So... why start smoking?

[Zhukov]

Wait. Wait! I'm not trying to hang shit on smokers here. I ask purely out of curiosity.

So... I understand why people continue to smoke once they have started. Granted, my understanding is only theoretical since I have never personally touched a cigarette, but I understand the basic mechanics of chemical addiction.

But what I do not understand is why someone who is not addicted would start in the first place.

I've asked several real life acquaintances, but they all just shrugged it off or said something like, "I was young and stupid." But those don't strike me as satisfactory answers.

See, if a person started smoking any time in the last 20 years they likely would have known exactly what they were getting into. So long as they were over the age of twelve, they would have known that smoking is addictive. They would have known that cigarettes are expensive. They would have known that they are harmful.

Furthermore, people I know who smoke tell me that the first time they did it, it made them feel sick. Some of them said that they threw up afterwards. Now I would have thought that would be a pretty clear sign that something isn't doing you any good. If I ate some food that made me feel ill I sure as hell wouldn't go back for seconds.

And yet, people still take up smoking.

Why?

 

[iLikeHippos]

I suppose it's a reason to get out of the house and a 'social' thing to do. When else can you walk outside with a certain someone and talk?
Oh wait...

Granted, it's a dumb thing to do. But than again, what hobby isn't? (I see smoking as a hobby.) Just playing games strikes off time you could had used socializing and gained a better life all around.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

I sister said it was "to relieve stress". I called foul. Smoking causes as much stress as it relieves.
Edit: Apparently, smoking doesn't cause stress.

 

[MisterGobbles]

I haven't ever smoked myself, but I can understand doing it in moderation. Supposedly it relaxes you, and if you do it enough, I'm sure you get used to it.

Also, I don't know how easy it would be to do in moderation, as it supposedly can be pretty addictive.

 

[Anarchemitis]

Seems like an incredibly expensive habit regardless of its benefits or negatives.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

It's extremely relaxing when done in moderation.

I don't smoke very often (maybe a pack a month at most because I know it's terrible for me), but nothing is better before a big exam than a cigarette. It helps you relax while keeping you focused.

 

[Saelune]

Because people are stupid. People do stupid stuff. They drink, they smoke, they do cocaine, they attack people for being gay/black/weak/smart/dumb/anything.

Some people just want to feel good, and are willing to ruin their lives to do it. Some are just weak willed followers.

 

[AndyFromMonday]

I enjoyed smoking when I was a social smoker so I continued to smoke more seriously. Is that a good enough reason for you?

 

[Creator002]

Everyone in my high school did it because everyone else was doing it.

That, to me, seemed stupid. Everyone smokes because everyone smokes? I called circular reasoning and got called a whimpy-nerd for a while. Oh well, not my loss. Enjoy your cancer (three people, as far as I know, have it).

 

[Fenring]

Relaxation.

Also, as the last half of your post, I suppose you would argue against never ever drinking if you threw-up the first time you drank because you drank to much? Reading your post, I sense... Either pretension or some condescending tone. Not very becoming.

 

[Stryphoon]

To relax and gives me an excuse to take a breather(irony at any time ever:
Too crowded in a bar/venue? "going outside for a smoke",
Need an extra break at work? "going on smoko",
Something in a game pissing me off? go outside to cool down and have a reason to be there,
Get stuck talking to someone you don't know/like? "I'm gonna duck out for a smoke",

So yeah it's a great get out of jail free card and a quick easy way to relax.

Although I only go through a pack a week, 1-2 packs a day would be crazy, but thats morer addict territory or just people with addictive personalities. And yes, smoking that much will cost you through the yellowy brown stained teeth you now have.

Plus the obvious one, you look cool. Haters gonna hate.

 

[LostAlone]

I sister said it was "to relieve stress". I called foul. Smoking causes as much stress as it relieves.

You clearly don't smoke. Don't make pronouncements like that unless you do it.

Like lots of things in life, people start primarily because they are curious.

Then you keep going because you like it.

Strange at it may seem to all you crazy straight edge kids with your anti-smoking, people actually enjoy it. It feels good in your hand, it feels good to inhale, it feels good in general.

As someone with a genuine drug addiction, trust me, smoking is NOT addictive. Not in the way y'all think it is... You don't have four ciggies and start craving them. They don't get inside your brain and make you do bad things. Its real tough to quit, but thats not the same deal. You don't have a smoke because you are sweating and shivering and on the edge of throwing up with every fiber in your body SCREAMING at you to have one. That's the difference. You can function without them.

You keep going because its a habit. Its tough to quit because most people have done it for so long and so frequently that they have a hard time knowing what to do without it. Most importantly, they enjoyed doing it, and quitting something you enjoy is always hard, chemically addictive or not. Particularly, breaking any habit is stressful, but for most smokers, their first go-to for stress is smoking, so its kinda a viscous cycle of frustration.

 

[Aris Khandr]

When I was in high school, I hung out with people who were older than me. Not wanting to alienate my friends, when they passed the cigarette to me once, I tried it. I spent the rest of the day convinced that my lungs were making a desperate plea to escape my body by way of my mouth. So I learned real, real fast that it wasn't for me. But I can see how someone with more tolerance for pollutants entering their systems might have ended up hooked in such a situation.

 

[Luke Oliver]

The ignorance of some non-smokers astounds me as much or more than the ignorance of some smokers.

People smoke because it's a social tool.

It not only makes you feel more relaxed, it makes you look more relaxed. And Girls like relaxed guys. It's bad for you, but so is any other addiction.

 

[Levitas1234]

smoking has a lot of benefits and does more than get you addicted to them

 

[LostAlone]

But I can see how someone with more tolerance for pollutants entering their systems might have ended up hooked in such a situation.

Wow.

Haters really hating all over this thread.

Again. Smoking does not 'get you hooked'. It is not crack, it is not smack. It does not produce a dizzying high, nor protracted comedowns. People do it because they like it or because it has a benefit for them socially. End of.

Tobacco is not even close to as addictive as you think it is.

 

[Dr. Pepper Unlimited]

smoking has a lot of benefits and does more than get you addicted to them

Out of sheer curiosity, what kind of benefits?

 

[tharglet]

A few of the smokers I know started doing it to relax themselves before they do something highly stressful (usually school exams), and then just kept smoking.

Yeah, the effect is they get more stressed at other times, but they use it to de-stress or satisfy their cravings at the times they need it, so it feels positive to them.