No, this isn’t pitting anyone or abomishing anyone who does. : p I’m just seriously mystified why anyone would ever smoke anyway.
To look cool?
To be in the “in” crowd?
Just curious about it? Fine. Smoke one. Stop. Why get hooked?
Really, why would someone volunteerily get hooked on smoking?
Okay, okay, maybe they can’t. Maybe they’re addicted. But why wouldn’t they want to stop?
What good does smoking do?
Sure it may ease the nerves a bit when you’re used to it.
Sure it may taste great.
Sure it may be enjoyable.
But what good does it do overall other than what it does when you’re addicted to it?
Again, not critisizing anyone who does…I actually think that smokers these days are really really considerate. I haven’t been around one who hasn’t asked me if they could light up or even just put it out if they were aware someone didn’t like it or didn’t smoke.
I’m not complaining about smokers. I’m just wondering why someone would start in the first place, and then continue doing it knowing the possible risks.
I also know and understand that some may be trying to quit but find it difficult. I’ve never smoked, but I stood by my mom’s side all while she was trying to quit, so I know it’s no easy or small task.
And lastly, I’m not saying to all the smokers in here “you should quit” or trying to convince you to quit, I’m just asking what you get out of it and what it’s doing beneficial to your life overall. By all means, you can keep smoking and I wouldn’t complain or care really. What you do is your choice.
So what is so “cool” or “good” about smoking? What is the point?
It just occured to me that this may be seen as a “IMHO” and be moved there. It’s fine if it is…but just for note’s sakes: I’m against smoking. Like, majorly. That’s why I put it here. I was hoping to spawn a debate about why one should smoke VS why one shouldn’t, but hoping to not get all lecture-y on anyone.
Well, I quit three years ago after smoking for eight years. I was worried about the weight gain (25 pounds in my case) but figured it was better than the smoking. There were two things I had going in my mind before I finally reached the crux:
Do I want to maintain my smoking-associated social life, stay relatively skinny, have something to do with my hands at bars, and have an “outlet” as it were for anxiety;
or
Do I want to wither away from emphysema, up my risk of heart disease (a biggie in my genetics), and continue to get bronchitis every year? Additionally, having my thoughts, emotions, and actions controlled by a chemical wasn’t very healthy, either.
Healthwise, I picked number 1.
I do smoke the very occasional cigar, much for the same reasons that were mentioned in the other threads.
I don’t recall exactly WHY I started smoking. Stupidity, probably. That was 22 years ago and I’ve tried to stop, but I just do NOT have the willpower. I’d honestly like to stop smoking, as it serves NO real purpose, other than ‘something to do with your hands.’ Quitting is very, very difficult for me to even think about doing. I’d love to stop, though!
I smoke an occasional cigar. I’ve never smoked cigarettes, and my cigar smoking ranges in frequency from one every couple of weeks, to a couple a year, depending on social circumstances or time. I used to enjoy the occasional pipe as well, but I got out of the habit a few years ago.
I started because it sounded enjoyable, and so I read up on it and decided that the health risks of an occasional, non-inhaled cigar are reasonable. So I tried it, and liked it, and added cigars to my list of things that constitute ‘the good life’ along with the occasional glass of brandy or port, a good beer, an occasional glass of wine, and the large Coke Slurpee.
The key, as in all things, is moderation and understanding the risks of lifestyle choices. I run far more risk of dying from flying airplanes, skiing, bicycling, or just sitting too much in front of my computer and eating too many snacks than I do from cigars.
You’ve answered your own question. It eases the nerves, it tastes great, it’s enjoyable. That’s what good it does.
As for the bad, smoking is a lottery. Some smokers can live till 91 (my father, for instance) and never contract cancer at all, some die horribly with lung cancer in their 30s. Maybe it’s a genetic thing, maybe it’s the luck of the draw, who knows?
I quit a few years ago, mainly because I couldn’t justify the expense.
Why does anyone start smoking crack or shooting heroin? The downsides of those tend to be more visibly apparent. One problem with cigs is the real damage tends to be seen only after many years of smoking. Teens don’t see other teens and young adults dying from smoking related causes.
