So... why start smoking?

[Red Right Hand]

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

I don't care. I'm still going to smoke.

Kindly stop shoving those facts down peoples throats. I'm pretty sure they're not going to quit because of it.

 

[Stryphoon]

Smoking offers desirable effects but not to the point you cannot function, you can smoke and be a productive person, as opposed to being high or drunk.

Fair to say that likely not everyone experiences all, or possibly any, of these benefits, personally I don't get the clearer sinuses someone mentioned earlier, maybe some people need to try a few times to ajust to smoking, I didn't but I was around smokers growing up, my friend coughed a lot at first but had not really been exposed to it much prior.

As with the health risks? Yes they exist, but as someone exlained ealier those figures are skewed against smoking by adding things that shouldn't really count (heart disease from a person who eats terribly and smokes occasionally, etc). But hell, I counter against it by not driving, or doing any form of extreme sport.

As for social situations, I don't smoke in croweded public areas and so forth as common courtesy, same as I expect them not to do things to bother me.

One issue though, the government has outlawed indoor smoking in bars, personally I think it should be up to the owner if they wanna have smoking everywhere people offended by it can go to a bar that has no smoking etc.

 

[Realitycrash]

Because it's cool? Why else would you do it?

Oh, you think lung-cancer is COOL? You think accidental fires are COOL? Blah blah blah..Obviously not. But no teen/young adult thinks about the future in that way when they pick up smoking. They think "that's never going to happen to ME".
And that's why we have agelimits on selling ciggarettes, because if you got ahold of your first ciggarette when you were eighteen, you'd be alot less likely to fall for group-pressure.

 

[Red Right Hand]

I'd just like to point out that
First:
Caffine is somewhat addictive and unless there's been a change in the law recently it is also legal.

Second: smoking can cause accidents, here's a few ways:
1. Many careless smokers simply throw their buts out of the window, more than a few morecyclists have take one to the face, it's rare but it can cause them to crash.

2. Just like texting lighting up splits your attention, so mistakes can be made.

3. Addicts (if they havn't smoked in a bit or are just that addicted) become easily stressed and are more lik,ely to drive aggressivly, have you ever been in a car with someone that's driving to pick up more fags after running out?
It's fucking terrifying.

Also Second hand smoke can cause sereous problems for thoe around th smoker as well.
And don't try to say it doesn't Iv'e seen it happen.

Those seem like fairly contrived arguments. And the second hand smoke thing is bullshit.

Also how can you say that you've seen it happen? Seen what happen?

 

[moretimethansense]

Snip

Contrived they may be, but they still cause accidents.

My dog, it developed Bronchitas in its later years, but because my mother smoked so much it couldn't sit in th house even hours afterwards since doing do would cause it to have drastic and violant coughing fits, yjhe last few months of it's life it was on steroids to mitigate the problem, but in the end it killed him.
And yes, it was the second hand smoke, you could take him anywhere else he's stop coughing imediately.

 

[Yopaz]

I'd just like to point out that
First:
Caffine is somewhat addictive and unless there's been a change in the law recently it is also legal.

Second: smoking can cause accidents, here's a few ways:
1. Many careless smokers simply throw their buts out of the window, more than a few morecyclists have take one to the face, it's rare but it can cause them to crash.

2. Just like texting lighting up splits your attention, so mistakes can be made.

3. Addicts (if they havn't smoked in a bit or are just that addicted) become easily stressed and are more lik,ely to drive aggressivly, have you ever been in a car with someone that's driving to pick up more fags after running out?
It's fucking terrifying.

Also Second hand smoke can cause sereous problems for thoe around th smoker as well.
And don't try to say it doesn't Iv'e seen it happen.

I did not mention caffeine because it's not very addictive, and not very dangerous, I do get severe headaches and can't sleep or eat without coffe, but I repreent an extreme.
All your 3 examples are extremely flawed. You got 2 examples representing the dangers of driving. The 2nd example alo said that it doesn't need to be smoking that does it.

Yes, being careless when you drive may cause deaths, that we already knew. Being stressed while you drive may be for some other reason than not having smoked. I've been sitting in the back seat of my dad's car when we were in a hurry to reach a ferry. Ice and rain and 10 minutes to drive a distance that would require at least 15 minutes with the speed limit on a road that was in a state that should make you drive under the speed limit.
Also in my post I said that there were less than 100 dangers of smoking which I consider a high estimate. If you can come up with 101 possible deaths by smoking, that couldn't have have happened without it, then please, entertain me with your wall of text.
I never said once that second hand smoking isn't harmful, not once. Quote the exact place where I said it wasn't.

