Why do people start smoking?

[The Bacon Guy]

Quote by: Stronghearts Bacon, you, too are free to find some doctors on record stating that smoking is a smart choice.

It's not a smart choice if your overriding priority is preserving your health.

However, not everyone has the same priorities. Some people would rather live a shortened life of decadence than a longer life without such pleasures. Smoking is then a logical choice based on their priorities. So unless you can prove those priorities to be objectively wrong, smokers are no less smart than your good self.

[StrongHeartsWin]

Quote by: The Bacon Guy It's not a smart choice if your overriding priority is preserving your health. However, not everyone has the same priorities. Some people would rather live a shortened life of decadence than a longer life without such pleasures. Smoking is then a logical choice based on their priorities. So unless you can prove those priorities to be objectively wrong, smokers are no less smart than your good self.

I`ve accepted that some people as anomallies exist and I am not debating about what those anomalies within the population prefer. For the most part though, people generally do not want to die. For the general population, choosing to smoke is not a smart decision.

[The Bacon Guy]

Quote by: Stronghearts I`ve accepted that some people as anomallies exist and I am not debating about what those anomalies within the population prefer.

There's every chance that most smokers hold these anomalistic priorities and are therefore perfectly logical in their lifestyle choices.

Quote by: Stronghearts For the most part though, people generally do not want to die.

And for the most part, smokers generally don't want to quit. It's about which of the two options (quitting or shortening one's life) is more important to the individual. So they may not want to shorten their lives, but this desire may not be so great as their desire to smoke. Again, it's just a matter of subjective priority.

[Praxius]

I just turned 27 and started smoking on New Years.... I figured you live only once, and so I might as well understand what people go through, so I can relate down the road......

I still smoke.... however the novelty is wearing off now, and eventually i'll quit.....

I started smoking mainly out of curiosity and that little 5 min nicotine rush you get.... now that's pretty much gone, and I'm hacking up some nasty green stuff everytime I smoke now, so I'll be quitting soon enough.

I stop for a few days, I start again, just because... I perhaps smoke maybe 3-6 smokes per day, on the days I decide to smoke that is..... I do not notice any urges that make me feel that I really need a smoke.... if I get like that, I'll just turn to my weed to gradually take me off the tobacco..... since that isn't physically addictive as smokes.

To compare the two, Marijuana is like a longer lasting, cleaner, healthier and stonger Nicotine Rush...... I don't have my lungs loaded in flem and shit..... it doesn't smell as bad as smoking, and it reduces my stress a lot more then smoking does......

I think the other reason why I started smoking was the fact that it's a cheap legal high I can get for a few minutes in the day at work..... a short distraction so to speak.....

But I would much rather tobacco be illegal then marijuana.....

[CoffeeSaint]

Quote by: StrongHeartsWin Amusing.

Thanks! And here I was worried you didn't have a sense of humor.

Quote by: StrongHeartsWin Don`t smoke, don`t run, and you will not be stinky from either. You could take a shower after running, too, and use some good body deoderant. Soap during the shower works well, too. And if you do quit smoking and work on your aerobic ability, you could run further, delaying the time when you start to sweat. There you go, already more healthy and stinking much less.

Well, to be honest, I did quit smoking a few months ago. Because I didn't want to smoke any more. If I change my mind again and want to smoke, I'll start smoking again. My health is of little concern to me; I refuse to give up things I like so I can live a long and unhappy/unsatisfying life. My longevity-extending strategy is to enjoy all of my life that I can, and to reduce my stress as much as is humanly possible -- which, by the way, is why I keep disappearing from this forum. Whenever I start getting too irritated or frustrated with these arguments, I go away for a while until I'm calm enough to return.

At any rate, whether or not I stink means nothing to me. I can't smell myself, and I could care less if other people are comfortable with my smell -- because I do not put myself into close quarters with lots of other people. If people don't like walking past me on the street, then they can hold their breath or not walk past me. I have to put up with uncountable things that get on my nerves, but since it is my irritation, I have to deal with it. The same goes for people who don't like how I smell.


Oh, and in answer to the OP: I first started smoking because I liked a girl who smoked, and I bummed cigarettes off of her in order to start a conversation. I kept smoking because I like sitting quietly by myself and thinking, and smoking fit in very well with that. I also drink an inordinate amount of cofee (hence the screen name) and cigarettes go well with coffee. Basically, I liked smoking, so I smoked.

[StrongHeartsWin]

Quote by: CoffeeSaint Thanks! And here I was worried you didn't have a sense of humor.

I assure you I do. OFE makes me chuckle often, as I am sure he is soon to reply that I do him also.

Well, to be honest, I did quit smoking a few months ago. Because I didn't want to smoke any more.

Why don`t you want to smoke anymore?

[tinybear]

Simple. They're curious and they think it makes them look cool.

