which is exactly why you shouldn't start in the first place. You smokers can say I'm a wimp for not smoking and you can say I'm uncool, but seriously you know smoking is killing you on the inside. You know how your life is hanging on a thread and how you are dying a slow and painful death.

Cigarettes are cancer on a stick for an illegally high price. but don't worry smoking isn't illegal, and i don't want it to be, because the U.S. gets rich from your kind buying those things. did you smoke to try to get friends? were you lonely because you had no friends and so you tried to "fit in" by smoking?

seriously. if you want friends, smoking isn't the answer. and don't tell me to shut up or be quiet because I'm not, and if you do you are taking my freedom of speech away from me. i don't know how hard it is to stop, i don't know how long it will take for you to quit. I'm just asking that you try to stop, try to gain control your life again.

If what happened on your inside happened on your outside, would you still smoke?

Holy smokes!!! #110 is absolutely right. I now understand why you smoked so many while reading that. I smoke and want to quit but the back and forth on this blog makes me want another one, because I can. If you've never smoked, you shouldn't write on this blog. That's like me telling someone how to raise their child when I don't have on. Looks like I'm damned if I do or don't leave a comment here but #103 is nuts. Thanks #110 for sticking up for common sense. I lost my mind half way through that fricken novel. All of you who wrote a novel here needs to get a life or write your own damn book.

honestly smoking is sweet and cool. if you don't smoke, you're lame.

I am a smoker. Once addicted, it's extremely difficult to quit, your life will depend so much to it.

You might think that you can try then quit because so many people did it. That is unreal, simulated by anti-smoking organizations to help us quit, but less than 0.01 percent of people actually succeed. Hiding the truth makes things worse, I believe.

As a smoker, I advise you not to try one single cigarette even if it's for fun or social reasons.

P/S: non-smokers advised me as if it is easy. It is almost like someone advising girls not to shop when they never been a girl.

its so ridiculous when someone says smoking is good thing. you are laughing at yourself, because all we know it's a bad habit. and it began by imitation then showing off then ends in addiction.

if you want to smoke, do. it's your health and you know what is the best for you but do not be selfish and damage others with you.

you have to remember that there are some people who care about you like your family and your friends.

health is gift from God. you don't know its worth until you miss it and have given it up, for you first, and people who care about you second.

People smoke because they're doing the world population a favour by reducing it when they die of smoking-related diseases.

Smokers are selfish, it's as simple as that. They smoke to make themselves feel better without considering the damage they'll be doing to their family when they die an early death later down the track. Not only that but the amount of smokers who throw their butts out of windows and pollute the environment with the stuff is disgraceful. Try going to work and have to sit next to two smokers who smoke in the car. I don't smoke but passive smoking is just as harmful and it's not even my fault.

i have a family: my dad, my step mum, my mum, my grandma. even some of my friends and i'm really young and they're all around my age. i can't go anywhere without seeing a single person smoke! it's bad. you think its ok. you think you're not hurting anyone. you have family and they have you. there are a lot of people here in this world who wish they never smoked. others who say it's cool. you are just oblivious to what it's really doing to you! i may not know you and you may not know me, but i'm worried about everyone who is wasting their lives to this stupid thing. find other stuff that calms you and helps you. it's the worst thing in the world to lose your life and your family and friends so stop, or don't start smoking! please

Comment 103 is the craziest thing I've ever read. I simply cannot believe someone took the time to write all that on a message board -- it truly blows my mind. In the time it took me to read that, I smoked 47 cigarettes, and burned nine plastic bags, huffing the fumes through a straw. What an epic waste of my life (both the smoking and reading whatever insane manifesto that was against smoking).

People can die anytime and it is relative. Smoking yes can kill you, but not for a long time. If i die at least i know enjoyed the pleasure of life with no regret, but some may and that's too bad for them and should try their best to quit. Smoking may take life away, but it could also save life if you think more about it. Smoke all you want. It is up to you how you want to live your life.

i'm doing an essay, so why is it that people start smoking in the first place?

Respected people who smoke are people who don't think about their family (whether they are rich or poor). this activity shows their family status and they think they are mature. God has given you a very beautiful life. Don’t waste it. Use it in a proper place and enjoy your family members. --Pramod Sharma

I think people smoke because they want to live as much as they want to die. We have always been fascinated by fire and it became so useful in our lives that we felt it was a part of us. Smoking is no new thing. I have to remember that! It has been around for thousands of years. I hate smoke from cigarettes. Smokers if you're in a car with someone else who does not smoke don't smoke! We may not say anything because we're your friend and we don't want to hurt you. You can argue that we should tell you because it would be saving your life. Man if you're a smoker and you're in a car with a non-smoker don't smoke, don't even think of lighting up, don't touch it. If your friend doesn't thank you well believe me he does thank you!

Thanks, people. 'im doing a project on people who smoke. This is all very interesting. Thanks again.

