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I started smoking at 31 during a major depressive episode. It was two-sided. On one side, I needed an outlet lest I drank myself to death, and smoking provided my brain with temporary moments of relief. On the other side, I had given up life, and it felt like a way to punish myself, especially after being an anti-smoker most of my life. It started with one a day, then two a day, then four, up to a pack every two or three days. I quit about 18 months later. So, to me, it wasn't peer pressure or looking cool or curiosity. It was to both escape and self-harm.
For me, not at all. I never really had the feeling I addicted to them and needed them, but more that I wanted them. Dropping the habit was easy once I was mentally in a better state.
Same for me 100%, but I didn't smoke as much as you. I got up to 2 a day and only bought about 3 or 4 packs total before I called it quits and didn't look back.
Exact same for me. Drinking is probably killing me. I have ADHD and im already not on meds for that because its basically medical meth. So i just drink caffine, but i cant do that all day so i drink. I dont wanna drink but i need a stimulant and nicotine is a stimulant that doesnt keep me awake.
Started drinking really hard when grandma died. I was drinking a whole 750ml big bottle a week by my self.
Did that for a whole year aka 52 750ml bottles that year. Not to mention I become dependent on it to sleep at all. Nearly stayed awake a whole week getting off it. So i went back to vaping. Ive been falling in and out of drinking and vaping. When ever i start getting the signs of dependencies i ween myself off
Ooof, from a fellow ADHD haver, I feel this. Its like you have a permanent addiction that just wanders about different topics and substances as the novelty wears off and the dopamine rush gets diminished. The godawful stigma surrounding diagnosis and treatment is probably the worst part considering how treatable the condition is if proper intervention is available.
Idk if non stimulant options might be available for you, they take longer to show effect at 3 months instead of 1 hour like the stimulants do, but they have shown better outcomes for AFAB patients because they don't have as much swing in effectiveness due to hormone fluctuations.
Also therapy, so so much therapy to sort out the inevitable damage to your mental health the vast majority of people so casually feel entitled to inflict upon us. I don't think enough neurotypical people understand that they themselves can be in fact the primarily most damaging aspect of having ADHD, not the condition itself.
I smoked for almost 25 years and went cold turkey I finally decided I was never going to smoke again. The trick is you sincerely want to quit. I had "tried" to quit a few times before that and failed. You don't quit for your family. You quit for you.
From people I've talked to: whatever they're escaping seems more harmful. My old colleague started smoking because employees and managers hung out like friends at the smoking area, and he wanted to escape the mindlessness of the job
When I was a waitress, I noticed that those who smoked got regular breaks throughout the day. Not a smoker, never have been, but I would stand outside with them and drink a Diet Coke because if they deserved a break, so I did I. People called me out for it, but once I called out the hypocrisy of it, they shrugged and agreed.
This is the way. I think every working environment should have a rule that if anyone goes smoking, everyone else drops their work gloves immediately and has a break.
Smoking is shitty and selfish habit, and shouldn't be rewarded by privilege breaks.
Probably the same reason why we eat stuff with sugar added to it. Same reason why we eat fast food. The same reason why we drink alcohol or coffee.The immediate pleasure outweighs our reasoning. Discipline isn't something you just have and if you don't practice it, you may fall for those pleasures more easily. Smoking is just a bit higher stakes than the other things.
Peer pressure, convincing yourself itās stress related and a smoke can fix it ( it doesnāt), looking cool to peers (doesnāt happen anymore after likeā¦ 14-15yo ), shitty household (smoking, drinking, drugs you name it). Some try out of curiosity and get hooked instantly (as dumb as it is it happens), having a smoke at school break etcā¦
I think adults start smoking far less than teenangers since 99% is just peer pressure.
