why do cigarette smokers always look for excuses for why they can't quit?

Question

nicotine is addictive right? thats the be-all end-all answer right? i disagree. I DONT WANT TO HEAR ABOUT NICOTINE IN THIS POST...ANYTHING can be addictive if you let it. i think quitting smoking is much like people who have 'depression' and other 'mental illnesses' that are nothing more than an excuse from a weak minded person.

smoking cigs is for followers, people who need to be cool because they aren't their own person. agree or disagree?

ok, so far all have assumed i am a non-smoker. yes and no. i am a non-cigarette smoker. if ur gonna smoke, buy some damn green and get a high from it. i drink heavily, smoke other things, pop pills, etc...

i could quit any or all if i chose to, i REFUSE to believe that cigs are so much different from these other chemical substances that people, including myself, use. people just ***** about cigs cause they are legal, and people like to have something to whine about.

Answer 1

I believe it makes a person feel better about why they really cant stop,& the real reasond they cant stop is because they have no control over there brain.

Answer 2

Do you smoke cigarettes? Because if you don't then you are basing an opinion on something that you know nothing about. I agree with you that nicotine isn't the main problem with cigarettes, as from personal experience the art of smoking is so enjoyable that it is hard to not want to do it. Growing up I always thought that smoking was deplorable, then somehow I started doing it and to be honest it really is hard to stop. I don't fiend for nicotine or need a patch or anything but I have to honestly say that I don't think that I will ever be able to fully give up smoking completely. It's rock and roll baby!

Answer 3

It's because they know that they should quit and that it would be better for their health if they did but some people use it as an excuse to excape for the period of time they are smoking they can be whoever they want to be and where ever they want to be. Also some people use it as a stress reliver. The other side of the coin is that it is habbit, (not nicotine additive habbit) but just habit, you know when you wake up you have breakfast whether your hungry or not because it's habit, well some smokers have been smoking so long that the habit of smoking is so ingraiend that they don't know what they would do if they didn't smoke.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Dont listen to any of these people. Quitting IS easy.

I smoked for several years when i was a bit younger.
(im 24). Honestly id doesnt take long to become addicted
however, people who try and fail over and over again
dont really want to. I quit simple as that. I had 2 attempts
The first time I allowed social pressure to consume me.
ALOT of people are "social" smokers. They continue
to smoke because theyre peers/coworkers/friends
all smoke. Sometimes its an image thing. For others
it is just an addiction.

All of these are excuses to continue doing it.
They really do not want to,and are not making
a valiant effort to stop. The second attempt
I did it, because i was determined. I didnt
let my friends stop me. ANd i didnt let
withdrawl cause me to cave in. I was
strong and I wasnt a wuss about it.

And do youknow how my "Smoker" friends
greeted this? HA! They ridiculed me! Made
fun of me! They would buy me my favorite
brand of cigs and light them and try to
get me to smoke them. Nice friends huh?

It came to the point where i had to
cut myself off from them. Quitting
was far more important to me,
than they were. They did not
respect me or my choice,thus
they where not TRUE friends.

That is the thing , people chose
to smoke it is a choice. The cigarette
isnt holding a friggin gun to your head!
It is simply not important enough for people.
They will be sorry when they get a heart
attack or cancer. But it will be too late for them.
Addiction is strong, but i didnt let it overtake me.
People let it, because they want to continue in
it. It is the best excuse!" I can't quit I'm addicted"
waaaah!! cry me a river.

I am proof , anyone can quit! no matter how
long they have smoked.

Answer 5

Whether or not you disagree regarding nicotine is entirely beside the point. I worked law enforcement as a psychiatric technician for 31 years. The theme I heard often from those trying to quit was "Getting off heroin was easier than trying to quit cigarettes." One of the reasons is that smoking is not illegal, and is associated with so many things. You eat, you smoke after. So it's both physically and psychologically addictive.

My own personal battle, I started in grade school when cigarettes were 23 cents a pack out of the machine, and quit when they were 90 cents a pack 20 years ago. Hardest thing I ever did in my life, I just laid the pack down and 'postponed' the next one. Seconds turned into minutes, minutes into hours, hours into days... Today I'm still just 'postponing'--but it worked for me.

