By Danielle Nedivi
China by babasteve
It’s a question that we have all wondered about at some point. No matter if we are active users, casual dabblers, or outside observers- the mystery confounds in all contexts: why do people smoke cigarettes? Today, virtually everyone in the United States knows that smoking is bad. School programs, public service ads, flyers, doctors- even the cigarette boxes themselves- have drilled that into our brains incessantly enough. Yellow teeth, wrinkles, short breath, not to mention heart disease, lung disease, cancer- the list is seemingly endless. And yet, despite all of the well-known detrimental consequences, smoking is still very much a prevalent activity throughout the US, with the young generations just as much as the old.
According to the American Cancer Society, more than 3,500 people younger than 18 try their first cigarette every single day, and 1,100 others become regular daily smokers. About one-third of these kids will later die from a smoking-related disease. Considering that we all know about this deadly effect, why try that fateful first cigarette in the first place? The answers vary from person to person, but overall they tend to cover the same ground. Some studies have shown social influences from peers to be a major cause. Powell (2005) showed that moving a high-school student from a school where no children smoked to a school where one quarter of the youths smoked would increase the probability that he or she smoked by about 14.5%. Overall, based on 2007 data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 20% of high school students smoke. Many prefer not to feel left out or appear antisocial by not taking risks or trying new things, and they are willing to compromise their health to achieve that crucial sense of belonging. The health-deteriorating factor of cigarettes is too elusive and vaguely far off to feel critical- if anything, their immediate effects are mostly positive.
Smoking provides many enticements on top of its well-advertised drawbacks. Cigarettes stimulate receptor sites for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, and provide a short term boost in dopamine levels. The results can be a temporary yet immediate calm and solace to a smoker . They can also render potentially awkward moments such as breaks from conversation natural (Dichter, 1947). They provide a smoky, mature voice and a feeling of sophistication and nonchalance. That society has brought many to believe that smoking is “cool” does not help matters. In media from films to books to songs, from GQ photo spreads to “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” the smoker is usually presented as an alluring rebel worth striving to imitate. “Chain smoking” and “clove cigarettes” have become unpredictably glorified terms. At least at the moment, the image of the slightly neurotic, jaded, risk-taking smoker is trendy, and people will go far to emulate it. Even in college, where we believe students are not only more intelligent and mature but also less impressionable, cigarettes still appear all over the place and incite a mystique the influence of which is difficult to shake off, even for those who had successfully avoided the offender thus far (Reed, 2006) .
These are fine reasons for the first cigarette, but why do people continue to the third, and tenth, until they have developed an iron habit so difficult to break off that many people simply give up trying? Starting early is a recipe for long-term addiction- and addiction is undoubtedly the main culprit to blame for the continuous use of cigarettes. Nicotine tricks the brain synapses to believe that they are accepting acetylcholine, and eventually they stop producing the real neurotransmitter of the same effect to avoid overload. However, this causes the body to be dependent on nicotine, and whenever a smoker is deprived of cigarettes for too long, the body begins to experience withdrawal symptoms. By the time the smoker has more or less consciously reached this stage, he or she is hooked and will have serious difficulty dropping the addiction.
Despite all of the bad news, the fact is that smoking has been on the decline. Data from the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) indicates that the prevalence of current cigarette use in high schools has declined from 36.4% in 1997 to 21.9% in 2003, and has remained stable as of 2007. However, not too much comfort can be derived from this, because this prevalence had jumped from 27.5% in 1991 to 36.4% in 1997 before (with similar results among adults). Smoking trends are clearly not very stable, and a turn-around showing resurging cigarette popularity can happen again any time.
References:
Dichter, E. (1947) Why Do We Smoke Cigarettes? Originally published in The Psychology of Everyday Living. Retrieved 5 Mar. 2009 from Smoking Sides <http://smokingsides.com/docs/whysmoke.html>.
Kane, A. M. (2009, January 9). If Smoking is Bad for You, Who Still Does It? Retreived from CNN.com
<http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/01/09/who.still.smokes/index.html>.
Office on Smoking and Health, Div of Adolescent and School Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC (2008, June 27). Cigarette Use Among High School Students — United States, 1991–2007. Retreived 5 Mar. 2009 from <http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5725a3.htm>.
Powell, L. M. (2005) The Importance of Peer Effects, Cigarette Prices and Tobacco Control Policies for Youth Smoking Behavior. Journal of Health Economics (24) 950-68.