I also never said smoking wasn't dangerous. I jut said it wasn't dangerous in every possible way, like the guy I originally quoted claimed to think. Smoking i a danger, I wont deny that. Driving is a danger, running is a danger, not wearing a proper helmet while driving a motorcycle is a danger, yeah, here the law states that your eyes should be shielded while riding a motorcycle.

 

[richd213]

To learn how to smoke so you can smoke weed.

wait am i allowed to say that on here without getting arrested?

You don't need to smoke tobacco to smoke marijuana...

It helps with not coughing expensive stuff up.

 

[NuclearPenguin]

Conversation.
That is the reason I started.

 

[hooksashands]

The people raging against smoking make it sound like a form of population control.

But if so many die from it per year, then why is the birth rate in almost every country still 2 to 3 times more than the death rate? Why does the job market still suck?

10-14 years off my life doesn't mean shit to me. Even if you don't smoke, chances are at such an age you'll be putting your teeth in a glass of water before you go to sleep and pooping in a diaper again. If I can drop the curtain quicker on that act, good.

One thing I always tell people is "Unless you're an organ donor, shut the fuck up." Seriously. If you plan to keep your body in pristine condition, there had better be a little heart symbol on your driver's license.

 

[Th37thTrump3t]

People start smoking for a few reasons; stupidity, curiosity, peer pressure, ...stupidity.

 

[Thaa'ir]

My mom's a smoker...she claims people start out of idiocy. Most of my friends started because people they thought were cool or were close to encouraged it or because they picked it up on breaks from people at work.

That's their choice I suppose. And my choice is restricting where and when they can smoke when they're in my house or my dad's car.

 

[Haydyn]

My situation with smoking is weird. For starters everybody says you shouldn't start smoking, even the ones that do. Twice while waiting for the bus people would be smoking and by time time I got on, I could taste smokey flem in my mouth. Once I got to my stop I had to rush off and spit it out. Based on that, I don't see how anybody could start smoking if it tastes so bad before you get use to it.

One time at a party I was drunk, and I was rolling from molly the only time in my life, so I figured I might as well take a puff. Didn't care for it. For now I'll just stick to weed.

 

[VaudevillianVeteran]

You know, I don't know myself. I won't knock against smokers, it's their lives even if they're shortening. Let them live in peace and do what they want.
However, now my dad smokes almost two 40 packs a day and my mum does 3-5. I asked my parents this question a few weeks ago for the same curiosity reason, they both said something along the lines of stress relief/peer pressure/ because it was cool.

 

[moretimethansense]

I did not mention caffeine because it's not very addictive, and not very dangerous, I do get severe headaches and can't sleep or eat without coffe, but I repreent an extreme.
All your 3 examples are extremely flawed. You got 2 examples representing the dangers of driving. The 2nd example alo said that it doesn't need to be smoking that does it.

Yes, being careless when you drive may cause deaths, that we already knew. Being stressed while you drive may be for some other reason than not having smoked. I've been sitting in the back seat of my dad's car when we were in a hurry to reach a ferry. Ice and rain and 10 minutes to drive a distance that would require at least 15 minutes with the speed limit on a road that was in a state that should make you drive under the speed limit.
Also in my post I said that there were less than 100 dangers of smoking which I consider a high estimate. If you can come up with 101 possible deaths by smoking, that couldn't have have happened without it, then please, entertain me with your wall of text.
I never said once that second hand smoking isn't harmful, not once. Quote the exact place where I said it wasn't.

I also never said smoking wasn't dangerous. I jut said it wasn't dangerous in every possible way, like the guy I originally quoted claimed to think. Smoking i a danger, I wont deny that. Driving is a danger, running is a danger, not wearing a proper helmet while driving a motorcycle is a danger, yeah, here the law states that your eyes should be shielded while riding a motorcycle.

I like to be pedantic >_>
And yes other things can cause traffic accidents I was merely pointing out ways that being a smoker cn make it worse since you seemed to be implying that it didn't.