[Arawn-ap-Hywel]

Quote by: Epistemologist For all you smokers out there, why did you start? Do you like it? Do you not like it? Why do you continue? Are you addicted? Do you regret starting? Do you want to quit?

why did you start?

Started to reduce the amount of alchohol I was consuming.

Do you like it?

Yes and I enjoy it more now it is much less socialy unaccpetable.

Why do you continue?

Mainly because I can aford to and hate our Nanny state telling me what I should and shouldn't do to my body.

Are you addicted?

Yes, which shows the weakness that caused me to start.

Do you regret starting?

No. I would have died of liver failure at twenty five otherwise. Now I might last to 60

Do you want to quit?

Yes. With my last breath.

[gw120]

I started because I needed something to do with my hands.

Also health affects don't bother me, considering I'm probably going to end up dying before I'm 50 anyways (nobody in my family has lived past 53).

And I stopped because I stopped being able to get them (I'm not old enough to legally purchase them).

[Praxius]

Quote by: gw120 I started because I needed something to do with my hands.

That's what masturbation is for

[gw120]

That's what masturbation is for

True, but (unfortunately) you will be completely ostracized if you do that in public. Unless you're in Brazil.

[CoffeeSaint]

Quote by: StrongHeartsWin I assure you I do. OFE makes me chuckle often, as I am sure he is soon to reply that I do him also. Why don`t you want to smoke anymore?

Several reasons. I started having trouble with my voice, which is a problem because I'm a teacher; mostly, I started coughing whenever I laughed. I was tired of going outside to smoke in the lovely Oregon winters. I was tired of spending the money. And my wife quit two years ago, and wanted me to quit as well. I also quit last year, for nine months, and then caved in a weak moment and went back to it despite not really enjoying it any longer; I hated being addicted, instead of smoking by choice. I thought about it and decided I'd rather not smoke.

I miss it sometimes, but at the moment I am happier without. But I also know that when I stop caring about the things I listed above, I'll probably start smoking again. I figure my last 5-10 years on earth are going to suck, anyway -- might as well go out with a butt in my mouth and my middle finger raised at the sky. :)

[shawmutt]

Started smoking at 11 because my parents did it. Started smoking a pack a day at 14 because my friends were all doing it. Kept smoking for 7 years because I was addicted to it. Quit cold turkey at 21 because I knew it was affecting my health negatively. Now, 10 years later, I smoke the occasional pipe or cigar because I enjoy it.

As far the cum hoc ergo propter hoc, let's see those studies cited, please.

[StrongHeartsWin]

Quote by: CoffeeSaint Several reasons. I started having trouble with my voice, which is a problem because I'm a teacher; mostly, I started coughing whenever I laughed. I was tired of going outside to smoke in the lovely Oregon winters. I was tired of spending the money. And my wife quit two years ago, and wanted me to quit as well. I also quit last year, for nine months, and then caved in a weak moment and went back to it despite not really enjoying it any longer; I hated being addicted, instead of smoking by choice. I thought about it and decided I'd rather not smoke.

I thought in a previous post you said health reasons were not an issue for quiting? Perhaps I am recalling wrong, but it seems like many points you raise here fit in quite well with some of the reasons I listed which you jested at.

I miss it sometimes, but at the moment I am happier without. But I also know that when I stop caring about the things I listed above, I'll probably start smoking again. I figure my last 5-10 years on earth are going to suck, anyway -- might as well go out with a butt in my mouth and my middle finger raised at the sky. :)

You sound very fatalistic -- if not sad at your lot in life or angry at the cards which life has dealt you. You know, it is quite possible to die with quality of life with health in a split second (perhaps a heart attack), rather than a slow debilitating death of suffering, letting you know when it is around the corner giving you a heads up to finger the sky, don`t you? Why would you prefer the latter, other than perhaps a chance to tell those around you you love them (but that should be an almost daily occurance, IMO)?

Depressed smokers appear to experience more withdrawal symptoms on quitting, are less likely to be successful at quitting, and are more likely to relapse.

[another day]

I smoke because I like it.

It's not a big deal. We all die sooner or later. I only have about 5 a day. Pack a day is a little excessive and disgusting though.

[CoffeeSaint]

Quote by: StrongHeartsWin I thought in a previous post you said health reasons were not an issue for quiting? Perhaps I am recalling wrong, but it seems like many points you raise here fit in quite well with some of the reasons I listed which you jested at.

I jested at your reasons because they were snotty. You were proselytizing, and I am against that. You are trying to use me as an example to continue proselytizing, and I am still against it -- if you keep trying to use me as an example as to why smoking is bad, I'm going to start jesting again.

My reasons for quitting were my own. I refuse to try to relate them to other people, because I will not judge people based on their individual choices, nor will I be hypocritical and tell people they should do as I say, not as I do, or "Learn from my mistakes," an even more ridiculous attitude. In addition, it doesn't work: if people want to smoke, they will smoke. If they don't want to smoke, they won't. Period, the end. You will never convince anyone to change their mind about their habit; the only purpose of non-smoking propaganda is to inform the ignorant. Persuasion is useless, and condescending, IMO -- so I'll have none of it.