Reed, M. B. (2006) The Relationship Between Alcohol Use and Cigarette Smoking in a Sample of Undergraduate College Students. Addictive Behaviors 32, 449-64.
Centers for Disease Control (2009) Smoking & Tobacco Use. Retrieved from <http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/
data_statistics/fact_sheets/youth_data/youth_tobacco.htm>.
Watson, N. A. “Filthy or Fashionable? Young People’s Perceptions of Smoking in the Media.” Health Education Research. Oct. 2003. Oxford University Press. 5 Mar. 2009<http://her.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/18/5/554>.
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As a college student, I have first hand knowledge and experience with cigarettes and their allure. From D.A.R.E. classes in elementary school to the Truth campaigns on TV and billboards, anti-smoking propaganda is everywhere; however, college students seem to be a demographic with one of the highest smoking rates. In my opinion, there are many reasons for this. First of all, the image. “Cool” scenes of celebrities at the clubs smoking cigarettes and subliminal messaging in movies gives students a glamorized impression of smoking. Also, alcohol. People tend to have a few beers and suddenly have an overwhelming urge to smoke a cigarette, even if they aren’t smokers. With students partying one, two, or three times a week, smoking significantly increases during the weekend. Finally, many people use smoking as a tool for social interactions. If someone asks you for a “light” or if they can “bum a smoke,” a unspoken understanding is achieved by both members in the interchange and a temporary friendship is created. While I don’t think the college environment promotes lifelong smokers, it certainly contains many incentives for casual smokers to bond with one another over cigarettes.
Comment by Sarah Morrison — September 29, 2009 @ 11:07 pm
Synapses from nicotine in the brain lead to decreased acetylcholine production over time, so smokers do not get the rush of energy that acetylcholine produces without the nicotine on which they have become dependent. Tobacco companies have funded studies looking at the ability to complete a simple task by active smokers compared to smokers who have not had any nicotine for an extended period of time. Because active smokers have more energy from their recent intake of nicotine, they are able to complete these tasks more efficiently. For this reason, tobacco companies use these studies as cited scientific evidence that cigarettes enhance energy and alertness. Obviously, there is much bias in this evidence, as it does not consider the abilities of non-smokers. For some people, however, it may be enough to justify the habit.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/9704.php
Comment by 105 Student — October 4, 2009 @ 2:33 pm
In a response to a question posted on the Time’s Science Q&A, C. Claiborne Ray, an editor for the The New York Times, argues that nicotene is not the most addictive drug. Citing current evidence done by Jack E. Henningfield, a researcher for the National Institute on Drug Abuse studied patterns of use, death rates and and dependence of both drugs and found both are highly addictive yet evidence does not show nicotine is more addictive than cocaine.
Comment by 105 student — October 11, 2009 @ 4:45 pm
As has been previously discussed and shown, there are a seemingly endless number of reasons for smoking and continuing to smoke. There are obvious social incentives for smoking and the effect that nicotine has on the body makes it hard to break the habit. In addition, there are physical properties of cigarettes that fascinate and compel smokers, and are part of what encourages them to continue smoking. There seems to be a link between cigarettes and time, for as a cigarette slowly burns away, time seems to pass quickly. In a 1947 article from The Pyschology of Everyday Living that explores the motives for smoking cigarettes, Ernest Dichter (http://smokingsides.com/docs/whysmoke.html) suggested that cigarettes give the smoker something to do, and quells any feelings of impatience. Dichter also proposed that the smoke represents a physical manifestation of the smoker, as it fulfills the human tendency to “make things”. Smoke is also something mystical and mysterious, and many people just enjoy observing it. Finally, Dichter made the argument that a new pack of cigarettes offers smokers a feeling of satisfaction, as it “signifies that one is provided for”. The physiological motives for smoking cigarettes are obvious, but there are also subtle pyschological elements to cigarettes that compel smokers to continue their habit.
Comment by Ross Macklin — October 11, 2009 @ 7:57 pm
I think another interesting aspect of this is that part of society has become desensitized to anti-smoking media. From a very young age kids are lectured about the consequences of smoking and it could be that all the facts and statistic just loose their meaning. There have been so many anti-smoking campaigns that it becomes very difficult to approach things from a fresh perspective.
