Hi there...I would like to share my comments as to why people smoke...

In school I never used to to smoke...i looked down on smoking and considered it really bad...i remember having written an article on the harmful effects of smoking, vis-a-vis, cancer..

when i entered college..even when people around me smoked..i took a few drags as a trial....i never liked it...but then...in a few months....i started to feel lonely...loneliness was hitting me hard......i needed some good quality company which i wasnt able to get...i then started to take a few drags...and then..it dawned upon me that..smoking helped reduced the pangs of loneliness.....it was good company for me....now i have started to buy packs...hence i agree with the point that loneliness is one of the reasons that leads people to smoke....i am not addicted to nicotine...or the cigarette..but i am dependent on it when i feel lonely....and need some help...

I started smoking at the age of 15 - my friend eventually talked me into smoking, as she was rather bossy and a couple of years older than me. At first I HATED it, but eventually you become hooked, and this no doubt dispels the fact that it stinks, is bad for your health and can age your skin. I have now been smoking for 13 years, about 10 or more a day. Here are some truths about smoking...

1. Smokers actually wish they didn't smoke

2. Alcohol makes smokers smoke even more.

3. Smokers mostly smoke due to boredom or as a reward (e.g, you've finished painting a wall in your house, so to have a break, you'll smoke instead of just sitting there doing nothing - because you deserve it after all your hard work!)

4. Family, friends and strangers passing negative comments about smokers will never be enough to make them quit.

Ut's hard to sympathize with a smoker if you've never been one yourself.

Smokers trying to give up need support and encouragement.

It's easy to attribute why people smoke unilaterally to either a weak will against advertising or against peer pressure. But, it can be more complex than that. None of these reasons really justify why someone would elect to inhale burning material when we all know that the respiratory system does NOT like foreign material in it.. but they do explain how cigarettes act as a stand-in for some basic human needs, desires, and inabilities to simply be at peace with ourselves.

1) As a "reward" - Like a sweet treat or a drink cigarettes are used by people to reward themselves for their efforts. It's kind of like pounding yourself between the legs in response to a job well done, but once the smoker is addicted then feeding the addiction is rewarding.

2) Oral fixation - Some people receive gratification through oral stimulus. Obsessive eating can be the same. At the risk of sounding Freudian, oral pleasure can be similar to sexual pleasure. People like the stimulus of putting something in their mouth.

3) To pass the time - Many, if not most, people are uncomfortable simply "being" without anything to do. They can't sit and let time pass as they wait for a bus, or for a meeting, or as the minutes tick by on break. Smoking creates the illusion that one is doing something "productive" (i.e., giving themselves a reward, "calming" themselves, etc.) while doing "nothing." People can't just sit back and watch the world go by. They have to be engaged in some activity, and smoking addresses that inability to just be at peace with one's self.

4) Loneliness - Fire has always been a primal companion of humankind. It chases away the dark, and with it the cold, fear, and loneliness associated with it. The burning ember of a cigarette may be a link to that primal companion. Much like the reward aspect, lighting up a butt makes one feel somehow less alone when they are by themselves. Similar to the inability to pass time just "being" without anything to do, smoking may make the smoker feel wrapped up in a cocoon of companionship and self-absorption. When we just "be" we are vulnerable. With the companion of fire, or in a state of self-absorption, we close ourself off from the world and achieve the illusion that we are not vulnerable.

This may also be why many smokers are such self-absorbed people that they cannot (or can and just won't) recognize and admit that their addiction/habit has far-reaching effects that affect the quality of the environment of those around them. Their need to withdraw from the world and feel less vulnerable perpetuates a cycle of thinking that fuels further self-absorption and a refusal to admit they are affecting others adversely, or a refusal to care, because to care is also to open one's self up to vulnerability.

Furthermore, brand loyalty among smokers suggests that they get a sense of a greater identity from what brand they smoke. Smoking makes them part of a community - one that is now ostracized by many in the same way that many people feel ostracized by society. So they do not feel alone if they feel part of a select group, such as the community of smokers or also smokers of a particular brand. It may also be a kind of elitism, such as in the case where people will refuse a smoke until they can get "their brand."

5) "Fear of living" - Many smokers like to think of themselves as the type that laugh in the face of Death. Some will freely admit that they would rather die an early, painful death than face the ravages of old age. These are the people I truly pity. While it may be true that they do not fear death the sad truth is that that is only the case because they are afraid of living and the inherent risks that living a full, meaningful life present.

These are but a few reasons people take up smoking and continue to smoke. It's not only the chemical properties that make it addictive, but the psychological ones as well. It's sad that people can't look inside themselves to provide the senses of relaxation, security, connection to other beings, and purpose in idle moments. It's truly sad that people would rather engage in a fully recognizable self-destructive activity than develop themselves as human beings. But, such factors also make it evident as to why it's hard to quit. When we ask someone to quit, we're not only asking them to give up their chemical addiction but to find purpose in their idle time, to face the demons of loneliness and primordial fear of isolation, to face the struggles of daily life without the overblown sense of entitlement that all unpleasantries inherent to life must be balanced out with some kind of reward, and to stand on their own two feet as a human being of developing potential. Unfortunately, most humans don't find it in themselves to do this on their own, so they turn to crutches like cigarettes, other drugs, and alcohol.

all i want to know is why in the world would people smoke??? i have tried it once and it is disgusting and i have never smoked again in my whole life!!!! as if you would smoke... its not like it's cool to die as a smoker with lung cancer or some other cancer!!! all the people that do smoke are crazy!! no offense to anyone who does smoke but...

