So... why start smoking?
- Thread starter Zhukov
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I started smoking because i could, and i liked it so i continue having a smoke at the end of the day.
Also, not sure if Moretimethansense is trolling or not.
Also, not sure if Moretimethansense is trolling or not.
People keep arguing whether cigarettes are addictive or not. Yes, technically they are, but the amount it affects and how it affects each person is different. I smoked 2-3 packs a week for a little over a year (not a real long time, I know). I quit because I wasn't making enough money to support the habit. When I quit I did it cold turkey. No weaning, no patch, no lozenge. I had the slightest ache in my stomach for about a week and that was it. I haven't had any withdrawal symptoms since and I certainly haven't felt the need to hold random shit between my fingers and in my mouth. So yes, they are addictive, but it depends on the person how much it affects them.
I'm not, and that's fair enough, if you like it fine, but for the love of god don't try to claim it's not addictive or that it somehow has benefits that it doesn't.GIJED said:
For example, I eat, a lot, and I know damn well that the amount I eat is really not good for me, but I don't go around trying to claim that 12" Pizzas have some magical property that makes it okay to eat them multiple times a week.
True enough.DJDarque said:
trying to fit in with a group
looks cool
boredom
peer pressure
low self esteem
works relaxing
try to be grown up
I don,t smoke due to the price tag
looks cool
boredom
peer pressure
low self esteem
works relaxing
try to be grown up
I don,t smoke due to the price tag
For what it's worth, I was not trying to be pretentious or condescending. I tried to make this clear in the OP. My apologies if it came across that way.Fenring said:
Now, to address your point. Yes, the exact same point applies to alcohol. It's no secret that excessive drinking is not good for your health. However, I did not feel the need to ask why people drink since I already know the answer, having hit the bottle more than a few times myself.
(Besides, I personally have never drunk enough to throw up. One of the many advantages of high body weight and density)
I started because I liked to get stoned, I haven't touched a joint in over two years now but I'd still do it if one was being passed around. I'm planning to go to Amsterdam some time this year.
I still smoke "normal" self-rolled cigarettes, since, besides the anti-D medication, it's the only thing that keeps my anxiety from kicking up and making me worry about insignificant things.
I still smoke "normal" self-rolled cigarettes, since, besides the anti-D medication, it's the only thing that keeps my anxiety from kicking up and making me worry about insignificant things.
http://www.quitsmoking.uk.com/understanding-nicotine-addiction/benefits-timeline.aspxmoretimethansense said:
Three, four days at most after your last ciggie there is no nicotine in your system - ergo no physical addiction. Habitual addiction can last fo decades.
On your second point, how many morphine addicts have you seen go through withdrawl? Nicotine withdrawl can lead to mood swings and definately a shorter temper - I've never experienced mophine withdrawl but I did experience heroin withdrawl and the physical withdrawl didn't last much longer than when I quit cigarettes but the disparity in the severity of symptoms could not be more painfully (i do mean painfully) obvious - I spent two days vomiting dry unable to eat or sleep pretty much every part of my body was in pain or cramping compare that to being snarky for a couple of days.
For some reason, some smokers think that because reasons to stop smoking were in a PSA, they're automatically invalid. They've got little hints of anecdotal evidence to imply how non-dangerous smoking is (X person smoked and lived a long time), as though that's any real indication of risk factors.
There's a tendency of people to defend any behavior they're involved in, regardless of rationale. Clearly smoking is one of these. In this thread we see people denying the addictive qualities of tobacco, despite irrefutable scientific evidence to the contrary.
Another common flimsy rationale: Man, EVERYTHING causes cancer, should I avoid doing everything that has a risk factor? (Answer, you should logically avoid things with an absurdly high risk factor and little benefit)
This is a vast exaggeration. We commonly see sensationalist articles based on single papers stating something to the effect of "X linked to a mild increase in cancers." These get turned into "X CAUSES CANCER" headlines by non science-savvy journalists. This is vastly different than the vast quantities of epidemiological studies regarding links between smoking and health problems. Equating the two is invalid.
Smoking is a bigger cause of death than car accidents, HIV, murders, (other) drug abuse, suicides, and drinking-related deaths combined. It is completely, unfuckingdeniably, a high-risk activity. 20% of all deaths in the US are from smoking-related health problems.
[HEADING=1]20% of all deaths in the US are smoking-related.[/HEADING]
For every 10 smokers who die from smoking, there is a non-smoker who dies from their smoke.
On average, smokers live 14 YEARS less than non-smokers. If we make some basic assumptions about when people start smoking (around 20 we'll say) and average live expectancy (78), we find that people who smoke reduce the duration of their remaining life by 14/58, or ~30%. That's right, the average starting smoker loses about a third of their time spent alive.
Yes, life is a risk. But smoking is a HUGE risk. In every possible way.
Source
There's a tendency of people to defend any behavior they're involved in, regardless of rationale. Clearly smoking is one of these. In this thread we see people denying the addictive qualities of tobacco, despite irrefutable scientific evidence to the contrary.