What I think is the worst part of this is that since the consequences of smoking take longer to appear than the initial calm/high they give, cigarettes become the gateway for other harmful habits. Teens who smoke are 3 times more likely to drink alcohol, 8 times more likely to smoke marijuana, and 22 times more likely to use cocaine. (http://www.smoking-facts.net/Teen-Smoking-Facts.html) Teens might think that since the effects of smoking aren’t showing up, the effects of other even more harmful substances won’t either. Perhaps the way to get teens to decrease their smoking habits it to warn them about the other dangerous paths it may lead too.
Comment by Maria Zapata — October 12, 2009 @ 5:52 pm
I can see how it would be easy to get hooked not only physiologically, but also psychologically. In addition to the rewarding release of dopamine caused by stimulation of the brain’s pleasure centers, smokers also receive the psychological reward of social acceptance. Furthermore, the reward of social acceptance serves as positive reinforcement of the behavior of smoking while any social alienation as a result of not smoking would serve as negative punishment. According to the Law of Effect, this would increase the frequency of the behavior of smoking.
Comment by Kris Adkins — October 13, 2009 @ 9:45 pm
I have to agree with Maria. It would be interesting to study if the “early and often” exposure to D.A.R.E. programs through middle and high school actually desensitized their audience.
I know I’ve seen countless tarred lungs and livers with cirrhosis. I walked away from the lecture on how to just “Say No!” shocked and moved, but after a few times of hearing the same slogans, it was more socially acceptable to act nonchalant and make fun of the message.
It’s a thesis/antithesis situation. We hear every few weeks in middle school that cigarettes are bad, and then “health” class becomes a running joke. TV commercials like the “Above the Influence” (http://www.abovetheinfluence.com/the-ads/) campaign came out, and those too become part of the joke. Maybe these constant warnings are actually working for the tobacco companies. People rebel against what they feel are constraints, living a drug-free life being one of those.
Overexposure to scare tactics and cheesy slogans in combination with paradoxical treatment of smoking in the media may have desensitized our generation, making the drive to smoke both social and physiological. Maybe it’s this double whammy of desensitization to anti-smoking literature that makes cigarette usage so deadly—it becomes a societal pressure as well as a physiological one.
Comment by Arianna Gass — October 16, 2009 @ 10:06 pm
Another reason kids seem to smoke is that they don’t see the initial problem with smoking cigarettes. Sure, someone can tell you that smoking kills and is unhealthy, but an ignorant teenager won’t care about what’s going to possibly happen to them in the far off future. They care about today, about the group of “cool” kids that are smoking on the side, about fitting in and the many other reasons offered by Danielle.
We never think bad things will happen to us. Why worry about what may occur when you can enjoy the now? That’s what we are told, to live in the moment. Kids do, they smoke and get addicted. And before they know it, it’s too late. And even 5-10 years down the line they may still be healthy. So why stop?
There are no truly awful initial side effects. It would be interesting if there was a way to effectively show young teenagers how harmful smoking is in its earlier stages.
Comment by Zach Nanus — October 27, 2009 @ 7:17 pm
I think the peer pressure related to smoking at an early age is also connected to environment. I grew up in an area where smoking wasn’t very prevalent among teenagers, and therefore didn’t even have the opportunity to smoke, let alone the desire to.
When I came to college, I was shocked at how many people smoked. I completely agree with Zach’s post above in that I’d like to see the outcome of a way that showed teens the early effects of smoking. Most kids don’t realize how quickly they can get addicted…they may care about their future but don’t see how what they do in the present can affect something so far off.
Comment by Jenna Kronenberg — November 6, 2009 @ 11:49 pm
Social smoking is common to see in many settings. In college, smoking may allow people to socialize more intimately while at parties. This is also common in the working world. Personally, I have noticed that stepping outside to smoke together is a common way that workers are able to bond. People enjoy this intimate setting because it allows them to open up to each other more than they could in larger groups.
People who partake in this social smoking may not ever smoke on their own. They do it solely to be more more sociable. Over time, however, people may become addicted to cigarettes, even if they do not ever smoke alone. This could eventually lead “social smokers” to become regular smokers. This addictive drug can have a stronger effect over people than they may realize, making it more dangerous.
Comment by 105 Student — November 29, 2009 @ 10:22 pm
Despite the increasing amounts of anti-drug advertisements, the celebrity ads promoting smoking make more of an impact on the general population because people look for reasons to justify their actions. Especially as children, we are prone to doing the opposite of what we are told. Peer pressure, also play a role as others have pointed out. But, whether an individual decides to smoke or continue smoking depends on the environment as well. One of my close friends who is a smoker, started around 11 or 12, and both of his parents had smoked too. Growing up and seeing both your parents smoke can lead to you viewing smoking as less of a danger.