I started to check it out - mere inquisitive nature, the same thing that led me to try most forms of recreational drugs and consume large quantities of alcohol. Same thing that led me to try lots of things that have no inherent benefit to anyone. Same thinkg that made me, at various times, play lots of sports.
I stopped doing it when the downside exceeded the enjoyment I got from it - same as everything else I tried.
No one (or almost no one) decides to get hooked. They start smoking the occasional cigarette because it gives a head rush, or because their friends are doing it, or because it looks cool. They decide to smoke in moderation, or to smoke for a while and then quit. Some people stick to this plan and become non-smokers. Others can’t and become smokers.
Because they’re addicted, of course. Physical addiction provides a strong disincentive to abstention.
You don’t understand — once you’re addicted to it, it doesn’t do anywhere near as good a job of easing the nerves and making you feel good. In fact, you have to smoke just to feel “normal” and stop the withdrawal effects. It’s when you’re first smoking and not yet addicted to it that it displays all its charms. Nicotine feels nice. (OK, when you’re really just starting out, it can make you woozy and nauseous, but between then and the point where you mostly just get to feel normal and cease craving a smoke for a bit, it’s very pleasant. Definitely as enticing in its own way as alcohol or marijuana, although far more of a physical and emotional high rather than a mental-state modifier, i.e., you don’t get “intoxicated”.
I smoked 4 cigs a day for several years as a teenager and got a rush from each one. Then I worked part-time in a garage after school and the mechanics would smoke pretty much perpetually and I escalated and soon lost the rush and was up to half a pack a day. Quit after 8-9 years of addicted smoking. Mostly there was no pleasure in it after the early phase.
It only takes three to four cigarettes for an individual to become addicted to nicotine. There’s not a lot of room between the “Wow this tastes like shit and makes me cough” and the “I need a cigarette” phases of becoming an addict. I totally disagree with the notion that smoking in moderation is an acceptable risk.
When I was 5, I took a bif drag on a cigarette with an older kid from the neighborhood (he stole it from his mom’s purse).
I coughed my guts out for what seemed like an hour. Since that day I never had the desire to try smoking.
I’m immensely skeptical of this. Do you have a specific source of information? I suppose there may be a few people who have some kind of immensely strong genetic or biochemical predisposition towards tobacco addiction, but the fact is that it takes a while to get a tobacco habit. I’ve heard of people picking up a habit after only a few weeks, but I’ve never heard of anyone having a craving for tobacco after only three or four smokes.
Like almost every other smoker, I started as a kid because I wanted to look cool, to fit in, to appear worldly and sophisticated. I grew up in the '50’s and '60’s in a poor/working class Southern setting, and I’d say something like three quarters of the adults I knew were smokers. My grandfather smoked, my father smoked, my older brother smoked, most of the kids at high school smoked … well, you get the idea.
I gave up smoking about two years ago partly for health reasons but primarily for financial reasons. My budget was exceptionally tight one month, and I decided to do without tobacco to stretch my money. At the end of the month, I figured I’d already gone that long without a smoke so I might as well see how long I could keep it up. I’ve managed to put more than $900 in the bank (in addition to my regular savings) since I quit. I’ve fallen off the wagon maybe twice in two years.
I put on about twenty pounds (and was already considerably overweight before I quit) but my doctor seems to think this wasn’t nearly as much of a problem as tobacco.
But smoking is pleasurable. One of the most relaxing things in the world was my little after-work ritual of rolling and smoking my first cigarette of the evening. Tobacco helped me to relax, and it helped calm me down in moments of stress.
Even though I am now an ex-smoker, I find that I am often exasperated or offended by sanctimonious anti-smokers. Let’s face it, for some of these people it’s just a good excuse to be rude and bully other people.
They’re not even close to considerate in these parts. Smoker smoke right next to the “no smoking” signs, light up in elevators, light up in crowded places, and constantly litter with their used cancer sticks.
I forgot to mention that I saw the same nasty behavior in Nevada too. Both places are a far, far cry different than California when it comes to smokers’ behavior.
By all means, you can keep smoking and I wouldn’t complain or care really. What you do is your choice.