Wake up people! I did six years ago. A little over a year ago I lost my dad to cancer that started in the lung with a tumor. He went through the radiation and chemo. the tumor shrank considerably and we were looking at the option of dissolving it with further medicine, finally a ray of hope! But soon he was admitted to the hospital again because of his white cell count wasn't right. More tests -- oh my God -- the little cancer that was left from all the chemo and radiation treatments had spread through the blood to his brain! The brain leasions caused him to freak out and revert back to his childhood, causing him to flail his arms around like he was fighting someone. I never saw my dad like that ever! They had to sedate him and the final treatment only to make him comfortable for the last month of his life was another round of radiation to "make him comfortable" one last time. We brought him home to die two weeks later. He smoked for almost 60 years! He could not stop, even if he had, the damage was already done, so please, please: those of you that think you're all hot and all that, nothing can harm or hurt you, I hope reality hits you one day when you lose a relative or dear friend to this wasteful nonsensical habit because that's all it is. I no longer have my dad because of this!. My mother and I had the brains enough to quit and we are no longer shaving years and precious time with friends and family off our lives anymore. life is very, very precious. Think of what your family means to you, and your friends, if anything. think of what you mean to them! I just think it's really retarted to waste $5,6,7 in some places to make yourself stink like an ashtray and smell up your house or car and clothes and pollute your body and the air around you that others have to breathe just to get a buzz from a cigarette. Get a real life -- and when you do that you don't need anything but life and those around you that you love and love you to give you a natural high! Think of all the cool stuff you could have if you didn't 'burn up' your money on silly cigarettes. You could save up for a trip, a vacation, a car, anything that you enjoy, unless you like to line the pockets of those that own the cigarette companies! They don't care anything about your health, they don't give a hoot about you at all. All they care about is sucking you into spending your hard earned income on making you 'stink' like an ashtray and making you broke. The 'glamor days' of smoking are way far away in the past. I just hope you don't have to go through the pain of loosing a loved one, family or friend to this idiocity. Smoking is retarded! No. 1: it sucks money out of your purse or wallet that you might as well just set on fire anyway and watch it burn away and watch the ashes blow into the wind. No. 2: More and more people are 'waking up' and quitting than ever before. No. 3: Smoking is being banned from just about every public establishment out there practically. No. 4: Smoking is not 'vogue' anymore, it is not glamorous or sexy at all. it is gross, stinky, unhealthy and a waste of time and money, and it lowers the resistance of your children for those of you that have precious children that are gifts given to you and your spouse by God to care for and raise up that have been entrusted to your care have no choice but to breathe the 'polluted air' in your home! or car! shame on you! did you know that smoking also weakens the immune system? proven fact! people that smoke get sicker more often than those that don't smoke! thus more doctor bills. the damage just keeps piling up! the smoke actually burns away the cilia, the tiny hairlike things in your airway that are there to naturally 'sweep away' foreign particles from entering your lungs but forget about that you have burned them all away and killed them when you started smoking! oh they will grow back if given half a chance if you ever decide to quit. Within 10 or 15 minutes of your last cigarette your body immediately starts to repair itself of the damage you have done to yourself, and the helpless others in your family! Just think of all extra minutes you could have during the day to get other things done that you don't because you have to have a 'cigarette break' The only thing you're breaking is your wallet! and this is all coming from an ex-smoker (me). watch out for us. We’re all out there! One day you may wake up, (or not?) when you start having breathing problems or develop bronchitis, emphysema, or yes even cancer. these potentially smoking related diseases don’t care who they affect, and most of the time people don't know something’s wrong with them before its too late, like my dad, God rest his humble soul. smoking excites the nerves and then deadens the nerves that’s why you can't feel it if something is wrong -- or if you do it may even too late to reverse the damage! I had a sore throat for several days when I quit smoking. Gee I wonder why? I was practically burning my throat and airway with every puff I ever took on a cigarette and you are too, except you can't feel it because the smoke acts as a 'anesthetic' or nerve deadening agent. every time you take a 'hit' you burn your throat again and again but you cant feel it 'burning' because every time you do you deaden the nerves that would tell you its burning, over and over and over again every time you light up! So go ahead, think you're so smart and cigarettes are good for you --not! how would you like me to come around with a vacuum cleaner and suck 5 or 6 bucks out of your walled or purse every time you need a pack? that’s really smart isn't it? I think the cigarettes have already eaten away some brain cells because that sounds pretty retarded if you ask me. well you didn't ask me but I'm telling you anyway. Ha! Ha! But it’s your life, it’s your money, it’s your car, your house, your kids (poor kids!). think of how many people could be helped or saved around the world by everyone that smokes if they quit and spent the same amount of money on a pack(s) of cigarettes every day and channeled that money into charity. How much faster new treatments or cures for different diseases could be found! or people brought from pure poverty to a level of standard of living much more higher than so many in your neighborhood or around the world! we could wipe out homelessness! If everyone that smoked today quit, think of the money saved from buying cigarettes that could go to the homeless people! To build houses! Apartments! We could get them off the streets and provide rehabilitation for them, send them to school, train them to be respectable, upstanding, productive, citizens of this great country. Think of that the next time you light up -- the money you are burning away that could go towards the health and well being of your 'neighbor. ' Think of that the next time you pass a homeless person and think to yourself, “How sad. I wish I could do something to help them. ” You can and you just don't know it! instead of sticking another cancer stick or 'coffin nail' (my grandmother called them that) and that’s exactly what they are --coffin nails. every time you light up its like you are driving in another nail in your coffin. you're getting it built and all ready for you to lie in when your time is up! This is not a time to be a dummy, unless you want to be one. Instead of lighting up another smoke or buying that next pack that you 'need' -- you don't need it, your body just tells your brain that you 'need' it -- why not just take something out of a toilet and stick it in your mouth for a while and suck on that? I don't know what’s grosser: doing that or sticking a cigarette in your mouth the next time you see a homeless person or one of those commercials like save the children which I am a proud sponsor of a little boy now, think about the money you are 'wasting' every time you go to the drug or party store or gas station to buy another pack. think of the homeless and these poor children and families around the world that really 'need' help. they aren't just people stuck somewhere out there far, far away and you can't just unimagine that they are there. they are your brothers and sisters for God’s sake! We are all a big family in this world whether you want to face that fact or not. Think of how many people are dying every minute because you are so selfish you are going to go out and buy another pack of 'cancer sticks' to shorten your own life. isn't it bad enough that these people are starving and dying helplessly but you go ahead and slowly do the same thing to yourself and actually you are 'buying something' you are paying for a company to make and sell a product to shorten your own life? how ironic is that? you think you would want to 'pay' someone to help improve your life or to help improve someone else’s? instead it’s backward. you are actually paying some one else to help kill you. its actually assisted suicide in a sense. then if it’s against the law for Dr. Kevorkian to help others commit suicide, shouldn't it be against the law for cigarette companies to 'sell death and disease' and help others to also commit suicide? Hmm… makes you think doesn't it? All you non-smokers, you know where I am coming from with this! uuhh-huh! so why is it wrong for a man to assist someone to commit suicide but it is not wrong for cigarette companies to sell disease and death (slow suicide) to their 'customers' tell me that?! Its basically the same thing! When you really sit there and think about it. oh well I have rattled on and on long enough. if you have gotten this far you are lucky . maybe you learned something from all this gibber jabber I have done! Maybe you're not quite ready to hear it just yet, that’s