I read an interesting article (http://www.pierrelemieux.org/artsmoke.html) which stated that people smoke because it is rational. The author of the article points out that people who smoke focus more on the present rather than the future, and therefore take more risks and don’t plan ahead. Smokers are prevalent among artists as shown by smoking rates among college majors. Sixty-seven percent of dance majors and forty-eight percent of english majors are smokers whereas only twenty percent of engineering majors and seventeen percent of psychology majors are smokers.
Comment by Julia Tsang — December 2, 2009 @ 1:51 am
I agree that one of the strongest allures for teen smoking today comes from social standpoint and want of social acceptance. I have personally witnessed the influence of social interaction on smoking after going to a boarding school where smoking played a large part in social interactions of those students who were perceived to be “cool” by the underclassmen. In a study done by Forster, Chen, Blaine, Perry, and Toomey (2003) on social exchange of cigarettes by youth, researchers found that 90% of the study participants, 13-16 year old students in Minnesota, had received their first cigarette from a peer and 75% of participant had then offered cigarettes to fellow peers. These findings show that a major percentage youth smoking in today’s culture is a result of influence from other youth, and the desire for youth to fit in and seem acceptable to their peers.
Comment by Chelsea Peteson-Salahuddin — December 4, 2009 @ 1:34 am
There is a great deal of evidence that one’s culture has a strong impact on the presence of smoking within a specific society or country. Despite the popular image of a Frenchman smoking, the rate of smoking is actually a great deal higher in the U.S., and surprisingly enough Greece has the greatest prevalence of smoking above all other countries. (http://www.aolhealth.com/condition-center/smoking-cessation/countries-highest-smoking-population)
Despite these statistics, the need to fit in is powerful within all societies. In a study conducted by Asch in 1952, 8 college students demonstrated the immense influence of the mob-mentality and the opinions of others. 75% of the subjects went along with the majority(a group of confederates) at least once even when it was wrong. Furthermore, in the
(in)famous experiment conducted by Milgram, subjects were willing to give what they thought were lethal shocks to others if they were told by “experimenters” that it was necessary for the experiment. This shows the power of authority and that humans are willing to do almost anything if they are told to do so by those who they consider to be a legimate authority.
Therefore, if people are willing to torture others, they are certainly willing to risk there own health by smoking to fit in. Especially if it is a threat that seems so distant and vague.
Comment by Sarah Backal-Balik — December 7, 2009 @ 7:39 pm
Interestingly, I am not surprised that the smoking rate in the U.S is so high. I think the money which is funneled into anti-smoking campaigns is the very reason children end up smoking. First of all, it introduces and exposes a child to the idea of a cigarette much earlier and more often than a child would without it. And to be honest, it is in the nature of angsty children to rebel-with the negativity of the campaigns making their mode of rebellion that much clearer.
Much in the same way that age-restrictions on purchasing alcohol in the U.S ignores the education of moderation and causes (largely college) kids to often over-drink and in some very sad cases die of alcohol poisoning.
Comment by 105 student — May 12, 2013 @ 5:43 pm
I like the way the comments on this issue have moved towards why young people, i.e. college students, start and continue to smoke cigarettes. There and many social reasons to smoke cigarettes, especially in the college setting. However, the addictive ingredient, nicotine is craved by this specific group of people for a more powerful reason. College students are busy and have lifestyles that demand alertness and great cognitive function. Recent research shows nicotine has been shown to increase cognitive function. Research by Levin, McClernon, and Rezvani (www.springerlink.com/content/y41lg2qj24 xvvh31/) has shown that nicotine and nicotinic analogs improve working memory, learning, and attention. Also, the three researchers have seen positive results in treating cognitive dysfunction disorders such as attention deficit hyperactive disorder. These results draw another answer to the question of why young people (high school and college students) use cigarettes, as they can obtain an academic benefit from the drug.
Comment by Psych 105 Student — December 11, 2009 @ 1:56 am
Reference
Levin, E., McClernon, F., Rezvani, A. (2005). Nicotine effects on cognitive function: behavioral characterization, pharmacological specification, and anatomic localization [Abstract]. Psychopharmacology Journal, 184(3-4), 523-539.
