Why do peple smoke if they know it's bad for them?
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poiuy154 (
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May 19th, 2009
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Because it is an addiction to a drug more powerful than cocaine. Many smokers want to quit and have the best intentions, but the addiction to nicotine and the habituated behavior kicks in.
That is not to say that folks can’t quit, they can and many do it every day. Addictions are powerful!
What I am curious about is why it is mostly girls who smoke now, not guys.
Cuz it’s soooo good. I love to smoke. It’s not just the nicotine, it’s the routine: lighting the cig, inhaling and exhaling, the yummy, relaxing feeling (okay, that’s the nicotine).
I don’t smoke anymore, but I plant to start again if I make it past 75.
Because they enjoy it and it helps them relax.
People eat deep-fried twinkies, drink alcohol, and watch MTV for the same reason.
For the same reason that strangers sometimes have sex without condoms.
Most drug addicts don’t give a fuck if its bad for them. Ask someone who shoots up if they really care about their bodies or lives. I recently quit smoking cigs about a month ago. It was easier than I thought it would be to quit. The hardest part is not having one at my favorite intervals to smoke like after a meal, with a beer, after sex and a few others. It was more an oral fixation to me.
@Kayak8 I call bullshit on nicotine being more powerful addiction than cocaine. Im not saying it isn’t strong but damn. This is coming from a former crackhead.
@gailcalled I am a stranger to any who don’t know me, I have always had sex without a condom, and I don’t smoke. What am I doing wrong?
@DarkScribe: I would bet the farm that you are not having sex with strangers.
-Thrill
-Relieve stress
-Control hunger/lose weight
-Addiction
-Peer pressure
and the list goes on
I smoked because I stupidly associated stress relief with nicotine, and over time I became addicted to the nicotine.
I started as a very young man. At that time in my life, I believed that the rules applied to other people but not, necessarily, to me. I figured I could walk away at any time.
I was wrong.
I smoked heavily for twenty four years, before I quit two years ago. I haven’t cheated but I still want one, a lot.
Don’t start.
@gailcalled Hmmm. What sort of farm is it? (I see a stranger on the horizon.)
I started because I thought I looked cool when I smoked. Sixteen years later I wonder how cool I do look. I stopped for a few months a picked it back up again. I wish I could kick my own ass.
As a smoker, I will say very little of it is about enjoyment and relaxation. You really only feel relaxed by a cigarette because you have fed your body’s anxiety producing craving for cigarettes. It’s actually a a very powerful and complex addiction, not entirely about the nicotine… but people do all sorts of things they know are not good for them, they don’t eat well, they drink too much, they drive too fast or recklessly, they have unprotected sex, etc. Who really knows why people engage in self-destructive behavior. The will and imperative to survive in humans sometimes seems to be almost matched, or matched only by the temptation to do things that are not good for us.
@Kayak8 I wholeheartedly agree it is similar to cocaine. You do a line or smoke a cig and that hunger is quenched. A little later 15 minutes or an hour or whatever the thought pops up in the back of your head. “I need another one.” It gets louder and louder then you do another line or light another cig. Your like I need another I already had 12 today. Like clockwork until your out of nicotine or cocaine. Then your back to the dealers or tobacco mart.
@DarkScribe; 20 acres of fields, woods, creeks; I generally raise lots of ticks, Japanese beetles after July 1, poison ivy, dandelions, and I saw two male wild turkeys today.
People love to do things that are bad for them.
@pikipupiba That’s a little harsh in addition to not being true.
@pikipupiba: If you have never put yourself in any danger of any kind from drinking alcohol to driving a car, then you can say that.
I think a lot of people smoke because it is a learned behavior. My mother who is 55 and started smoking before anyone knew it was bad for you started smoking her mother’s cigarettes. Most of the people my age 20 who smoke started smoking because their parents, older siblings, friends etc. smoke. I think people continue smoking out of habit.
Addiction is a very powerful thing. I have been able to quit a few times-but it never lasts. I even have grandparents suffering the effects from years of smoking. I know how bad it is-but nicotine is a powerful drug.
Because I love it. I am exactly like @tinyfaery, pre-quitting stage. I know it’s going to kill me one day… but we all die of something!
On a more serious note, I truly wish I’d never started. It is the dumbest decision I ever made. I’ve tried to quit several times without success and have given up on the idea for the time being. Maybe someday I’ll try again.
@knitfroggy Perhaps you could kick my ass, and I’ll kick yours!
Because when you’re young and healthy, usually the time when most people start smoking, the risk of having lung cancer or other tobacco related diseases seems like a far too distant and improbable threat. It’s the kind of thing that only happens to others, old people, people with bad genes, people with a history of cancer in their family.
By the time most people realize the danger, smoking isn’t just a pastime anymore. It’s a habit similar to having lunch, dinner, a drink, it’s part of your personal and/or social life just like eating and drinking. In fact, after several years most people have had more cigarettes than meals or drinks, it’s something to consider.
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