And I disagree with your conclusion about not being their own person and/or needing to be cool. And let's not even get into your stupidity about depression and mental illness being just an excuse from weak minded persons. You've obviously never had to struggle with any mental illness. Or perhaps you have, and one of your symptoms is denial?

Answer 6

It's not particular to smoking. Lot of ppl wanting to give up a bad habit, but not really "wanting" have this problem. They don't think straight and excuse their way to an early grave.

First they start smoking. This affects their brain chemical balance. Then when they try to quit they find that the "rebalance" is painful. So they continue saying they're addicted. Sort of extremely funny coz they wouldn't be addicted on something bad for them if they didn't start in the first place.

I've no problems with bozos who smoke far away from me though. One guy less in the line at the checkout counter.

Answer 7

I don't think they continue smoking to be cool, but I think that is the reason most people start.. that or curiosity. I started smoking because my mother did.. and I wanted to know what all the fuss was about. People are always talking about how bad smoking is, but they were all doing it.. I wanted to know.. then.. I didn't want to stop. I have been smoking for 7 years. And I don't continue to because I'm "addicted" I continue too... believe it or not, because I like it. It makes me feel better. I'm not saying that I can't quit.. because if I wanted to , I could.. I'm saying that I don't want to quit. After 7 years, I have no ill health effects, I can still run like I could when I was a kid.. it doesn't affect my health at all ... and I like it. Perhaps when I start to get sick all the time, or can't run anymore.. or can't breath.. I will quit. But for now.. it's not a matter of can't .. it's a matter of don't want too.

And I don't like it when people tell me that I am a bad person just because I smoke. I volunteer, I have a good job, I am a good person, I donate to charity, I don't cheat, lie or steal.. so.. to all those people out there who think that you're a bad person if you smoke.. you can go ... you know where.

Answer 8

The answer to your first question is: "To get the smoking nazis off their backs."

I strongly disagree with your amateur assessment of addiction as simply being the excuse of a weak-minded person. Your dismissal of mental illness as being in the same category reminds me of Tom Cruise & his outlandish Scientology views.

Incidentally, I quit smoking about two months ago, and don't feel the need to go around ramming anti-smoking views down others' throats. Smokers already know that what they're doing is bad for them. They've heard it all before, and really don't need anyone's lectures. They'll quit if & when they are ready, and not when you decide it's time.

Answer 9

I take it you have never smoked. It's intresting when non-smokers make their little comments about smokers. Smoking has nothing to do with mental Illness or depression. And I dont care If you dont want to hear about nicotine addiction, but this is why most people can't Quit
Do you have any bad habits you can't break? If so by your Questions that would make you weak minded, depressed, and mentally Ill.

Answer 10

The term "health Nazi" comes to mind as I read your post. I'm actually in the wellness industry and one of our biggest problems in changing people's behavior is people like you...especially if they are in any power position over the smokers. Your total lack of empathy and even elitist view of breaking a bad habit creates huge obstacles to changing the culture.

I want to see people quit as much as (I assume) you do, but you have to understand the smoker (or whatever habit you want to discuss) before you can help them. You apparently have no understanding of the problem, so your opinion is frankly meaningless.

Per your later comment: That is the most convoluted justification for abusing drugs and alcohol I've ever seen...and I've seen alot. And the statement, "I could quit any or all if i chose to..." Ask every member of Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous how many times they said that to themselves before they finally hit rock bottom and HAD to quit...or die.

You need to do a little work on yourself before ranting on this forum.

Answer 11

I am a cancer nurse and have treated patients with cancers directly related to smoking. Example 35 yr old female with 2 kids under 10. She died with lung cancer. A 50 yr old grandma of 3 who cannot breath without bipap She has smoked for 40 years and is gasping for every breath.
Yeah! They are thinking they are sooo Coool.
Your an idiot.
I disagree. You need to get out and see some reality. Apparently you are sheltered.