ok. . everything happens for a reason and at just the right time, I am a firm believer in that. I just hope and pray that you too can quit one day before its too late. my dad always said he was going to quit one day, well sorry to say, he was right, but neither I or him knew it would be his last day with us. please people I am serious, I am not a meanie or a bad person. I'm just a concerned individual that cares for you. yes you heard me right, I care for you. Why, I don't even know you, I don't even know your name or anything about you for that matter but all you have to do is share the same planet with me. that’s enough for anyone to care for their brother or sister. please look at what you are doing to yourself and the others around you that really, really care! I know you're hooked, I know its hart to quit, I know, I've been there, done that! It’s not easy but it can be done! and you can do it too. weigh the pros against the cons of smoking or quitting smoking for yourself. think of your 'non-smoking' spouse that has to 'put up with' your nasty habit, think of your kids that have to breathe in that 'slow suicide' potion every time you light up in the car or your home. they are smoking right along with you. you are not only contributing to your own unhealthiness but of those who are the closest to you as well. you can do it, you can quit, it is possible and hundreds if not thousands are doing it every day! Join the millions who have already quit successfully and who have stayed 'clean'! If I can do it and harp and harp on it as I have to you because I really care for my fellow man, then you can do it too! Its not as easy as it looks or seems. nothing is really easy, anything worthwhile takes effort, motivation, perseverance, positive outlook and attitude. if you think you can't quit then you won’t ever quit but if you make it up in your mind to do it and 'psyche yourself out' to do it you will succeed! Think of it. is your health worth it? is your family and loved ones worth it? are your pets worth it? have you ever heard of a smoking dog or cat? or ferret, or pet rabbit? or how about the fish in your aquarium. you are not only affecting yourself but your pets suffer the effects of second hand smoke even! yes! I’ll bet you never thought of that! about now you're probably thinking, gee this guy really is onto something here! do you think if I didn't really care about all this smoking stuff that I would have wasted all this time typing all this stuff out? heck no. I would have been gone a long time ago. I wouldn't have thought twice about any of this but I have! And you are thinking. gee there is someone out there that I don't really know that cares enough to write all this stuff! Yes! that’s the whole point! because I care, that’s all. I care because you are there reading this now. you can turn your life around. you can do it, you can do it, you. The magic words in that statement are you and can. I will be praying for all of you that spent your precious valuable time getting to this point. if you think your time is precious. think of every minute added up from the time you started smoking, think of all this time you wasted, taking minutes, hours, even days or years off your life and harming others in the process. what would you do with all that wasted time and money today if you could have it back. But! You can’t have it back, its gone forever! But --you can do something about the time you have left here in this life! how important is that husband, or wife, your partner, and your children and grandchildren. . are their lives valuable enough for you to quit smoking now? how about yourself. don't you want to be around to see your kids achieve their life dreams, their careers and even have their own children, your grandchildren? don't you want to be around for them? Is $5. 50-5. 75 or $6,7 a pack worth burning to shorten your life for them? I know it sounds backwards doesn't it? or wouldn’t you rather spend that extra $5-7 a pack on them. buy the kids or grandkids a new toy! buy your dog, your best furry friend a new toy! buy your good friend lunch at your favorite restaurant! save for so many worthwhile things you can do with that 'cigarette' money! get a jar or container or buy a cheap bank. Every time you would normally go to the store and 'buy a pack' take that money and put it in your 'bank'. check it after a month, or several months. (this is after you have quit). by the way I quit 'cold turkey'. in other words one day I just 'quit' just like that. no patches, no gum, no Zyban, no Chantix. none of that crap. I'm not saying any of that stuff is bad or anything, I'm just saying I didn't ever need any of it. some people can just quit just like that without thinking about it ever again and some people need a little extra help. that’s ok, whatever works best for you, but never quit quitting! Some times it takes 'getting into the habit' of breaking the habit. a lot of people don't quit and stay quit the first time around. some do, it all depends but don't give up! You can do it! I know you can! Have faith and believe in yourself. you didn't become addicted over night so you won't be a smoke free person overnight either. you need to take it one day at a time! That’s all God gives us anyway, is one day at a time, because he knows more than we do, that that’s all we can handle at one time is one day! Maybe this is your day to say, I can't do this anymore. I can't make my kids sick or I really feel bad when my husband or my wife or my roommate or my friend or whoever sees me light up and they have to 'put up with my habit' maybe today is your day to say to yourself mainly, this is all about you by the way. others may experience the effects of your behavior but you ultimately have to deal with yourself everyday! You have to wake up to yourself and go to bed with yourself every night! If this is your day, Amen! I believe in miracles. there’s someone out there that wants you to live longer than you are taking time off of your life every time you light up. there’s someone out there, maybe a higher power that is telling you, you need to be around for your kids. Or you young people: think not that you are invincible and nothing can ever happen to you! We all never know when 'our time is up' here. Maybe you will be needed to help take care of your parent or parents one day when they and you become older, like me. I have had to care for my grandmother, and then my dad, rest his soul, and now my mother. she is in a nursing home now because I can no longer manage her care on my own anymore. but there will come a day when someone you know is going to need you. why are you shaving time off of your life now? why do you want to make your life shorter? Come on people, Life is a gift from God. what you do with it and how you live it is our gift back to him. why do you want to 'shorten' a blessing that God gave you to live to the fullest? smoking cigarettes isn't living your life to the fullest. it is a selfish, self-centered habit that only shortens life and causes disease, sickness, disability! The only 'benefit', if you can even call it that is that it makes you feel good, feel relaxed, feel energized etc. you know what? you can experience all those things by eating a well balanced diet everyday, and exercising, 'taking in nature'. go to a park and take a walk instead of lighting up that next cigarette. find other 'rewarding, uplifting' things to do to replace that 'cigarette break'! you can live without cigarettes. you did before you started, before you got 'hooked'. life couldn't have been all that bad before you started now c'mon. . the key to quitting and staying off them is to restructure your life and replace healthy new habits with those of your past smoking life or routines. think about your health and the health of your family and friends affected by your smoking. does it help them or hurt them. I know you know deep in your heart the real answers to that question! You know it and I know it. don't just say, well I smoke because I want to. . that isn't being considerate of others now, is it. and if the feelings and lives of those around you matter enough to you, you will ask yourself that question over and over again until you find the true honest loving answer. I have to go now, but I will be praying for all of you that stuck with me and made it to this point. I congratulate you!. that shows that this whole quitting bit must really mean something to you, and if you think that I just sat here with nothing to do and just made all this stuff up today you're wrong. there is a 'higher power' with us today that inspired me to write all this stuff for you to read. . because there is a higher calling in your life that you need to fulfill and you can't do it by 'puffing your life away' into the air. every moment you consider quitting or even thinking about it is worth the try. you owe it to yourself most of all, you owe it to your family and friends, your wife, your husband, your partner, your room mate whoever, you owe it to yourself to consider it at least -- and i know you can do it! If i can do it anyone can! I need to go now. I may never see you or meet you or anything like that but at least we made a connection through this comment section of this website and hopefully you learned something. something about the value of life and the lives of others around you that you care about and that care so, so much about you! Take care, God bless and my prayers are with you all, because I do really care! Please, put down that cigarette and that lighter and think. really think before you light up that next one. it's not all about you anymore, it's about you and everyone around you.

