# Why do people start smoking? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 25, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722 "2010-05-25T17:53:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722/61 "2010-05-26T18:43:35Z")
If only we all looked as cool when we smoked as [this baby](http://www.buzzfeed.com/scott/ardi-rizal-smoking-baby) does. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722/62 "2010-05-26T19:01:41Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I am skeptical of those who say they can smoke only 2 or 3 cigarettes a day, though or only smoke occasionally. Either they’re smoking more than they realize or they’re not doing it right. There is nothing pharmaceutically in nicotine that gives any kind of pleasure except for relief from withdrawal. Some people use it to self-medicate for anxiety. Some have brain chemistry such that nicotine hits them harder (or softer) than is typical. Some people are able to smoke small amounts regularly without graduating to heavier usage that would lead to dependency, while some are obviously not (this is confirmed by data, not merely anecdotes). Your experience is not universal. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722/63 "2010-05-26T19:14:53Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > And as far as cannabis enhancement? I’ve always thought the exact opposite. The zingy effect of nicotine IME takes away from the relaxation of cannabis. In retrospect, I think the perceived cannabis enhancement was really just placebo/wishful thinking combined with the normal pleasure of relieving withdrawal. If anything, it was the weed that was enhancing the cigarette experience. I never got the jittery effect that some get from nicotine, though. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722/64 "2010-05-26T19:36:24Z")
I was 20 when I started (which is late, AIUI). I hated myself and my life. I was severely depressed. I wanted to damage myself as much as possible, but still stay within the confines of what was “acceptable” under the tyranny of my distorted self-image (must never actually do anything bad, only socially acceptable badness - eg: no street drugs, not anything that will bring disrepute to the family or myself, never anything that will threaten my GPA). If I’d had the courage to kill myself I probably would have. Instead I purposely, consciously chose to inflict as much potential damage on myself as I could (knowing that this would be a decades long project, resulting in my painful drawn-out death from either cancer or emphysema). ---
**Author:** ![nicole1912](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9de0a6/32.png) [@nicole1912](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nicole1912)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722/65 "2010-05-26T19:50:30Z")
> [@niblet\_head](#): > > I was 20 when I started (which is late, AIUI). I hated myself and my life. I was severely depressed. I wanted to damage myself as much as possible, but still stay within the confines of what was “acceptable” under the tyranny of my distorted self-image (must never actually do anything bad, only socially acceptable badness - eg: no street drugs, not anything that will bring disrepute to the family or myself, never anything that will threaten my GPA). If I’d had the courage to kill myself I probably would have. Instead I purposely, consciously chose to inflict as much potential damage on myself as I could (knowing that this would be a decades long project, resulting in my painful drawn-out death from either cancer or emphysema). I was 16, but otherwise, this. And you’re the only person I’ve ever met who started the same way, in the full knowledge that smoking is bad for you, that’s the whole point. So thank you for making me feel less like a freak 😉 On the plus side, I quit when I moved here 10 months ago and have more or less stuck with it, bar a couple of slips. So it’s not impossible to quit, once you decide you don’t want to kill yourself after all. I still think it was a good choice of suicide method, for that reason alone. The others don’t tend to be as easily reversible. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722/66 "2010-05-26T20:06:15Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I started smoking to look cool. Pure and simple. I also thought it enhanced the buzz from smoking weed. > > I quit a long time ago, but I’m not really an anti-smoker. I don’t care if people smoke around me, smoke in my car, whatever. My wife won’t allow it in the house because of the kids, but it doesn’t bug me personally to be be in a smoke filled room. > > I am skeptical of those who say they can smoke only 2 or 3 cigarettes a day, though or only smoke occasionally. Either they’re smoking more than they realize or they’re not doing it right. There is nothing pharmaceutically in nicotine that gives any kind of pleasure except for relief from withdrawal. Someone only wanting 2-3 cigarettes per day is so far outside the realm of the believable for you that you think we are mistaken about the actual number of cigarettes we smoke? C’mon. I wasn’t ‘doing it wrong’, I’ve simply not prone to physical addiction to or overindulgence in any substance- I’m easily satiated by everything. Like I said I rarely smoked more than a pack a week. I still found having 2 or three cigs per day very enjoyable. I liked the taste (I smoked Newports, never found anything else nearly as tasty), I liked inhaling the smoke, and I liked doing it with other people. I never had withdrawal or an itch to scratch. I never had to disrupt my life because I had to satisfy a craving. I also found that cigs made me feel both more alert, and calmed. This is probably because I have ADD, which usually means your brain reacts differently to stimulants. Caffeine mellows me out as well. I got a tiny bit lightheaded when smoking. I assume this was more to do with lungs full of smoke than the nicotine or anything else in cigs. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722/67 "2010-05-26T20:52:01Z")
> [@nicole1912](#): > > So thank you for making me feel less like a freak 😉 You’re welcome! 🙂 > [@nicole1912](#): > > On the plus side, I quit when I moved here 10 months ago and have more or less stuck with it, bar a couple of slips. So it’s not impossible to quit, once you decide you don’t want to kill yourself after all. I still think it was a good choice of suicide method, for that reason alone. The others don’t tend to be as easily reversible. Yep, I quit three years ago, now. (Thanks, Chantix!) It absolutely had its place and purpose in my life. (It’s also a handy metaphorical way to tell the world to Fuck Off.) But you’re right, I’ve never come across anyone else either who had self-destruction in mind when they started smoking. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722/68 "2010-05-27T02:18:14Z")