Another common flimsy rationale: Man, EVERYTHING causes cancer, should I avoid doing everything that has a risk factor? (Answer, you should logically avoid things with an absurdly high risk factor and little benefit)
This is a vast exaggeration. We commonly see sensationalist articles based on single papers stating something to the effect of "X linked to a mild increase in cancers." These get turned into "X CAUSES CANCER" headlines by non science-savvy journalists. This is vastly different than the vast quantities of epidemiological studies regarding links between smoking and health problems. Equating the two is invalid.
Smoking is a bigger cause of death than car accidents, HIV, murders, (other) drug abuse, suicides, and drinking-related deaths combined. It is completely, unfuckingdeniably, a high-risk activity. 20% of all deaths in the US are from smoking-related health problems.
[HEADING=1]20% of all deaths in the US are smoking-related.[/HEADING]
For every 10 smokers who die from smoking, there is a non-smoker who dies from their smoke.
On average, smokers live 14 YEARS less than non-smokers. If we make some basic assumptions about when people start smoking (around 20 we'll say) and average live expectancy (78), we find that people who smoke reduce the duration of their remaining life by 14/58, or ~30%. That's right, the average starting smoker loses about a third of their time spent alive.
Yes, life is a risk. But smoking is a HUGE risk. In every possible way.
Source
Honestly? I don't smoke anymore; haven't for... many years. But I smoked from about ages 14-22. (I'm 32 now, so it's been a good decade since I've been a smoker.)
I started by stealing my mom's cigarettes; I didn't get sick the first time I smoked - I enjoyed it. I was smoking over stress due to a girl; the kind of stress only a 14 year old boy can work up over a girl, I suppose.
I continued to smoke because it was enjoyable and relaxing - the same reason many people smoke, I assume. I enjoyed the various tastes from cigarettes ranging from regular Camel wides to clove to menthol... I'm kind of a sensation junkie so it just worked for me.
I stopped smoking because I could tell it was having an adverse effect on my breathing; I'm also an athlete and when it started to harm my athletic performance I knew I had a problem.
To this day I wish somebody would invent a cigarette that allowed all the positive effects (relaxation; something to do with my hands and mouth...) and none of the negative.
I started by stealing my mom's cigarettes; I didn't get sick the first time I smoked - I enjoyed it. I was smoking over stress due to a girl; the kind of stress only a 14 year old boy can work up over a girl, I suppose.
I continued to smoke because it was enjoyable and relaxing - the same reason many people smoke, I assume. I enjoyed the various tastes from cigarettes ranging from regular Camel wides to clove to menthol... I'm kind of a sensation junkie so it just worked for me.
I stopped smoking because I could tell it was having an adverse effect on my breathing; I'm also an athlete and when it started to harm my athletic performance I knew I had a problem.
To this day I wish somebody would invent a cigarette that allowed all the positive effects (relaxation; something to do with my hands and mouth...) and none of the negative.
In the construction and labouring industry, it is not customary to give non-smokers a break time outside of a brief recess and lunch. The work is hard, and the breaks are pretty much a necessity. Sometimes this also extends to the mining industry. It is the simple reason all people I know in manual labour positions who picked it up picked it up.
Yes, I asked the same question as the thread opener at one point. This was the most consistent answer I received.
Yes, I asked the same question as the thread opener at one point. This was the most consistent answer I received.
really? nobody ever told you about peer pressure? not just in regards to smoking, wanting to "belong" will make people of ANY age do the most ridiculous shit imagineable
The only reason I would start smoking properly (I.E. not just having the occasional cigarette) would be whilst I'm catering music festivals on 16 hour a day shifts. Any one who smokes seems to get a more breaks to go smoke, seems lie I need to smoke to get my damn breaks
A quick point to raise with you here, and I'm not getting all aggressive here, but saying all smokers are addicted is like saying all people who drink are alcoholics. Now, yes, a large number of smokers are addicted because smoking is far more addictive than (to use my previous example) drink, but please don't tar (pun kinda intented) us all with the same brush.Zhukov said:
I smoke, and have done for sixteen years, but I'm not a chain-smoking 40 a day smoker who chokes down filthy cancer sticks whilst hating themselves for being unclean. I smoke less than ten a day, sometimes less than five a day. I never smoke before I finish work, so my first cig of the day is usually around 6-7PM. And I light up because I enjoy the flavour of a cigarette. I can (and have) gone for days and days (once just over a week! Go me!) without touching cigs, simply because I didn't feel like one. It is possible for people to enjoy smoking, you know.
As for why I started? In all honesty I grew up in a very anti-smoking household, and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Smoking was demonised so much by my parents I wanted to try it. Cigarettes became (metaphorically) a big red button that my family had written 'Do Not Press!' over, and what always happens to big red buttons with 'Do Not Press!' written above them? They get pressed.
EDIT -
[http://verydemotivational.memebase.com/2010/03/15/demotivational-posters-smoking/?utm_source=embed&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=sharewidget]
When I turned 18, I bought a pack just because I could. I tried one, since it seemed like a waste to just throw them out without even trying one, I enjoyed it, so I kept doing it. I didn't feel sick the first time I smoked a cigarette. I had a nice, pleasant feeling from it. I think that the fact that I'd smoked... other things before helped with the "not hacking my brains out." I didn't so much as cough. It was an enjoyable experience, and still is.