my parents smoked, so I thought it was "normal". You do get a headrush when you get the next dose of nicotene every time you light up, so there may be a bit of pleasure there, but it never lasts. So you light up again, and again until it becomes an addiction. I got walking pneumonia when I was 26 and choked till I puked because I was still smoking while I was ill. You'de think I would have gave them up back then right? Didn't happen. My father died from C.O.P.D. In 2002 after being a lifelong smoker. He started smoking when he was 9 years old. I grieved badly over his loss. Did I quit smoking then ? Nope. If it "is" a reputation thing, I sure didn't want this one, but no one could tell me way back when I was 17. I have tried going cold turkey to quit, but the addiction to the nicotene was too strong. Anti smoking gums, patches and pills are out there on the market to help people quit. I'm trying Chantix right now and it seems to be helping, but there is an irony to it. My insurance provider will NOT pay for my anti-smoking pills, but it WILL pay for my hospital bills if I'm diagnosed with cancer... I finally woke up and realised I'm commiting slow suicide by smoking. Hopefully I can quit for good, but I wonder if cancer will find me before I quit. Will I get lucky or will I have already sealed my fate? You have asked an amazing question and I hope you get amazing responces. Hind sight is 20/20 and if I could roll back the clock I would never have lit that first cigarette.....
Some young people smoke because they believe that smoking is a symbol of adulthood. This is reinforced by advertisements from cigarette companies. The advertisers try to give the impression that maturity, social status, happiness and success are linked with smoking. However, surveys have shown that many young people smoke in order to cover up their weaknesses or shortcomings such as failing in their studies or sports or other activities. There are young people who start smoking out of curiosity. They want to experience what smoking is all about. Unfortunately, cigarettes contain drugs that are addictive, and so smokers find it difficult to give up smoking.
Young people may like to imitate their parents who smoke. Many young people smoke because they want to be accepted as members of a group of friends who smoke. Their friends' persistent teasing and urging may make them feel that they are not "sporting" enough if they do not smoke. This is called "peer group" pressure.
The reasons given by people who continue to smoke are that smoking is stimulating and that it relieves tension, depression or even boredom. These are actually psychological effects, because smoking cannot provide stimulation and reduce tension at the same time.
You are so right Nadene. It is a terrible thing. Once you have started it is really hard to stop. It is an addiction. Most of us started smoking when we were teen. Back then it made us think it looked cool to some. The best thing that anyone can do for themselves it to never start.
Ok I am not a smoker.. But I am just very eager to answer this question. Most of the smokers start smoking when they are in their teenage. In teenage, they aren't mature enough. They think if they smoke, they'll look cooler and be one of the populars. Some take when they are in much tension.. They think that smoking can block their tensions (forever!!), which is not so. Even if they know that the tensions aren't going to solve by just smoking, they are still ready to risk! But they don't know that after their tension is blocked for a few minutes by one of the chemicals in the cigarette, the tension increases! =(
Cigarettes contain mothballs, insects, human pee, caffeine, carrot oil, tree bark, hair remover, perfume, rat poison, pesticides, embalming fluid, beeswax, gasoline, nail polish remover, cedarwood, alpha-Amylcinnamaldehyde, Anisyl Phenylacetate, and a billion other additives, chemicals, and junk I can't pronounce. So I am curious to know from smokers...what is so gratifying about these little cancer sticks you put in your mouth and ignite? Why are you so willing to do this to yourself? What do they do for you that is so great? I'm not being rude, I am honestly curious to know why you enjoy doing this to your body. Who knows, maybe it's a reputation thing...
I started when I was very young. For me, it's like a boredom thing. When I have something to keep my hands busy, I smoke very little. It is very hard to quit. It is the only bad habit I carry with me.
Viewed your picture,it's so contrastive. For the smokers, I think they just want to relieve the pressure and fatigue. Ususally a cigarette can deal with it.
I used to smoke, for many years, until I quit five years ago. I highly recommend quitting. I thought it relaxed me, but it only made me more anxious. It might have a calming effect at first, but then it literally increased my heart rate, more and more, and caused shortness of breath, which started triggering anxiety attacks. I think my panic attacks started because of breathing problems caused by smoking. In my case, smoking cigarettes is something that increases anxiety, not decrease it. Plus, a long time ago it was "what everyone did". Now, no one smokes anymore. So the two main reasons for smoking are gone. I hope you can quit if you smoke, because it kills people every year.
And... Don't believe how tough it is to quit. I did it. It's not that hard to quit. Just do it.
