If people know smoking can kill them why do they continue to smoke? Or decide to smoke in the first place?

Answer 1

The same reason people drink alcohol, or eat fatty foods, it makes them feel good. People start smoking cause they think it makes them bad *** and cool, they continue smoking because it's addictive.

Answer 2

Only two things are certain in life death and taxes. Nicotine and just the habit is very addictive, to me having a smoke relaxes and clears my mind, and has been for over 35 years. Why did I start do not really know seemed like the thing to do at the time. You can get killed walking the street, I have seen people in perfect health drop dead from a heart attach at 24. Myself if I have had 3 sick days in the last 10 years that would be allot. There is just as much chance of getting cancer living in the city with the smog, vehicle exhaust etc. Thing is we are all going to die, we do not know when, or how, so enjoy the one time you are here. Red meat, love it, BBQing all the time more things that supposedly cause cancer. I think it is in your DNA have known people who have smoked for 50-60 years no cancer, yet others whom have lived the so called clean life get it all the time. Why do I continue to smoke simple I ENJOY IT

Answer 3

First and mainly, it is because it is an addiction. An action by the body that tells a person they "need" this substance to feel good or normal. People usually start smoking from peer pressure or to look "cool" and before you know it they are hooked. Continuing to do something is something a lot of humans do. For instance, drinking alcohol is not good for a person, yet they will drink. Riding in a car without a seatbelt is not good for you, but people continue to do it. Eating junk food is not good for you and in the long run it will probably kill you. Having unprotected sex is a bad thing, but people continue to do it and then get on this message board worried that they have AIDS, a sexually transmitted disease or are pregnant. I could go on and on. The best thing for others to do is to not hound someone who is a smoker. It will just make them want to smoke MORE!

Answer 4

I believe that 99% of us who smoke start before we fully understood the consequences of smoking. Specifically, the power of the addiction, withdrawal symtoms, expense, health risks. Kids in their early to mid teens, which is when most smokers start, can't grasp these concepts. They only realize that they enjoy smoking, or that they feel it's cool to smoke. And by the time they're older, they're hooked. That's your second question answered.

Your first question, I'll cut and paste an essay I wrote some time ago.

So why do so many of us continue smoking when most of us are intelligent, well-informed, and certainly aware of the long term risks of smoking? Perhaps leading the multitude of answers is because it feels good to smoke. I can vouch for that; DAMN GOOD! In less than ten seconds upon the first inhalation, nicotine passes into the bloodstream, crosses the blood brain barrier and begins acting on the brain cells. The nicotine just ingested will begin to mimic one of the most important neurotransmitters, Acelytcholine. This action provokes the body's excitation chemicals that include adrenaline and noradrenaline, which causes an immediate rush of stimulation by increasing the blood flow to the brain. This leaves smokers feels energized and alert. Within 20 to 30 minutes after the last cigarette, however, a smoker's energy level becomes sharply reduced. That "charged up" feeling the smoker had minutes before begins fading away and the craving for nicotine quickly returns. Psychological dependence is a major factor that can prohibit a well-intentioned person from quitting smoking because nicotine has such amazingly powerful, reinforcing qualities.

Other reasons why many of us continue to smoke is that we find it easier to manage stress even though we know that smoking is risky and dangerous. Many of us in this day and age juggle family and work responsibilities, and lighting up a cigarette is a welcome substitute to wind down their day regardless of the repercussions involved. Many more of us, myself included, find that smoking helps to keep off those unwanted pounds, and there may be some truth to that notion. Nicotine speeds up the physiological functions, especially the rate at which the body metabolizes food. When smoking stops, metabolism slows down, food is burned more slowly, and the pounds start adding. That reason alone is strong incentive for many of us to continue smoking.

I often feel like the decision to smoke was made for me. I started smoking by proxy when I was in the womb; my mother was always a 2-3 pack a day smoker. Then I was breast fed by the same smoking mother, then for the next 12 years, almost anytime I was around her, I was around a lit cigarette. When my 14-year old sister decided she wanted to try it, I didn't want to be outdone. After my lifelong exposure, I was hooked instantly. After numerous failed quits, I'm just about resolved that I'll smoke the rest of my life. I know it's unhealthy and risky, but I am to the point where I simply can't imagine not smoking. So I do all I can to live as healthy a lifestyle as otherwise possible. Yes I admit it - I'm a hopeless addict!

Answer 5

He's got the right to smoke just as you have the right to quit...make sure he knows you don't want it done in the house or any vehicle you both drive...if he does it outside, the smell on him will be less and tell him he needs to brush or use mouthwash before kissing you, if he's smoked... He's not responsible for you having a desire to smoke if you smell it on others...I know it's tough to quit and for many, being around smokers makes it SUPER hard to stop, but it's a battle you'll have to figure out how to fight without it damaging your marriage...surely tobacco isn't worth harm to your marriage... Ask if he'd consider just using the e-cigarette when at home or around you, and only smoke actual ciggys when he's away...that might help...

Answer 6

Speaking from experience, people start smoking 1)Because of "pressure" (the people they spend the most time with smoke), and 2)Because it does calm the nerves.

It's hard to stop a habit once you've started it, especially when it comes to nicotine. Your body gets used to having it, especially at stressful moment, so it makes you think that you NEED it in order to calm down.

Of course it's better to not start in the first place, but sometimes that is easier said than done.

Answer 7

My teacher's son smoked since he was in high school because his friends pressured him to. He's been wanting to quit for years, but because of the addictive nicotine in it, there was no way he could stop, he tryed taking non- smoking pills, but it didn't work, because the nicotine was sooo addicting! He really really wants to quit, but because of the nicotine in it, he can't. It is a really sad story to me.

Answer 8

Smoking is a drug addiction that once started is very difficult to stop.

Answer 9

From my experience, I was 16 and peer pressure got the best of me! I have been trying to quit ever since! (I'm 32 now)! It isn't easy to quit; should have never started....us smokers are like second class citizens now!

Answer 10

So we can help pay for the public education system here in the US.

That's where our cigarette taxes are supposed to be sent.