I have one question...I have been a smoker for 47 years...and I am quitting cold turkey...only way for me...my problem is that I am unable to stay awake..I sleep watching TV..reading a book...on the computer...and even driving a car for any distance...

What ingredient is in cigarettes that causes this..is there some type of pill that I can take that will stop or reduce me from sleeping so much?

Well, I really like smoking and I think there is a little bit of hysteria around that habit. Indeed, smoking has a lot of positive effects: alertness, better memory and is good to share with friends!

What about poverty, war or eating too much fat? But people have time to loathe cigarettes... sad but true.

I'm here for a smoking assignment as well. Thanks for the information! It helped me a lot! :]

My parents smoke and I hate inhaling their second hand smoke. Usually, I am irritated by it but it doesn't physically repulse me or make me gag...well it didn't until I joined the gym, and started exercising. It's like the smoke tastes 10 times more potent than usual and I never use to have to walk so far away from my parents when they smoked. But today at the park I was walking far away from my mum because I could taste her smoke in my mouth. I wonder why exercising makes smokes more repulsive? Mum said herself, when she use to be into exercising, smoking repulsed her...she should have kept exercising!

hi i am doing a school projest on why people smoke... and any help would be greatly appreciated! thanks..:)

plenty of people smoke but they do not know smoke. maybe peer pressure maybe psychological maybe stress maybe relaxation. Everyone should ask this question Why do I smoke?

the only reason i started smoking was i would get peer pressured when i was drunk, it got to a point where i'd be chain smoking while intoxicated... but when i'm sober i dont have to smoke!

its not to looook cool. whenever i smoke i am by myself or with 1 or 2 of my friends. i tried it in eighth grade when i was just curious. i like the smell so i do it every once in awhile but not so often, it's easy to get them too...

Hello fellow readers! I was born in a developing country and a friend of mine started smoking when he was eight years old. Up to this day, he is still a regular smoker. Personally I started at eleven, quit at twelve, started again at 15, quit at 19, started at 22 and quit at 22. I think that the Industry has to take responsibility for people who start smoking before 18 or even before 21. But the Industry knows that those who start smoking early on in their lives are also those who will most likely be "hooked for life". Why do people smoke? Another interesting question is: why do children smoke? Thank you for your attention, I hope the debate lives on.

omg i'm a teen and i know that a lot of people don't do it to look cool, yes they try it maybe because their friends are doing it, but most of the time it is just curiosity! Lots of people tried it and liked it, so they continued doing it, which is dumb, but it's their problem when they get lung cancer. I think people who smoke weed though do it for different reasons. Some people haven't smoked a day in their life, but then one day get a painful illness, and use weed as pain relief. I can understand that because it makes you feel good and relaxed. But seriously, i hate it when people say teen are dumb, "they get pressured into doing it", "they do it to look cool" well i'm here to say no that's not true. My friends and I go to school with some major dealers and i have tons of people that smoke, and they have never asked me or my friends if i wanted a smoke, and have definitely not pressured me into it. Plus even if they did teens nowadays know that it's bad. Also if you haven't noticed the amount of teen smokers has gone way down from the past 10-15 year!!!

I don't quite understand why people smoke. I've tried it, but it didn't do much for me. The odor it leaves upon you is absolutely putrid. I convinced myself that I looked "cool" smoking, but it really isn't cool at all. No, not at all.

i agree with "olittlewood" on his or her article, because smoking is a disgusting habit. though many adults smoke, it is a very childish, and immature way to try and fit in. people say that they guarantee, that as soon as i get into high school, i will start smoking. i disagree because my entire life my parents have told me that smoking isn't cool, and have been my entire influence on how bad smoking can affect your body as well as your reputation, if my parents smoked today, i probably would to. i give them total credit in giving me this positive attitude.

i've always wondered this, because having taken a puff or two off of a random cigarette to see what all the fuss is about, smoking is GROSS! it tastes bad, smells bad, and you kind of look dorky doing it. i know that some people think it looks sophisticated and sexy, but you're blowing toxic smoke out of your nose and mouth people! anyhow, i had a friend who smoked in high school, and she said that honestly, she had to make herself get hooked on smoking. she did it because everyone else was doing it, and she MADE herself smoke to fit in. my sister, who i've been trying to convince to quit smoking, told me that she and her friends do it "to have something to do" while they're sitting around hanging out. you know what they say about "idle hands..." i think that not starting is the best policy, so to all you kids out there--find some other way to pass the time and spend your money on.