smoking is good for your body. I am a 20 year old man who smokes three packs a day. Why do people even care if we smoke? It's not them we're killing.

you know, cigarettes cost a lot so the people that are addicted to smoking are like broke in no time.

I can't control anyone's life. Do what you will, I cannot stop you. Have fun while it lasts, soak it up, because whether you like it or not, every puff shaves precious minutes from your life.

Stop smoking.

people need to stop smoking beacause when you take a puff you are killing yourself, so stop smoking.

I smoke, from choice. I am tired of being told by those in power what I can and can't do. You can't eat this, you can't do that etc., etc. I am a free thinking individual who was brought up by my parents in the 70s to become a person with my own mind. The taxes we smokers pay would have to be found somewhere else if we all quit tomorrow. They would come from *your* taxes. In the UK and I imagine in the US, obesity kills more people than smoking. So what are all you non-smokers suggesting? That obese people have to quit eating? Maybe people who drink alcohol to excess should be *made* to quit. The A&E departments of UK hospitals are over-run with muppets on a Friday and Saturday night who couldn't handle their drink. They are a huge drain on our medical and welfare resources. As a smoker, I don't ostracize fat people, meat-eaters, vegetarians, gays, ethnics or alcoholics. Live and let live, I say. I wonder how many terrorists, murderers and child molesters are non-smokers. How many of you non-smokers drive gas guzzling 4x4s? When you all give up driving and heating or cooling your homes, I'll give up smoking. Till then, spark one up for me!

I'd say smoking doesn't just hurt the person doing the smoking, it hurts a lot of people. My brother smokes, and my entire family hates that he does. We all love him so much, but to see him hurting himself like that is hurting all of us. I can't tell you how many times my mom has cried, saying her son is cutting his life shorter and shorter every time he takes a "relaxing" puff. I know that my heart aches every time I see him sneak out of our house, saying he's going for a walk or going to talk on the phone. We all know exactly what he's doing. No one even wants to be around him. You say you smoke because you're lonely? Sad? Angry? Well keep on smoking for the rest of your life, and see how much smoking helps in you in the end. I promise you, nothing good will come of it. Only more heartache, loneliness, pain and eventually, an early death.

Great info! Thanks so much! Smoking a cigarette is good, but smoking a joint is good for you!

I needed help on this exact question. all your information helped so much. Thank you all :)

Why do people smoke? It is stupid. It kills. So why do people do it? They want to fit in. How stupid. People know smoking kills. Also smokers are not considerate to non-smokers when the smoke blows in to someone's face. You have been wasting your time. Take up a hobby instead.

i smoked for the first time, and it rules! I mean that it is gross the first time, but it relaxes the muscles. i think you are missing on a lot of fun. themonster525

Smoking is all good people. take it up.

The ignorance of #86 and #87 is astounding. It is not just your body you are harming -- it is your friends, family and people around you. It is disgusting, and not cool at all. I hate when my mom smokes in the car. I can't stand it and second hand smoke makes me want to throw up.

Here's my take on smoking: it's not fair to the non-smokers around you. We may choose not to smoke for our health *or* the cigarette smoke may affect us in a negative manner immediately. I am upset because I have tried to help a disabled friend by living with her so she won't have to be alone at night. Her promise is not to smoke inside. It causes my nose to immediately stuff up, and my skin to feel as if it is burning. Yes, even if I am asleep, this starts happening. The worst part is that after awakening from the stuffy nose, the stink of the brand she uses (the worst I've ever smelled) and the burning skin, eyes and nose, she says, "I wasn't smoking in the house." (she was at the door and tossed the cig out when she heard me get up.) Why do some smokers lie to non-smokers about things like this? What could she expect to get out of lying about it? Am I supposed to think I am wrong about the smoke that woke me and made me unable to sleep at 4 am? I've had other smokers tell me that my symptoms aren't from the cigarettes. What's the deal with that? Why does she (and sometimes other smokers) want to tell me I can't smell their cigarette smoke? Or more importantly that it doesn't cause me the symptoms that it causes me? Any insight? (P.S. I am moving out though. I can't resolve the situation when she is going to lie straight to my face.)

i am nearly 16 and I have been smoking for three years. i did it on my own accord and didn’t really have a reason. i just wanted to. but i don’t see what these snobby non smokers are chatting on about, because at the end of the day if we want to harm ourselves and waste our money we will, so how about you lot stop gabbing and mind your own business!

if you want to smoke, smoke. if you don't, then don't. i don't know why there's so much fuss over it. your body, your choice.

Granted I've drunk a bit of wine prior to writing this entire passage and the main reason I'm even writing this is because of the experiences I've dealt with recently.

First off, I'm an ex-smoker. I quit smoking in November 2008 and throughout the past months I've had about a handful of cigarettes (as opposed to the pack-a-day I used to smoke). My cravings came at the worst times, mostly when I'm out drinking with my friends, some of which whom still smoke. I am weak when I drink, and am vulnerable to temptation, and I give in. Unfortunately, I've experienced withdrawals in the past few months worse than I went through in November when I decided to quit for good (I smoked for about 2 years).

I don't know, I hate smoking, it's a horrible habit that will eventually destroy a person. Whether it is emphysema or another cancer of body, smoking contributes in no way at all to the overall health and well-being of a person. Living in a socity where the mass media is so highly praised and marketed, it's no wonder we have such an abundance of smokers. Tobacco kills, end of the line. The last time I had a smoke was a few days ago when a co-worker offered me one on a delivery. I felt regret the day later when I was craving smokes and had to stop myself from buying a pack.

If there is any message that can be stated, probably repeated a few times, but still the general populace will not heed it. Is to *never smoke*. Do not ever inhale the smoke from a cigarette, avoid the cigarette at all costs and never fall victim to its effects. Nictone is one of the most highly addictive substances in the world. I've read that it's harder to quit then heroin or cocaine! What does that mean for you? It's smarter to never try smoking then to try and quit. I once thought smoking was cool, hip and the thing to do when you're young. Reality is however: it's expensive, detrimental to your overall health, messes up your lung capacity and it smells like crap.

Bottom line, don't smoke, unless you want to die prematurely.

i have a drama and debate project. do you people think the smoking in movies influence children to start the habit to smoke?

Smoking is good because it helps thin out the useless population. Most smokers are chronic losers anyway. My only concern is that my taxes will have to pay for their care. I don't believe any health care system in any nation should have to pay for these people. If only smoking killed people sooner. So that is the problem: Smoking doesn't kill enough or fast enough.