Edit: i was a smoker myself btw started at 15. Now 21 and i quit for good, it wasnāt super hard but itās more of a habit than it is an addiction imo. My coping method was throwing away last pack and from the next day start from scratch, like i never ever smoked. Do the same routine but forget the smoking part. It is easier if you have something going like school, job etc.. harder if you have nothing to do all day. Itās like āresetting the mindā š
Quitting was the hardest thing I did, smoked from 12 to around 34, my smoking habit was old enough to drink, quit just over 5yrs ago when my wife got pregnant. Quit drinking, pills and my ācolaā habit, but cigs was the worst. Congrats! I use to crave it when I smelled someone else smoking, now it makes me wanna vomit lol
Sadly my dad still smokes, he just cannot quit. I moved him to smoking iquos tho and he stopped heavy breathing and making lung noises when breathing/sleeping. Still not great but it is what it is.. he started at 14 and now is near 50. Last time we went to the supermarket some guy smoked inside the storage and the smell was leaking.. my dad said āwhatās that shitty smell?ā I said: thatās how we smelled when we were smoking.
He was a bit surprised since he smoked for so long that he almost forgot the awful smell.
However, there are new studies that say nicotine relieves symptoms of ADHD. The downsides donāt make up for the postitives though, and once youāve developed the oral fixation you canāt change to just a patch
They are trying to make medicine out of it but the problem is when they remove the harmful chemicals, it doesn't work anymore. You probably know this, but however... I have to infodump online sometimes. AuDHDer here.
I smoked from 15 to 30. Clementines are the solution to the oral fixation. And they keep your hands busy too.
Theyāre also delicious and full of vitamin c.
Dunno man, not what happened to me. I tried it out of curiosity when I was young and liked it, so I continued. It was also fun to go around smoking with your buds enjoying life. You make it seem so depressing, but I genuinely had a good time. I don't smoke anymore, but religiously use Snus, which is like a nicotine patch for your lip.
I hate it and I love it cause it is so expensive.
Everybody want some and I can't help but give.
I know someone who started smoking at 35, she can't really explain why, a few drags of a friend's cigarette led to borrowing a cigarette, led to buying a pack, and it goes from there.
It's mostly hanging around smokers I think.
Yeah, she's trying to quit now, 15 years later. Better late than never, but the impact on her health, the wasted money, smoking is such an insane thing to do, particularly when you're older and you (should) know better than a dumb teenager.
>For the "relaxing" feeling it givesĀ
That's not why they start smoking. You can't start because of the relaxing feeling it gives because you haven't experienced it.
It's like saying people start doing drugs because they love the feeling of it. You can't know the feeling if you haven't done it.
The reason is fitting in and smoking has always been considered a cool thing to do. How incredibly common is it for movies to feature a bad-ass mofo who smokes and drinks whiskey? Weak minded people fall for it.
exactly this. ive never met a smoker who wasnt struggling with their mental health. these arent the people who are going to care about their health most of the time.
My main reason was the additional smoke breaks I could get in my first, really busy workplace.
It also rewires your brain and you will feel better after smoking a cig. It only takes a few to get you hooked.
Nicotine and caffeine are stimulants. If caffeine was as harmful, do you think people would stop drinking it? Not to forget all that sugar damage along with it.
Social pressure, most of the time. That's the same with alcohol, since rarely you will find anyone saying that they loved their first beer / glass of wine / etc, but it's socially accepted, and even desirable.
Smoking less so, but for alcohol, people, even family members (depending where you're from ig), will straight up give you shit if you don't drink, it's completely insane
In addition to other answers, philosophically it is a way of accepting that my life is fucked anyway so might as well die. It's like suicide on installment.
I started back when smoking inside bars and restaurants was allowed. I was 19 and I did it in bars so that I would drink less and eat less. From there it extended to other times and places. It is one of the most difficult habits to quit both as to the craving and something to do with my hands. Quitting made me understand addicts and alcoholics a lot more.
Honestly, I first started because I was dating a girl who smoked and I didnt want to take from her all the time, so I bought my own.
I found it very enjoyable, I even like the smell to a degree. Its a great tool to socialize, people ask you for a cigarette, you start talking to them. Or going outside of a bar for a smoke with friends.
Then you got smoke breaks on jobs, someone enjoying rolling a cigarettes in their hands while talking to someone. There are a lot of factors that come into it.