Comment by Psych 105 Student — December 11, 2009 @ 2:08 am
What I think might be an interesting correlation is the fact that a lot of people seem to pick up smoking when they go away to college, as opposed to while still in high school. Part of that is probably the different living environment, but I think perhaps greater workload, and more stress over aforementioned greater workload may play a role as well. We often bemoan partying and drinking and smoking but not very often do we ask if it is simply a coping mechanism designed to deal with stress.
Comment by Psch 105 student — December 16, 2009 @ 3:45 pm
I agree with the last comment. I’ve found that many of my high school friends have become smokers after going away to school. When I asked what caused them to smoke their first cigarette the prevalent response was that they had been offered a smoke and didn’t turn it down. Peer pressure at parties and other social events seems to be a reoccurring theme in encouraging people to smoke, especially for freshman. Pressure to make friends quickly can lead to rash decision-making, which in most cases can have a long-term effect on the individual.
I also think that stress can lead to smoking in young people. In my high school, children as young as 14 were chain smokers. The social and academic pressures of schooling can drive students towards the nearest coping mechanism, which for many is smoking. The warning signs about the danger of cigarettes are everywhere, but actions are greater than words. When young people see everyone around them smoking without apparent harm, it can convince them that they are invincible to the health risks of cigarettes.
Comment by Michelle Harvey — February 10, 2010 @ 11:34 am
Smoking tends to decrease as education level increases (i.e. a greater percentage of high school drop-outs smoke than individuals with a high school diploma and those with some college education smoke even less, etc.). However, smokers have been shown to be almost twice as productive as their non-smoking counterparts in academic situations. This productivity boost may be the reason for the still significant number of college smokers and is probably a result of the unique properties of nicotine in that it reduces stress and anxiety and improves focus at the same time. And according to the Yerkes-Dodson law, these effects would have very favorable effects on performance in difficult tasks (like taking tests and getting work done in school).
Comment by Christopher Lloyd — May 2, 2010 @ 10:29 pm
Smoking is something we all learn about even when we are in elementary school. It’s drilled into us from an early age that the smokers are taking the wrong path and yet a lot of people go on to become smokers when they grow up. Coming to college, I have noticed a drastic increase in smoking among my peers. According to the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health,“31% of full-time college students smoke, compared with about 25% of the overall population.” The reason for this spike has many factors, including the bringing together of smokers from different groups to one campus. It also has to be factored in that smoking is an easy way to socialize with people and make connections. If you’re out on the stoop with someone else that is smoking it makes it easier to strike up a conversation with him or her, especially if you are at ease because you are smoking a cigarette. That is why campuses are trying to detach themselves from cigarette use, by installing campus wide smoking bans. This way students won’t be tempted to use smoking as a social tool. Also, according to the USA Today article More Colleges Banning Smoking, “Students form lifelong habits in college, so reducing their exposure to cigarettes may have a lasting effect, says Betsy Foy of the American College Health Association. ‘If you’re not allowed to smoke on campus, if you can’t buy tobacco products on campus, it will definitely deter some students from smoking,’ she says.” This is a strong motivator for schools to ban smoking. By stopping the habits of students now it may save them from forming lifelong ones in the long run. (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-01-colleges-smokefree_x.htm)
Sources:
Emily Bazar, (March 1, 2007), More Colleges Banning Smoking, USA Today, http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-03-01-colleges-smokefree_x.htm
Comment by Samantha Garcia — May 2, 2010 @ 11:43 pm
I think it is interesting how the prevalence of smoking in our youth culture here in America has such a powerful cultural impact across the world. The new frontier for American tobacco companies, now that there are such heavy commerce restrictions in the United States, is Indonesia. In Indonesia, there are little to no restrictions on tobacco advertising, including advertising gearing towards children. It is not uncommon to see a “cigarette truck” outside of an elementary school, similar to how we picture an ice cream truck waiting outside of elementary schools here in the states. Much of the success of these advertising campaigns in Indonesia is due to the portrayal of America as a land full of cowboys who smoke cigarettes as part of their lifestyle of independence.
References: http://current.com/shows/vanguard/93310427_cigarettes-sold-like-candy-in-indonesia-scenes-from-vanguard.htm
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/40024399/ns/today-today_health/t/smoking-toddler-kicked-habit-thousands-more-addicted/#.T4Byuo6wGpI
Comment by Daniel Killian — April 7, 2012 @ 12:10 pm
Although the medias are advertising smoking to be a bad thing, they are also advertising it to be something “cool”. We’ve seen it time and time again, in movies the “bad guy” smokes and as young kids we hate the bad guy, but as we grow older and into adolescence we want to resemble the bad guy. Its this kind of attitude that pushes us to want to be more “cool” than healthy. Its really very sad.