I started for a very stupid and unusual reason. It was in basic training when I was 20 back in 86. I noticed that the smokers got more breaks and when we were on the parade field and they were smoking the rest of us had to stand at attention. I decided I'd pretend to smoke, just puff you know. That was fine during basic but afterwards in tech school and at my permanent duty station when I started drinking (you really learn to drink in the military! That's why I don't recommend the military) I started smoking for real. Smoking and drinking really go together well. Quitting caffeine was easy. Controlling my drinking was a struggle of 20 years I finally won. But smoking has kicked mu butt! I'm quitting again and have been smoke free for over 3 months now and used the patch for only 2 weeks.
I used to smoke before I had children. But when I got pregnant with my first, I stopped and never started again. I thought if I want to poison myself is one thing, but it wasn't fair to subject innocent children to that.
No, I didn't think it looked cool at all. As a matter of fact, I was always quite embarrassed to smoke in front of non-smokers. It was just a very bad habit. There were crucial moments that I had to have one like, after a meal, in the morning with coffee, etc. I'm so glad I stopped so many years ago.
I started smoking when I was 14. I had ran away from home and the friends I made smoked so I wanted to smoke because back then it was cool to smoke. It made me feel grown up and I thought it made me look cool. Besides, I ran away from a very abusive step-"father" and I guess I knew how mad he would be if he knew I was smoking so, in a way, I was rebelling against him. Also, I felt that I could do anything I wanted to at that point. Then I became addicted to cigarettes. Now, 30 years later, I am still extremely addicted to them and I wish I could have never started smoking. Especially with all the controversy about smoking. I need to find a way to quit because they are getting to expensive for me to afford. I know smoking is not good, but it is an addiction, yet, they don't have any free rehabilitation for smokers like they do for alcoholics and drug users. Again, I know smoking is not good, but my smoking isn't going to make me instantly kill anyone like drunk drivers do. I truly think they need to crack down on drunk drivers, child abusers, gang violence, etc. They need to band smoking in public, but they need to back off of the smokers and let us keep our rights to choose to smoke. T s not the tobacco itself that is extremely bad, it is the chemicals the use in tobacco. Maybe they should try to d something about that and quit taxing smokers to death. By the way, I don't drink or take drugs or anything else. I don't like to be around drunks, but that's is their personal choice. The only time I have a problem with someone who's drinking is if they drink and drive or abuse their families or someone else. I cannot stand to be around drunks so since they are trying to force me to quit smoking, are they going to close down all the bars and force people to drink at home? I know a gut that'shad 7 DUI convictions and the judge keeps giving him a couple of months in jail and a fine. When, he gets out he goes right back to drinking. Sorry, I didn't mean to rant.
There are many reasons why someone would begin smoking. If they start when they are young, it is usually due to peer pressure which is at its most intense during adolescence. It appears to be cool and its easier to fit in if you do what your friends do. Once the addictive elements in the cigarettes have entered the body, they begin to create an addiction immediately.
Regardless of all medical evidence to contrary, an addicted smoker will continue to smoke, even though they know it will harm them. Despite a huge cost to the smoker of keeping the addiction, they continue to smoke, the addictive chemicals in the cigarettes are binding to them to the habit.
Young girls often believe that smoking will help them lose weight. It is true that smoking serves as an appetite suppressant but the resulting medical problems are clearly not worth it.
Smoking is a social plague, it is dangerously addictive, medically carcinogenic, expensive, smelly and unpleasant. Only a junkie would put up with all that surely?
Well I am a smoker, 20 years old. Started when I was 13. It was mostly out of boredum + the fact it was easy to get to them because my parents did um & I didn't really know much about them. But now I really think back and wish I never had. In a way its about mind control. You pick it up, n it becomes a habit, just like most things you do. But yet there is this thing called WILL POWER, n you can also quit, no matter how addicted you are or how much of a habit it is to you. I have quit several times, n picked another one up do to stress or something along those lines. Even when I run out of them or don't have any...it really don't bother me. & no it don't taste good at all. N to really think about it, you are just setting yourself of for early death. But overall its a habit.
Because those people that smoke believe it relaxes them but after awhile it just turns into a habit Relax smoking is partly an addiction and the other part a habit.
Cigarettes cross the blood to brain barrier and the brain becomes addicted so does the body in ept a need for the smoke also routine like putting something in your mouth frequenty becomes habit forming
Most people start smoking because they think it's cool. They want to look good in front of other people. I don't understand how people can smoke. The smell is unbearably bad and everyone knows it's not at all good for you.My teacher said that he had tried a cigarette once and it had tasted really disgusting. So, in my opinion, people who smoke are making a huge mistake.