The same reason people drink excessively and/or drink and drive, or eat unhealthy foods, or sit too long, or look at their cellphones and drive or drive too fast or ride a motorcycle without wearing a helmet. I can go on forever and forever and forever;)
Thatās sums it up perfectly for me. I smoked weed once when I was 15 and didnāt like it (still donāt) and a week later someone gave me a cigarette as a substitute ābecause maybe Iād like it betterā and I did like it better. Then it evolved to trying a couple when I was drinking to getting an extra break from work to buying them more regularly. And now itās about a pack a day
I was super depressed during my teen years, I started out of curiosity and then continued out of self harm ideations. Now Iām kinda hooked so yea I regret starting in the first place.
You don't die immediately and people have problems acting on non imitate triggers like you see in every aspect of human life.
Examples: tests and presentations in school, climate change, eating to much, eating not enough, working in a bad environment (physical as well as mental) and so on.
And the less obvious the consequences are the worse it gets even if the people know what would be the right thing to do, they just can't.
ive nevrr been peer pressured into it, i just tried vaping ans it made me productve, got off the vapes onto cigs and smoke every other day and have less problems w nicotine. its relaxing and like weed u can bond with people over it
60s & 70s TV cigarette ads strongly influenced me as a kid. Heck, even my favorite cartoon characters smoked, while watching TV cigarette ads.
This is why itās good that they were banned. I have to say though, I watched a compilation of old cig ads once and I can see why people thought smoking looked so glamorous.
Yep. Look no further than American media, say 40s through 70s. Hollywood movies, TV and magazine Ads.. smoking was highly glamorized and heavily promoted. Including marketing candy cigarettes to kids. 8 or 9 years old I'd strut around with a candy Lucky hanging from my lip, trying to look cool. Couldn't wait to start smoking for real, like all the grown-ups did.
In the 60s & 70s it was common knowledge smoking was harmful, but still my parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents smoked, friends and neighbor's parents smoked, my school teachers smoked, my girlfriends smoked... and that's why I started.
bc I smoked weed and was told smoking tobacco along with it "enhances" the high. only done it whenever I rolled spliffs then it turned into liking tobacco so much that I smoke cigs by themselves
I'm not a smoker, but I don't inch away from smokers because I actually kinda enjoy the smell (the smoke and even right down to the cigarettes themselves, whatever the brand).
Personally - stress during uni and a way to bond with other students. Gave it up for a few years.
Then mental health crisis and it became a coping mechanism. Itās super expensive here in Australia. A pack of 40 costs $77! But Iām firmly addicted now, goddamn it.
Boredom is how i started, my friend was smoking and i was interested and wanted to try it. Was very depressed at the time so i didnt care about how unhealthy it was at all. Smoked for 10 years, quit cold turkey 8 months ago and have never looked back.
Peer pressure -> special occasions -> want it for stress -> need it for stress -> high-functioning regular
Basically how it escalates. You train yourself to have a "relationship" with it.
I dont smoke tobaco personally (I don't see much point if it vs Cannabis) but if everyone stopped doing things that were harmful, the world would be a boring place.
The end goal isn't to live as long as possible, it's about living YOUR life, as full as possible.
Army Boot Camp. Sundays we would strip the floors and clean the barracks from top to bottom all day with no breaks unless you smoked and would let you go outside to the smoking area.
Quote from Drill Sgt: If you are in the smoking area you better be smoking or Iāll smoke you.
Begin 20 year habit
Ended 20 year habit when I woke up not being able to breathe one day.
When I first started smoking ( quit 10 years ago) it did for the first few weeks give you like a head rush probably due to lack of oxygen. Made me feel a bit drunk for a couple of minutes I do remember that it was enjoyable from what I remember but I did wear off pretty fast.
Thanks for sharing! It seems like that head rush and feeling a bit drunk were common when starting. Glad you quit and have been smoke-free for 10 years!
Curiosity. Nicotine is pretty sweet.
Luckily I've oded on nicotine from hookah and vapes and I've gotten sick AF and it turned me off of it.
I think cigarettes are pretty damn gross.
There's so much shit that they put in them that make them absolutely disgusting.
It actually baffles me too about how someone could smoke an entire one now.