Again, smoking make it worse, my example was just that, an example, smokers often (though not always) get stressed more easily than non-smokers, I was just pointing out how it can be a problem.
And I'm not going to post 101 way to die by smoking (by the way that sounds like a great name for a book) because I wasn't trying to disprove your claim, it's just that you seemed to be trivializing it.
For example there're only a handfull of ways to be killed by a train that doesn't stop people from thinking they can be dangerous.

You ponted out that alchohol is a more dangerous drug due to drnk driving, this is common arguement made by smokers to defend their habit "But I'm not hurting anyone!", I chose to shoot down that arguement before it was made, perhaps you wouldn't haves used it but I figured "get it out of the way first post".

As for the last bit, do you wear glasess?
If not put on some sunglassess then follow my instructions:
Push them up as far as they'll comfotably go, so they are covering your eyes.
Now try to bring your finger from outside of your field of view and poke your self in the eye without bliknking, don't worry the glasses will stop your finger.
Not so easy is it?
Now get a freind to try to poke your eye through your glassess quickly without blinking, that's even harder isn't it?
Now inmagine that somewone tried to do it without warning, could you keep your self from blinking, or even recoiling in shock?

It doesn't matter wether you're wearing a vior or not, if a small object is going straight for your eyes at high speed you WILL react, especially if you don't expect it.

Now at best they'll blink, a little worse they may jerk their head in suprise throwing off their ballance, worst case they may instinctivly try to shield their eyes with one of their hands.
No matter which it's a hazzard, though admittedly one caused by carelessness rather than smoking directly.

 

[Sjakie]

young, stupid, social pressure and the desire to look cool/grown up.

All the other ansers are bulls*** and are usually from smokers who are in denial.

Nicotine is probably the very worst drug around to become addicted to, because it really gets you nothing in return from your addiction. Alcohol and weed for example at least give you a nice buzz when you use it.

Nicotine doesn't do shit for you.

*lights up*

Nicotine does give you a buzz, maybe not as powerful as marijuana or alcohol, but it does effect you physically and mentally.

I think i know what you mean, but your wrong.
If you're referring to the fact you can get lightheaded from a cigarette, that's just the drop in oxygen in your blood because nicotine replaces it. It's not the nicotine, it is the sudden lack of oxygen.
If you mean that nicotine calms you down... well, you wouldn't even get restless if it wasn't for those mild withdrawl symptoms. So your looking at that backwards.
Nicotine has absolutly no enjoyable effects besides staving of the actual withdrawl symptoms and lets be honest: that just doesn't count because you would not feel restless if you never got addicted.

I wish i never started looking back at it.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

snip

Yeah, and 100% of deaths is related to death. in Japan everybody smokes, all the fucking time, and they don't die from lung cancer or emphysema and they all live to see 80.

Do you know how many integers go into the evaluation of causation of death? Medical assistance, preventative medicine, better tobacco standards (Japanese cigarettes are not only phenomenal, but they also have higher standards in filtration ... all the nicotine, much less of the gunk), diet.

Obesity is a bigger concern than tobacco.

It would be a healthier alternative for chronic eaters to light up a cigarette and replace eating complex for stress relief than it would continuing to simply consume.

And alot of those measurements are fucked up. In Australia there was a look at how one evaluates death by smoking and the doctors admit it when they say "You know, this guy could have smoked twice the number of cigarettes if he didn't also have a weight problem".

Guy dies of a heart attack, "Oh must have been smoking" ... despite the fact that he weighs 400 lbs. Japanese are proof of this ... all Japanese males smoke ... all of them ... in restaurants, on the Shinkansen, in cafes, so on and so forth.

But they all live to see 86. Nowhere near the same levels of lung cancer, or emphysema, or heart attacks. So you can say '20% of all deaths in the US are from tobacco" ... I call bullshit and say "Most of those deaths were largely attributeable to DIET (or other medical concerns that doctors skimp over and say "meh ... lets just say it was the smoking that did him in")".

Edit: See, I won't live past 60 ... genetic heart problems, eventual neurological problems too on my father's side.

But I bet you, despite the fact that I have quit (I like smokers in general, they are real people), that a doctor will look at my report and say "oh .. smoked for 12 years since he was 14, must have something to do with that."

 

[Cheesepower5]

I'll tell you what made a lot of people I know quit; The New Brunswick(Canada) government raising the price to almost 15 bucks a pack. It's working, too.