I, like so many others, thought smoking was ridiculous when I was younger. I had so many friends that smoked, though, I tried it a few times. It was nasty every time except for one. When I was 17 I met a guy and started dating him. He smoked, and eventually, so did I. Perhaps it was his influence; I'm not sure. I'm 26, and I still smoke.

Almost all of these years, I've really enjoyed smoking. It's nice to have one after a meal or with a glass of tea. After nine years, it just feels normal.

Starting last year, however, I really wanted to try to quit, because I started getting bronchitis. I've had it two or three times in the past couple of years, and it scares the poop out of me. I don't want to get COPD or emphysema, but I know that's exactly what I'll get if I don't quit. It just seems unreal. I'm only 26. It feels unfair because I thought I'd be able to enjoy smoking longer before I had to quit.

Believe me, I know how stupid that all sounds. It smells bad, it's *so* freaking expensive, and you develop a cough that isn't very pleasant.

My problem is that now, in this past year and a half that I've really taken the thought of quitting seriously, I think about it every day. And because I do that, the thought of living -- just doing anything -- without a cigarette quite literally terrifies me.

I see other people who don't smoke just going about their lives, and I envy them. I think, How do they do it? Aren't they bored? I know the answer is No. They're just not addicted to what you're addicted to. So much more than the physical cravings, which suck, but can be dealt with, is the enormous psychological dependency I have on it.

Maybe therapy will help. Either way, I'm trying to quit. It just seems so hard.

So, please, guys, we were all non-smokers at one point. Not all of us are rude and flick our butts everywhere. Some of us are really trying to deal. However, I still support people who want to continue smoking. It is their right to do with their bodies what they wish.

It's really none of your damn business when it all comes down to it. The last time I checked, it was smokers who can hardly go anywhere and be able to smoke, so I'm a little tired of that secondhand smoke complaint. Go somewhere else. That's what we do!

I am an ex. smoker. I will be 55 years old this month and I quit smoking at age 32. I smoked off and on since I was 16, taking several years off at a time. It was the smoking triggers that would start me again. Emotional stress was number 1. What triggered the big quit, and I have quit, was my 6 year old son coming home from school and asked why I did not love myself? I said what makes you ask me that? He said at school there were several films about smoking and its deadly hazards, and a speaker who said people who smoke know better, but they do not love themselves enough to give up the bad habit because there was a pleasure they got from the deathly habit. My son had a handout sheet. Well, I took my chance at quitting the next national smoke enders day. A friend at work sponsored me and my family supported me. I quit and really quit 23 years ago. It is as if I never smoked and I am so grateful. From my son's innocent mind and heart I found the love I guess I did not have for myself on my own, but do now to not only not smoke but to lead a healthy life in as many ways I can and keep open to any new ways to be a healthy, happy human. Love really is the answer to ending all bad and unhealthy behaviors, just find your love connections and they will fill the places in you that the bad unhealthy habits once did. 55 and feeling wonderful!

I started smoking when I was 17. I'm still a smoker, I just haven't had a cigarette in 1 year, 4 months, and 3 days which was roughly 5 years after I started smoking in the first place. To be honest I don't even know why I started. No one ever pressured me, I didn't think it looked particularly attractive, and the one time I smoked pot I got incredibly paranoid which made the idea of a buzz not too appealing either. It just felt like the right thing to do, and as I soon learned, it does take the edge off of things. The problem is how the addiction settles into your life.

What non-smokers don't realize is that I never thought "I can't get cancer." The only thing I thought was "I won't get cancer before I quit." I can't compare how addictive nicotine is to heroin or cocaine because I've never touched that, but I can say addiction is nothing like school said it would be. When I didn't have a cigarette I didn't break out into a sweat or start rocking back and forth with my hands shaking, all that would happen is I would want to smoke a cigarette. I didn't realize that this "want" was all the addiction was. I crave chocolate cake from time to time but that never meant I was addicted, so why should it be different with nicotine? So what if I smoke another cigarette? If I went too long without a cigarette though, I realized that wanting cake was nothing compared to how badly I wanted a cigarette.

What non-smokers don't understand is they can flap their mouths to a smoker all they want about how bad smoking is and so on and so forth, but ultimately the *smoker* is the one that quits. When I finally admitted I was addicted, I didn't stop for another 3 years. It took me so long because I wasn't ready to stop until then. I knew how much money I was spending, I knew the health risks at hand, I knew how I stood out and smelled, the problem was I wasn't ready. Smokers know the facts, there is no need to tell them what they're doing is unhealthy. If you really want someone to quit, tell them you're disappointed they've smoked for so long, and you're there for them when they're ready to quit.

i'm only 15 and I just started smoking two weeks ago. it's an addiction I can't get over and I m not proud of it nor do I think its cool to smoke, but once you just get used to it... yes it will kill me some amount of years from now but i'll be old so what do I care for, huh? nobody in my inner family is a smoker, not my dad or my mom but my uncle was and he died already from being overweight and smoking i think it's weird that you people literally sit there and talk about this stupid stuff. let people smoke. it's their choice and their money.

I think it is great that people some people smoke. After all, the world is vastly overpopulated. It is a wonderful way to "thin the herd". Plus, I enjoy reading the comments of those who try and justify such a stinking, nasty habit. I especially love to hear "everybody has to die of something". Well, what I have observed in my many moons on this earth, is that usually, smokers get the added enjoyment of experiencing lung disease or emphysema prior to your untimely death. I am sure it is a joy to behold, spending those last years of their lives hooked to an oxygen hose, struggling every single second, of every single minute, of every single day of their remaining lives, fighting to do something as simple as breathe. That will be tons of fun for those people.

i think taking drags on a poxy cigarette to calm or relax you is just a load of crap. i'm sorry for everyone who smokes but that's the way i feel. and as much as i hate it, i don't think it should be banned because it's a free world and smoking just kills you anyway!

When i was 17 yr old i was addicted to smoking, alcohol, porn, lies and many bad things. the age of 23 in 2008. When i believed in Lord Jesus that He died for my sins and rose again to justify me. By His grace i was cleansed with His precious blood. I thought it was impossible to quit this addiction. But Jesus made me whole. Thanks to Him! He is alive forever. He will also deliver you from bondage of sin and all addictions. Just come to Jesus by faith.