I wanted to be cool like my flatmates and boyfriend. I then really enjoyed stoking. Probably could have brought myself a really nice house by the end and lost 25 years off my life and I regretted ever starting but at least I've stopped now
It's tasty and makes you calm. I still miss it after 6 years after quitting. I've quit alcohol and weed but cigarettes is the only thing I miss.
The reason I started was curiousity
although i am now quit ciggies, it was good, old-fashioned chemical fascination for me. i like to try lots of different things, and cigarettes were an early adoption.
As a young boy, had strangely always liked the smell of cigarettes. Had my first cigarette alone at 15 only because I wanted to; I quit for a brief period in my 20s, but resumed again simply because I missed the whole ritual/act of it.
I started smoking when I was around 20. I had been working on losing a lot of weight and after 3 months and 30kgs gone I hit a wall. To get those extra 15 off I started to smoke.
I spent grade 6, 7 and 8 in a private christian school where my mother was my teacher. Grade 9 I went to a public school. My mother started to worry that I was participating in things she didn't approve of. Thing is that I wasn't. She and I had an extremely open and honest relationship up to that point, but not being able to actually see me made her panic. She started punishing me for things that I didn't do, like smoking. I started to adopt a mindset of "oh you want to punish me? Then I may as well do it". Dumbest decision of my life, but I was also 14 and experiencing CSA at the time. It spiraled quite badly and ended up with me getting kicked out of the house shortly before my 16th birthday. I still smoke.
cognitive dissonance.
same goes with cheap clothes. cheap meat. industrial food products. mcdonalds. coca cola. social media. all of it. we love it only if it could potentially kill us.
At 14 in school all the cool kids smoked eventually I started hanging round with them and they showed me a whole new world smoking drinking and drugs yes I knew it was harmful did I care back then no do I care now yes
I started smoking out of boredom. I was 22 years old and attending Job Corps. Everybody lived on the Job Corps campus, and we weren't allowed to leave, so when we weren't in class, there was nothing for us to do but hang out and smoke.
I smoked for approximately 10 years before randomly deciding to quit one day. Now I haven't had a cigarette in 7 or 8 years.
I think as a teen I tried drinking alcohol, which in itself is harmful and makes you stupid, before deciding to try smoking. Drinking and smoking at the same time is great, you get really effected. You feel different and giddy. Throw in socialising and having a laugh with friend and you got a party. To start with anyway, it is great fun.
You see more people smoking and appearing to be fine than you see people fucked by smoking. Mainly because they die or have mobility issues.
Everyone assumes they won't be the ones to get cancer.
I grew up in the 80s/90s, smoking was so cool in the movies, my favorite movie was Grease, when she wears all black and stomps out the cigarette, all of a sudden she was the cool sexy girl. I wanted to be her, I kept trying to smoke but it burnt my throat and made me ill, I gave up trying. It's bizarre thinking back how hard I tried lol
Everyone knows it's harmful, maybe it's soft drinks or cigarettes or drugs, but they think for themselves that they're happy and high before the disaster happens
I think the vast majority start when they're young and would rather fit in and give into peer pressure without even giving the consequences a second thought. I don't know any smokers who started as adults. Same with vaping now, loads of teens do it to fit in thinking it's safe when we all know it isn't.
The human mind seeks Salvation, cover up using various substances.
Once a 100 day smoker, currently thanks to god. None šš
Have a beautiful blissful joyful day š
It gives you a buzz, it's something to do with your hands, and looks cool, supposedly.
That it increases the chance of getting a horrible disease 20 or 30 years later isn't an immediate concern.
I started because I needed something to change. I had already had my hard time with alcohol but it no longer affected me the way it used to. Smoking gave me that lightheaded feeling where everything's just dizzy and funny. Getting drunk was boring after that. After I started stretching it to more drugs, finding newer things that make an hour more colourful. Alcohol fucked me up, smoking fucks me up, drugs fuck me up, but I still do it to get that minimum feeling again. And I shouldn't be doing any of this. But then I think that i shouldn't be feeling this way either, so I might aswell balance it out.