Quote by: StrongHeartsWin You sound very fatalistic -- if not sad at your lot in life or angry at the cards which life has dealt you. You know, it is quite possible to die with quality of life with health in a split second (perhaps a heart attack), rather than a slow debilitating death of suffering, letting you know when it is around the corner giving you a heads up to finger the sky, don`t you? Why would you prefer the latter, other than perhaps a chance to tell those around you you love them (but that should be an almost daily occurance, IMO)?

I expect that those I love will precede me into the grave, which is part of the reason for my fatalism (though fatalism is the wrong word, since I don't believe in fate). I expect that smoking at the end will not harm my quality of life, but will probably improve it, because I enjoy smoking. I want to have quality of life in the intervening years, and I felt that purpose would be better served in my case, at this time, by not smoking.

But that's me.

[Mr.Vicchio]

For me, when I was in the Navy, I was assigned to the USS Inchon (MCS-12) and in the HangerDeck Dept. V-3.

ANYWAY all the smokers got 10 min breaks about every hour, hour and a half or so, those of us non-smokers? We kept working. So I started following them, and one day my first class came back there, and told me if I ain't smoking, I ain't on break, so I grabbed a smoke from a friend... and that's that.

[BionicArmofDeth]

Quote by: Epistemologist For all you smokers out there, why did you start? Do you like it? Do you not like it? Why do you continue? Are you addicted? Do you regret starting? Do you want to quit? And for non-smokers, why don't you do it? Do you think you would like it? I'm a non-smoker, and I don't do it because I think there are other ways to escape one's problems. By the same token, I think there are alternatives to gluttony and some cases of sexual promiscuity, for instance, to achieve that escapist purpose. Drowning oneself in the ditch of alcoholism is the solution for some, but unfortunately, livers don't take kindly to that. But then, according to my comments, most people do all these destructive behaviors to simply compound what is, in their opinion, the ongoing destruction of their lives, with an additional sort of "escape" from that monotonous reality with yet something more to cry about. But is this correct? Or do people do it, as many alarmists argue, because of peer pressure or something like that? What do you think? I purposely didn't add too many options on the poll so you can add your own if necessary.

Ther answer you are trying to get will be very misleading. Tobbacco is a plant that has certain chemical properties that somehow fit like a puzzle piece to our physiology to create some sort of effect. I really do believe its a drug(if marijuana is considered a drug then why not tobbacco?), and that perhaps the high appealed to my brain somehow. The reality is full of these weird things that are hard to describe in ordinary language or language that I know.

[StrongHeartsWin]

Quote by: CoffeeSaint I jested at your reasons because they were snotty.

How so?

You were proselytizing, and I am against that.

Did I say you should not smoke because of the reasons I gave for not doing so?

My reasons for quitting were my own. I refuse to try to relate them to other people, because I will not judge people based on their individual choices,...

Then why enter a thread where personal questions have been asked?

You will never convince anyone to change their mind about their habit; the only purpose of non-smoking propaganda is to inform the ignorant. Persuasion is useless, and condescending, IMO -- so I'll have none of it.

It is an opinion I don`t think is accurate. Many people are convinced to change their mind about a particular part of their life, be it a habit or not. Of course, people have to be receptive to the thought of convincing their minds and the overtures from ones who seek to do so. Whether they are ignorant on an issue or not could be a factor, but not absolutely. In this day and age a lot of people know a lot of information but choose to not incorporate that into their life:

Mr. X, having graduated from a school as a dietician, but after 10 years quit the profession and let himself get fat, could be convinced by his wife and children to change his mind about living a sedentary and poor diet lifestyle and begin to eat right and exercise.

See? One example offered up very quickly to show your premise false.

I expect that those I love will precede me into the grave, which is part of the reason for my fatalism (though fatalism is the wrong word, since I don't believe in fate). I expect that smoking at the end will not harm my quality of life, but will probably improve it, because I enjoy smoking.

I expect you are relying on an unfounded and big expectation.

I want to have quality of life in the intervening years, and I felt that purpose would be better served in my case, at this time, by not smoking. But that's me.

How will you know when the "intervening years" are over to start smoking again in order to start 'improving' your quality of life then?

[StrongHeartsWin]

Quote by: The Bacon Guy There's every chance that most smokers hold these anomalistic priorities and are therefore perfectly logical in their lifestyle choices. ... So they may not want to shorten their lives, but this desire may not be so great as their desire to smoke. Again, it's just a matter of subjective priority.

Oh. I may understand now. Smoking is more important than living to smokers. If you want to do the thing that requires living in order to be able to do it, then wouldn`t you need to live? That would enable you to enjoy smoking without quiting. <scratches head>

It`s a matter of something alright -- perhaps back bending and contortion of reason.