I think that people who drink and drive are stupid. My cigarette smoke may kill me and you slowly, but at least one night when you are driving home I won't be the one to take your life in a matter of seconds. Seriously get over yourself! I bet half of the anti smokers smoke weed or drink. Or worse drink and drive. Hmm... let's see: smoke a few cigs a day or pay a lot of money for medicine that will calm my nerves. That is hard to pick. With smoking no side effects (in my opinion). If i take this small pill every day that may cause side effects the doctor will just give me another pill that will stop that. Hmm. So hard. I think i will take the cigarette. Also look how expensive it actually is to quit smoking if someone can't quit on their own. it costs $40 for a pack of gum or the patches. They're not guaranteed to work, so people like me think, "why bother?" A few of my friends actually tried the patches and gum you know what happend? They got more addicted from them. Maybe the patches are just a scam like the cigarette company that add stuff to make people addicted. Yes i agree smoking is stupid to people who don't do it, but people always say don't judge a book before you read it.

I think people who smoke are dumb. i'm srry but that's how i feel. it's so stupid. people do it to relieve stress, but that's just an excuse. it just numbs it and it comes right back. you either want to do it or you don't, and that's all she wrote. my fiance smokes and i give her hell about it. i got her to quit but whenever we have a little fight she goes behind my back and smokes. she told her dad that she smoked and he hasn't told her not to or anything. and it's also a huge waste in money. that's 5 more dollars in gas or on food. people are so stupid its unreal. whether you want to addmit it or not you are killing yourself.

smoking was nice from the first drag, might not believe it, but it's the truth. Guess i was just destined to. lol. gotta die of something right?

Its nasty. we should ban smoking altogether.

if one who smokes clearly knew the reason why is he smoking.just like the ash and smoke rings, the reasons also seem too vague...i dont understand why people buy their own death and that too knowingly..

ive smoked since i was 12, but i was really depressed, cutting and everything, really wanting to die, and then my friend said that having a smoke would help, make me want to cut less, think more. it did help. i havent cut since i started and in fact, im smoking right now, maybe we shouldnt smoke right next to people who dont like the smell, the ashes, cant do much about that. i smoke about 10 cigs a day and i like it. maybe it seems like a waste of money but its not for the people who need it. if you dont like when we're smoking beside you, maybe you should move, or even ask us to move over a bit so we dont get our ashes on you, like, whats the problem with being polite? And no matter how much you nag us we're not going to stop for you. and ive smoked weed, not addicted. i was hooked on pain killers. when i wanna pop a few, I smoke, all better. it saved my life. :]

i guess i dont mind smokers that much but when it blows in your face and you get burned by the ashes because the wind blows thats not very fair.

and you say you do it to relieve stress,

sorry but to me that's crap. that is what therapy and massages are for

and someone said that you shouldent say stop smoking to family and friends

well what kind of friend or family member would you be if you let them kill them selfs like that?

ohh and dont say anything about my spelling because i know its wrong and i guess that i dont care about my spelling like alot of you smokers dont care about your lives

I've never thought smoking was cool, but I've smoked and I liked it in moderation. I'd rather smoke than drink because I feel I make stupid and rash decisions while I'm drunk.

im fifteen and have recently started to smoke, i tried my own cigarette by myself that i got from one of my dad's packs.. i started smoking purely on my own accord and i don't do it to 'look cool' or because i was 'peer pressured' it's purely just because i'm going through a stressful time and the rush of having a cigarette makes it feel better and i also didn't start because my dad smokes because i dont live with him. i smoke from 1-2 cigarettes a day, if that and that's all i need. i smoke silkcut and they are a lower tar and nicotine brand.. still not a good excuse but better than smoking something like mayfair superkings.

Even I have stopped seeing my friend as much because he smokes cause I don't want to be within range of second hand smoking. I hate the smell of it and it could also drive others away too...

Also that bit where it says 'Smoking reduces the sense of taste, so many people who smoke simply eat less because they don't enjoy food as much', might be true as he doesn't even eat much when I see him do.

The amount of money spent on those things...

It's like you're paying to die...

If people didn't smoke, imagine the amount of money they would be saving.

Interesting comments all around. But I would add one point to the argument about 'smoking is different because it affects the lives of non-smokers' - well, innocent people are killed through other people drinking alcohol (violence, road deaths, etc), than smoking - so perhaps if we really wanted to protect the innocent then alcohol should be banned first...no wait...they tried that didn't they?!

Smokers, if you don't want to hear it, don't come here looking for it! *Why* must you harass the others? It's like jumping into the ocean and then complaining loudly that "that stupid ocean got me wet. How dare it?!"

Stop complaining.

I don't have any problem with smokers. They can do what they like with their bodies. But for those of us just innocently standing by, who end up receiving ash or second-hand smoke in the face, it's not fair. Just take your smoke where it can't hurt anyone else.

My gramps smoked for 73 years. He died of natural causes at 90. He was up to 4 packs a day during his heavy drinking stage which lasted around 20 years.

I can't explain why that is, and why some die young. My only conclusion is that your born with it, and perhaps worrying about it, activates something which allows the dormant virus to take over.

I'm no specialist but the entire anti-smoking campaign is nearly as bad as the war on drugs.

Yet they remain a part of our everyday lives, and people think they have a right to complain and demoralize people who may chose to smoke.

How 'bout you try to help people by helping the governments change the laws, instead of acting like your some shining knight riding the high horse, or some specialist on how the body and DNA/Genes work.

Even the so called 'experts' don't have answers for that, but we have answers for banning tobacco companies process of adding addictive substances to their products.

Tobacco has been used for thousands of years by the Mestizo Indians, The Vedans, and found buried in the graves of subarctic lapland shamans.

Please study more, no comment here is worthwhile.

If smoking really kills and people strongly wanna encourage this non-smoking exercise, why don't they just ban cigarettes?!

Well, anon30712, if you'd stop smoking in front of us or outside while let's say... When we're on a bench waiting for the bus and the wind blows your cigarette smoke in our faces.. Then we'll stop.

You can live unhealthy but we don't need you taking us down with you.

Let's see us smokers smoke cause we like it. It's a time passer and a stress reliever. We also know that it is bad for us and could kill us which we hear from all of ya'll non smokers everyday. So I would like it if all the non-smokers just stop telling us all these facts cause we pretend to listen but really you are just making us wanna smoke another cig.

stop smoking man its not *cool*

Yea, smoking kills but seriously it isn't your life to judge what other people do so stop nagging on people to stop because even if you don't want your friends or family wasting their lives' on it but everybody is going to die one day. Might as well live your life to the fullest? I've smoked before and it's great. It relieves your stress and if you think people just do it to look cool then you clearly don't know their reasons?