> [@HazelNutCoffee](#): > > I don’t smoke heavily enough to be saturated in cigarette smoke (I can perceive when my clothes DO smell like smoke, like after a long night at a club or bar). > > Look, **Stoid** , I know you have the best of intentions, but the tone of all your posts makes me want to go out and smoke a pack just for the sheer hell of it. . That _is_ a classic case of the drug talking. Anything that endangers the addiction must be fought. And, you smokers really can’t smell yourselves. Yes, I know you can smell it when you reek? That’s how you smell all the time to non-smokers. Smoking kills your sense of smell, and of course, you can get used to smells. Don’t you know someone that uses hwaaaay too much perfume/aftershave? They don’t think they smell either. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722/69 "2010-05-27T02:26:18Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > That _is_ a classic case of the drug talking. Anything that endangers the addiction must be fought. > > And, you smokers really can’t smell yourselves. Yes, I know you can smell it when you reek? That’s how you smell all the time to non-smokers. Smoking kills your sense of smell, and of course, you can get used to smells. Don’t you know someone that uses hwaaaay too much perfume/aftershave? They don’t think they smell either. So true. I was stunned to realize how I must have smelled after I quit…within just a few days I was blown away when it became clear to me how incredibly strong the stench of cigarette smoke is, and how it attaches itself to everything. Today when I’m walking down the street, in a store, wherever, I can pick the smokers out no problem. Especially if they’ve smoked in the last hour. Many’s the time I’ve said a huge thank you for no longer walking through life reeking. And I am one of those people for whom smoking is an absolute dealbreaker on an intimate level. Some non-smokers can hack it, and I have tried because I’ve met some very appealing men that I otherwise found very attractive. But even though they brushed and gargled and went hours without, open mouthed kissing makes my gorge rise instantly, which obviously douses all sexual feelings. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722/70 "2010-05-27T02:29:36Z")
Can you people please cut the shit already? I don’t smoke, and have many friends who do. About half of my friends smoke, now that I think about it. None of my friends, except the one we’ve affectionately dubbed Smokey, reeks of cigarette smoke nonstop. Not everyone who lights up is a chimney who smells like they narrowly survived a tobacco fire. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722/71 "2010-05-27T02:55:36Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Can you people please cut the shit already? I don’t smoke, and have many friends who do. About half of my friends smoke, now that I think about it. None of my friends, except the one we’ve affectionately dubbed Smokey, reeks of cigarette smoke nonstop. Not everyone who lights up is a chimney who smells like they narrowly survived a tobacco fire. True- some **reek** and some just smell a little if you sit next to them. But it’s always noticable, at least to me and my friends. Now yes, back in the days everyone smoked, even in the workplace, my senses were dulled too, so they’d have to have been a heavy smoker. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722/72 "2010-05-27T02:59:17Z")
Wrong. Some smokers don’t smell at all. Do you _know_ the personal smoking habits of everyone you sit next to? I’m certain there are people who you know and/or are around that smoke, but you don’t realize this because they smell fine. There are people I know who didn’t realize smoked until I saw them smoking. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722/73 "2010-05-27T03:01:56Z")
I don’t think they all smell of cigarette smoke but I can definitely smell nicotine on people who smoke a lot even when they’re not smoking. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722/74 "2010-05-27T03:02:59Z")
How is it that some smokers have supernatural abilities not to retain the odor of cigarette snoke on their clothes, hair and skin? Is there a scientific explanation for this extraordinary and physics-defying ability? I can always smell smokers too. Like so many others, it was something I never noticed until I quit. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722/75 "2010-05-27T03:12:16Z")
Depends on a few things. Yes, in many cases, you can smell a smoker, but not always. Mainly, I’ve found the ones who don’t stink aren’t heavy smokers, don’t smoke indoors, and take measures to ensure they don’t smell. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722/76 "2010-05-27T03:22:28Z")
Well I suppose there are people who I don’t know are smokers, and I haven’t smelled it on them. I just mean that when I’ve been with someone who smokes and even when they aren’t huffing away sometimes I’ll notice the smell on their breath/clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722/77 "2010-05-27T04:07:06Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Wrong. Some smokers don’t smell at all. Do you _know_ the personal smoking habits of everyone you sit next to? I’m certain there are people who you know and/or are around that smoke, but you don’t realize this because they smell fine. There are people I know who didn’t realize smoked until I saw them smoking. I have never in my non-smoking life failed to detect a smoker by scent alone, to my knowledge. Meaning I may have briefly encountered people who smoked without knowing it, but I have never once been surprised by the fact that someone smokes when I’ve spent more than five minutes with them in reasonably close proximity. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722/78 "2010-05-27T04:08:58Z")
I will say, however, that I do have an unusually good sense of smell and did even when I smoked. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722/79 "2010-05-27T09:23:15Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > People on the SDMB feel extreme hostility toward all bad habits. None are allowed. Except overeating which, of course, isn’t really their fault. Hah. I’ve been here long enough to not be surprised by this, but for some reason I always end up exasperated all the same. Thanks for inserting a note of reality into this thread, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722/80 "2010-05-27T12:23:19Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Wrong. Some smokers don’t smell at all. I agree. There is this thing called hygiene. I notice some people who reek of BO, some smell of garlic, some smell like musty/dirty clothes. Yet, I am also around people who perspire/eat garlic/etc and smell fine. Those who say that _all_ smokers reek are being fooled by conformational bias, IMVHO. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-start-smoking/540722.md?page=5)