Comment by Sira Diakite — April 17, 2012 @ 1:50 am
I have always wondered whether children that were brought up in a “smoking” household were more likely to smoke. I did some research and found a study conducted by Dartmouth College. This study showed that children with parents who smoked were 4 times more likely to purchase cigarettes compared to students with non-smoking parents. This was studied through a scenario of role-playing, which showed that children are extremely attentive to their parent’s behaviors. They are constantly observing their actions. So if a child constantly sees their parent smoking everyday they might automatically assume that this was a habit they were supposed to have (enjoy?) as well.
Reference:
“Viewing Smoking in Movies Predicts If Adolescents Will Start Smoking, Researchers Say.” Dartmouth College. Web. 01 May 2012. .
“Children With Parents Who Smoke Are More Likely To Pick Up Smoking.” CHILDREN WITH PARENTS WHO SMOKE ARE MORE LIKELY TO PICK UP SMOKING. Web. 01 May 2012. .
Comment by Cecilia Rosenbaum — May 1, 2012 @ 8:48 pm
From as long as I can remember, my mom always told me that smoking is something that I should never get involved with. Because my grandfather died from lung cancer he developed from smoking, she was very adamant in ensuring that I knew the dangers of smoking. I knew that smoking was something that I never wanted to get involved with. I knew that it causes heart disease and lung cancer. I knew it made you smell and turns your teeth yellow. I knew all the dangers, but when the time came when I was asked if I wanted my first cigarette, my answer was yes. Many of the people I was with at the time were smoking, and I felt that I needed to join if I wanted to fit in. When I inhaled the smoke for the first time, I hurt and burned my lungs; I spent the next few minutes coughing. I knew from that moment I didn’t like smoking, but I continued anyways. It didn’t feel good but yet I continued. Why? The simply answer is peer pressure. I fell into the pressure of smoking to fit in even though I knew that I hated smoking. From that experience, I learned that facing peer pressure is difficult and only gets harder as you get older. I didn’t become a chain smoker after that; in fact, I only smoked once after that because I have learned that the dangers of smoking are more important to avoid than the desire to fit in. This type of experience is something that I think many high school and college students, and I believe that is why so many of them are chain smokers. In college, people are in a new place with new people. As humans, we want to fit in and make friends, and when someone is smoking, it may seem like it is easy to fall into the peer pressure rather than to not make a new friend. Therefore, I agree and understand with the idea that youths are more likely to become smokers when they around people who smoke regularly. Good job on this post! I think it was really appropriate and insightful for college students! Great job!
Comment by Psych Student 105 — April 24, 2013 @ 10:27 pm
I can’t think of any other phenomenon on this earth that really is as confounding as to why millions upon millions of people voluntarily do something (sometimes even 20 times a day – can you think of anything else that you would voluntarily do about 20 times a day?) that has been found in black and white terms to harm your health in significant ways! I believe that the only reason why adults smoke is probably because they got hooked on cigarettes in high school or college based on these social circumstances – and truly, it only takes a couple of them. I know I personally, as a non-smoker, find myself in at least 10 situations a week where I am in a group and am offered a cigarette, to which I always say no (I have never tried a cigarette). I am always scared for a day when my will power is lowered to such an extent that I will smoke one, and then another, and then all of a sudden I will be hooked and will be brought down a path that will literally affect how I think about the world (subtly or majorly) for the rest of my life. Personally, the saddest thing I would find about cigarettes is, as a passionate movie lover who can sit through 12 hour marathons of films, if I were addicted to cigarettes, the urge to smoke one every couple of hours would be so strong that I would barely be able to make it through a normal 2 hour film without immediately wanting a cigarette, let alone my viewing tendencies. I wonder whether the need to smoke comes out of a desire to fill time for people who aren’t as passionately interested in something as I am? In essence, smoking becomes a passion in that it takes up just as much time as a passion would, and almost gives that person a reason to live, so to speak? I wonder how much the physiologically addictive aspects dictate cigarette usage, and how much of it really is just psychological?
Comment by Psych 105 Student — May 5, 2013 @ 1:05 pm