As a non-smoker, I don't have a problem with smokers/tobacco users as long as you are respectful of non-smokers. You can start by considering the following:

1. Shower! Please don't come near me smelling like a chimney or a pile of ashes! This includes marijuana residue that may be lingering on your body/clothing. Don't try to mask this stench with cheap cologne/perfume. It doesn't work!

2. Stop spitting, snorting mucus, and coughing around me! Not only do you sound gross and make people want to run away from you, but you also make people think you're sick-literally! The first thing I think when I see a smoker coughing and hacking is that he/she has lung or throat cancer and I need to get as far away from that person as possible. I do not want anything from your lungs or throat landing on me!

3. Stop smoking in non-smoking hotel rooms! Get a smoking room or go out to the back of the hotel and puff away. But don't pollute the non-smoking rooms.

4. Stop littering! Throwing your cigarette butts out of the window of your automobile onto the streets or dropping them on the ground/sidewalk is nothing short of littering! That's why you have an ashtray...use it! The toilets/urinals in the public restrooms are not for cigarette butts!!

5. That nasty filthy coke bottle that you tobacco chewers spit into has to go! I don't want to see your discarded mucus, spit, and whatever else is in your mouth preserved and sitting on the floor next to me. Do your "chew" at home and keep your "chew juice" in your refrigerator along with your beer!

6. Stop justifying your habits based upon other risky behaviors. Someone going skiing or riding their 4-wheeler doesn't affect me; however, that "stream of death" that flows from the end of your cigarette into my nostrils does affect me. And it makes me want to puke!

tobacco kills. that's a fact.

Why would people even buy cigarettes? It's a waste of their money. Smoking isn't cool. You can die by smoking.

I don't smoke, and don't understand why people do.

Let me give a life changing reality to all *non*-smokers. I'm 17(almost 18) and have been smoking for about a year and a half now. I don't *want* to quit. I love it. Most smokers do. Why else would you do it?

Say you were in a restaurant and your food tasted bad, would you say oh well might as well just eat it or would you send it back? Obviously you'd send it back, now why would a smoker smoke if he didn't like it, *why* would he even start if he didn't like it the first time?

i smoke when i feel sad

i smoke when i feel lonely

i smoke when i feel angry

i smoke when i feel hopeless

i've been smoking since twelve, my story and feelings are irrelevant, but come on, someone who smokes does it for their own reasons, you know? and we all know that it's bad for us, so stop ragging.

So smoking kills more people than any disease in the world. I didn’t wait no day, I quit right away. I thought the faster I do it, better for me. It was hard, especially first few days, when my hands were just reaching for the cigarettes. My mind was begging for one, my body seemed to get bigger. My mind started to play games with me. I had to fight. First time in years I had breakfast, because I felt hungry, It felt so awkward. I usually had coffee and cigarette in a morning instead of breakfast. Smoking reduces the sense of taste, many people who smoke simply eat less because they don't enjoy food as much.

It’s thirty two days now, for me without cigarettes. I see so many changes, and I know everyday is going to be better. Sadly but true, that smoking really is nasty and persistent habit, that is so unbelievably hard to leave behind.

We spend every day from that first taste of smoke, regretting it so much. I understood it just now, really got it just now. How beautiful life is without cigarettes. How many of formal smokers, knowing what I know now, would have smoked that first cigarette? None of them. Trust me, now I know. I’m very proud of myself, I reached my goal. I achieved my dream. I did it.

Guys quit smoking, you will see, its so much easier to breath, really, a lot of things changed in my life after i quit.

Started at 8 1/2 years old. Neither parent was a smoker, but I had my (own earned) money in my pocket, and I was hanging around with other boys before, and after the part-time job! Already a singer, I went for an audition to record professionally with a children's group at 9. My pitch was fine, volume, everything (I was 1st soprano- in a boy choir; that's like really high) but the lady said coldly, "Thank you!" and that was it! She could already hear the "haziness". The cigarettes had done their damage, noticeably in only half a year. And we're talking maybe 3-4 a week.

I continued as a paper boy, having my "own money" so I kept smoking. Must've tried to quit 25 times.

I actually *did* quit from 11 1/2 to 13 years old, but then came *more* peer pressure and more time to kill (we had to wait every day for the newspapers to come) and the advent also of Alcohol.)

Quit again at 23 cold turkey when I joined a Christian group full time, but then began again, for periods of 2 and 3 years when I had no peer support, and was around smokers, though *still* a Christian, even though it was neither allowed nor accepted by my group.

Then one night, I was singing in a place where it was full of people and almost everyone had a cig. going and I just couldn't get any air. I really couldn't! I had to decide "Am I gonna sing, or am I gonna smoke?! I can't do both!!" And that was the last time I ever smoked, 28 years ago! Thank God! Without any therapy, or any help (well maybe from *upstairs*). I just had to find something I wanted to do more than smoking.... and *do* it!

I have never been sorry! What did the dumb cigarettes do for me anyway? Make me smile? Nah! Mae me happy.. Nope! Give me something to *help* someone in need?... Nothing!

Now if I could only kick the coffee!

PS. I'm *still* singing and I'm 60!

Wish you success! Grit your teeth and dig in! Hate it with a passion like the subway ghost in "Ghost". You'll do alright!

I started smoking cigarettes right after highschool though, I'd been smoking weed since 8th grade. The weed never became addicting, I picked it up and let it go randomly with no thought behind it but the cigarettes were a different story. I joined a band. I was the youngest member at 18 and they all had at least 6 years on me and all smoked. During rehearsal we'd take breaks so they could smoke. It seemed stupid to me cause we were paying for this rehearsal spot by the hour and about 40 mins of each hour would go into breaks! So I started bumming them... To kill time... Then I bought some and started killing time between other meaningless wait periods... This is the core of my habit. I get bored, I have to wait... I smoke. It's only becoming clear to me now. Almost 8 years later. I smoke to kill time. I have a flu right now and whenever I get the flu my body gets disgusted with anything bad for it.. Cigarettes included... I am starting day 4 of no squares and though I'm starting to feel better and crave burgers and fries again, my chest and back still hurt and I feel short of breath... I think I'm gonna try kicking this habit again. I did once before and when I failed I started up twice as bad so I hope this time I keep it up... All I need to do is find out another way to kill the same about of time and get the same kind of satisfaction.... Hey inventors... GET AT IT! lol

ps: If you are about to start smoking I strongly suggest you don't... Weed is fine, but try not to become enslaved by a substance.. Seriously.. It sucks.

