Why do people keep smoking?

Question

With all that we know today, I wonder why new peoplw start to smoke and why people who already smoke continue to do it.

Answer 1

Effects of smoking(1)
Tobacco is the second major cause of death in the world. It is currently responsible for the death of one in ten adults worldwide (about 5 million deaths each year). If current smoking patterns continue, it will cause some 10 million deaths each year by 2020. Half the people that smoke today -that is about 650 million people- will eventually be killed by tobacco.



Tobacco is the fourth most common risk factor for disease worldwide. The economic costs of tobacco use are equally devastating. In addition to the high public health costs of treating tobacco-caused diseases, tobacco kills people at the height of their productivity, depriving families of breadwinners and nations of a healthy workforce. Tobacco users are also less productive while they are alive due to increased sickness. A 1994 report estimated that the use of tobacco resulted in an annual global net loss of US$ 200 thousand million, a third of this loss being in developing countries.

Tobacco and poverty are inextricably linked. Many studies have shown that in the poorest households in some low-income countries as much as 10% of total household expenditure is on tobacco. This means that these families have less money to spend on basic items such as food, education and health care. In addition to its direct health effects, tobacco leads to malnutrition, increased health care costs and premature death. It also contributes to a higher illiteracy rate, since money that could have been used for education is spent on tobacco instead. Tobacco's role in exacerbating poverty has been largely ignored by researchers in both fields.

why do people start smoking? (2)
Social pressure and other environmental factors are more likely to trigger smoking in women, while genetic factors play a larger role in determining whether or not men pick up the habit, U.S. research suggests.

However, the study of thousands of California twins found no difference between men and women in terms of why they had trouble quitting smoking. In that case, genetics seems to be key for both sexes, the University of Southern California researchers said.

"Of those who smoke, it seems that there's a resistance to stopping that has a genetic component," study lead author Ann Hamilton, assistant professor of preventive medicine, Keck School of Medicine, USC, said in a prepared statement.

"The study suggests that society can have the most impact in preventing people from smoking in the first place. It may be possible to modify the stronger genetic effect in men starting smoking with some programs that provide the proper type of peer influence or having a more connected social structure," Hamilton said.

Examples of environmental factors that may influence smoking include peer pressure, social networks, concern about weight gain, and how tobacco is portrayed in the media. Examples of genetic factors include genes that affect nicotine metabolism and/or genes that affect brain sensitivity to nicotine and to components of tobacco smoke."

Answer 2

When I was pregnant with my second child my doctor told me that the baby does go through withdrawl when you quit and depending on how much you smoke the baby could actually go into shock. At that time I was working in a convience store where I could smoke right there at the cash register and I was smioking about 21/2 - 3 packs a day. So my doctor said for me it would be better for the baby to cut back more and more until stopping all together. Someone who only smokes 1/2 - 1 pack a day might not have the same risks and should probably stop immediatly.

Answer 3

12 yrs ago I thought it looked 'cool'. So I started smoking.
I quit during my pregnancy, but why did I start up again?? Who knows. I'm continually trying to quit & I have set a date to be DONE for good - my birthday (in Oct).

It's hard to see people smoking when you aren't though. Because if you've ever been a smoker, you know the feeling it gives you.
Although you also know how your lungs hurt, you stink, you stop tasting things & it's gonna eventually lead to death. I've lost 3 out of 4 grandparents to lung cancer from smoking. You'd think that'd be enough to make me quit. Nope.
Addiction is a HORRIBLE thing. And cigarettes are as close to the devil as I ever want to be!

Answer 4

Some people enjoy smoking
Some are addicted and can't quit
Some don't believe any of these bad things can happen to them
Some people know the risks but just don't care

Reasons for smoking, like anything else, are very individual to the person who does it. Each person has their own reasons. I choose not to smoke. It is one of the worst preventable acts you can do against your body and those around you.

Answer 5

I don't know why people begin to smoke nowadays...maybe just peer pressure. As for continuing to smoke, it's very hard to quit. I smoked for about 10 years (worst decision ever in my life), and quit about 4 years ago. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I think maybe it gets too hard to quit for some people, so they just go back to smoking.

I read somewhere once that quitting smoking was even considered more difficult than quitting cocaine or heroin!

Answer 6

People just don't realize what they are doing to the inside of there lungs, they destroy them. I get 50-60 year old people who have been smoking for 30-40 years in our emergency room. The best way describe what they look like is a fish out of water. Trying to suck in air, but their airways are so blocked up that the air going in cant really come out. Nicotine is the addictive ingredient in tobacco. If you smoke stop now!

Answer 7

I starting smoking 34 years ago when the only warning was that it could cause low birth weight and may be harmful to your lungs. I didn't plan to be pregnant all my life and a lot of things may have been harmful. Someday I do hope to quit and with God's help I hope to be successful. Why anyone starts to smoke now, with all the knowledge we have about the harm it causes, is beyond me. My God help us all give up this habit.

Answer 8

I'm addicted - I got started by sneaking them from my parents as my little group did and little by little we all graduated to a pack that would last a week...

I can't imagine an adult that would just pick it up and start, it happens during 18-22 in my opinion & eventually you are hooked..

I know it's stupid, I know the health reasons - but the addiction is overwhelming, it is documented that quitting smoking is harder than heroin or cocaine..

Tried: patch, gum, lozenges, hypnosis, inhaler, the shot... the only effective way is truly "cold turkey" - but you make excuses to have 1 and you continue to do it - all about will power...

BUT, I truly enjoy it... w/ coffee, after a meal, to relax, after sex, the reasons are endless... it's hard to explain..

Answer 9

it's an addiction and a bad habit hard to break for the ones that have smoked for years but as for the new smokers I don't know
why they would start smoking knowing that its a hazard to their
health. my father-in-law is dying right now from smoking and he's
57 and that's still young to have it cut short by a ciggerette.

Answer 10

It is a habit that is hard to break. Even people who can not breath without help will take off the mask and smoke until they smoke themselves to death.