Ok here's my two cents. I have been smoking since I was 15, now i'm 21. I have quit many times as long as 6 months. I am planning to quit again on New Years. But non-smokers, just shut your mouths. Period. I know it's bad, I hear it everyday, it's annoying. I don't go around telling people not to jet ski cause it kills more people every year than cigarettes do. Smoking is not something you just pick up, usually friends pressure you into it. You get addicted, know it's bad for you. Wake up in the morning smoke, get coffee smoke, drive to work smoke. It's a bad habit we all know. I smoke socially, I smoke when i'm alone. When i'm bored at work I smoke to kill time. When i'm early for something I smoke to kill time. When i'm done eating I smoke to finish off the meal. It's easy for people to say just put it down you don't need medications at all. But truthfully some people do. If I don't smoke for a period I get angry, REALLY angry. I can't sleep, I can't focus. When I use patches I don't have cravings, I work harder, I am happier. But stop telling me smoking is bad, or i'll tell people to stop having fun, like racing, jet skiing, running, walking, working out.

easiest way to quit is carry a few lemons around with you- put a small hole in them, and squirt the juice into your mouth any time you have a 'jones' for a cig.

The nicotine leaves the body in NINE DAYS- so addiction?? A rather short term addiction, if it even qualifies as one, in reality. Addiction is simply a state of mind, in truth.

All these 'kits' to quit are just another leg of the medical industry- they are unnecessary if one wants to quit. But again, it is about free choice.

So now smoking is looked upon as 'not cool', and it is being pushed sooo heavily that everyone 'should' quit- it is enough to make a person ill just listening to all the jibber of these who wish the world would quit for their convenience. Why should it matter? I don't necessarily like the smell produced by people passing gas, but I certainly wouldn't ask them to quit. It is a matter of choice. Period. It is your body- do as you wish. Anyone with any sense knows that our conscious mind can alter ANY matter- which means that we can alter any 'bad' substance into a life-giving substance with a bit of thought. We have free choice about what we do, and NO one need change that. As far as kids following parents that smoke- bunk- promoted by the anti-smoking folks,kids! There are more kids who have come from smoking households who choose not to smoke. Look around. Tobacco is a natural substance- it is the chemicals the large tobacco firms add to it and put in the papers that cause harm- not the tobacco itself. Interesting how they have a monopoly on controlling it all,as well. Now that USDA has their hands on the industry- we'll see even more control issues. As far as cancer goes, they've had cures for it dating back to 1938- but it is a huge money making industry, so they continue to bleed people 'seeking a cure'= Balderdash. They should be ashamed- but they are not- they are in it for the $, and now that medicine is bigger money than the tobacco industry- well, you get the picture. Don't ever think you know what's right for the other guy- the other guy just might start thinking he knows what is right for YOU.

i read every post, i found it all very interesting. I am 15 years old, i have been smoking for a year, I know it is bad for my health, i smoke ONE cigarette every day or two, i am not very addicted but i feel that smoking one cigarette every day or two is worth the health risk. They say 1 cigarette takes 8 minutes off your life. That means 8 minutes every 2 days about 60 days a year. I am trying to quit but i feel as if it is worth it !! :) wish me luck in trying to quit, but smoking tastes good, smells good and is relaxing, also its a social thing, not a 'cool' social thing but a good way to sit down, talk and unwind with you friends.

Hey thanks guys i was here for school but i mean cmon y do we care if they smoke as long as you're not doing it just let them be.

Dont you people have anything better to do. I am not a smoker and am only here for a assignment. But it makes me sick how much the anti smoking campaigns spend and how much people like Bill Gates donate to them.Everyone know its bad for you (not nearly as bad as they want you to think but still terrible) when you tell them it just pissed them off they are aware! Spend your time on something worth while. And if u dont like someone smoking leave its rather simple. A few of my friends smoke and i do not care just not in my truck.

I started smoking at 17. Ive worked out in the woods my whole life and we used to smoke a lot back then. Today I believe that people have a bad view of tobacco. I smoke american spirit which is additive free and organic and ive never had problems from smoking. My grandfather smoked his whole life and never had a problem. Smoking for me is a way of life and im not addicted. Im a hard worker, and smoker and ill never stop.

I am 19 years old and i recently bought my first pack. I have smoked weed before just to try it. I was 17 and i haven't smoked weed since then. I bought my first pack just to satisfy my curiosity, or more of a experimentation so be precise. I smoked about 6 consecutive cigarettes. I didn't start feeling the affection until i stopped. I did all this in solitude of course. The last thing i want is to someone see me smoking because i believe smoking is a sign of weakness. People smoke to feel relaxed because they have fear in something whatever it is they fear i don't know. Also the taste is nasty and this is the last time i will buy a pack and smoke.

Why do you smoke? They cost a lot of money, also, it smells bad, and it damages your lungs. Why do it? Quit it, before you start!

I started smoking cigars, because many great men in history smoked cigars. I enjoyed them so much, I now smoke cigars, a pipe, a hookah, and kreteks (the clove cigarettes) and enjoy them all thoroughly. I also smoke cigarettes when time is no available for the others, and although I don't enjoy them nearly as much, they're not bad. Those who smoke with me on campus enjoy their cigarettes very much. Some of us like smoking. Get that into your skulls.

Sure smoking does give you a buzz at times and it does help you relax and also feel sleepy. But it makes you wanna stop what your doing and sit or lie down and it makes you cough up nasty stuff and also makes you wake up congested in the mornings. I know from experience!

I started smoking when I was 19. Not because it was cool, or because my friends did, but because I had horrible migraines. I know it was stupid, but at the time, very little was known about the causes of these types of headaches, and how to prevent them. A friend of mine offered me a cigarette one day when I felt the headache coming on. It worked better than any of the medications that I had been on for three years. Once in a while quickly became addiction. I am now 42. I am a health care worker. I am not in denial. I don't think I have an oral fixation, I smoke because I am an addict. I know that smoking will kill me. An addict is an addict. that is all. I have not smoked in 5 days. Wish me luck!

I first started smoking because I was dating a guy who smoked a lot and I would often get ditched so that he could go off with older girls/guys to have a smoke. It felt terrible, so I picked up on it. I got addicted pretty quick and I loved the head rush it gave me. I haven't tried to stop yet, as it is a social thing.

I dont believe in the fact that smoke makes one cool! but then it's true that the nicotine can give kicks which helps oneself keep troubled thoughts and anxieties out of the head.

I started smoking in college after i broke up with my girlfriend from high school, and it helped me to keep things which troubled me out of my head. Later on i started liking it, though i control the number of fags i take in per day to 1 or 2.

If you like nature and rains, nothing like sitting in your porch or the terrace on a rainy day and smoking.

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.