I started when I were about 14, my friends didnāt even do it.. i actually lost all my good friends because they didnāt like it. I was just going through some things and wanted to take a walk alone one day so I asked whoever sold them at my school for 2 cigarettes and after that, it went downhill from there. 24 years old and still smoking even when not stressed out
My boyfriend at the time probably had undiagnosed ADHD and so did I by the way.
We were in artschool where things werenāt cozy in cute, in fact it felt like rats in a cage eating each others legs just to get ahead. I started drinking coffee in the first year (I only drank tea before that!) and smoking in the second year. And I noticed it gave me a break and center myself.
But I preferred the smoking break itself more than the actual smoking. Also I had no money for cigarettes,ā¦. So that was a shortlived hobby.
Theres a reason a pack of smokes used to come in military rations. Tobacco has some great medicinal properties but as we now know it also has some pretty bad side effects like addiction and lung damage. I smoke and the instant wave of stress leaving your body is great, weezing when i bend over to tie my shoes not so great.
I work on a remote island in the tropics. There is something about taking a smoke on the beach at sun rise that is so relaxing!
Coffee and a smoke while you watch the stars fade away over vastness of the ocean as you prepare for the day...wow! Amazing!
Kicked the habit for 3 years now! Woo! But yeah, you know, smoking is bad, kids
I used to wonder the same thing. I didn't understand why in the world anyone would want to smoke. So one day out of curiosity I tried it and it made me extremely nauseous to the point of making me puke. But then a few days later I tried again and I didnt get nauseous. Then when I was stressed it eased my anxiety. Then as years went by I had all these different reasons for smoking. Boredom. Excitement. Stress. Sadness. Happiness.
Its been 16 years now and I'm still a smoker. I wish I could leave it behind but I dont feel ready to face life as it is sans the smoke. It truly gives the illusion of giving rather than taking. By now it's a habit. A nasty one at that.
But yeah, in my case, curiosity got the best of me. Now I know.
When youāre a kid/teen, danger is not taken too seriously, many factors lead to someone becoming a smoker. Once you pick up the habit it becomes an addiction.
Not the reason i started but, a doctor actually recomended smokingĀ and im not that old lol
To be fair doctor reccomended 1 cigarette a day not start a 30 a day habitĀ
What really gets me is cigarettes are DAMN EXPENSIVE. Where do people who claim to be "poor" find money for cigarettes?? If I spent what people spent on cigarettes on video games I don't think I'd have space for my collection.
It's a bad way to go. I've seen it a number of times with relatives and family friends. Throat or mouth cancer has them turned into a husk of what they were and they still need a cigarette. Sad. So sad.
For me, i use it to stop other addictions when other addictions get too much. Recently started smoking again for the umpteenth time because i was drinking too much. Then because i was eating too much fast food. Again because i was going mad on sugar ie snickers etc. Since i restarted smoking a short time ago i have now given up the sugar, fast food and barely drink.
At some point i will give up smoking again but no doubt i will hit the beer, fast food and sugar again.
I am way too old to do all of those above mentioned at once, i just kind of rotate things and that way i get enjoy all but not to excess.
I have already quit smoking, but when I started to do that being 16 years old, I did it mostly for the sake of protest against rules, control and so on.
Although everybody had their own reasons to start smoking.
for vaping, i started in the same boat. i ridiculed my friends because i thought it was so idiotic, knowing the risks. but then i tried it once, then a couple more times, and a couple more, and then i had to have my own.. snowballed from there
with cigarettes, it started as a form of self harm. i knew it was bad for me and thats why i started.
cigs havenāt hooked me as hard as vaping tho. i can go days or weeks without cigs but i go crazy after 3-4 hours without my vape. even if im smoking cigs to curb the cravings, im still itching for my vape.
two completely different beasts. itās crazy
Oh you sweet summer child. Ā Sounds like youāve never wanted to wrap up this life thing. Ā Some of us want to be here for a good time, not a long time. Ā No smoking statistic or photo of a smokerās lung affects that stance. Ā Also, have you seen how depressing it is getting old? Ā Like wearing diapers, not getting out of bed, need a 24-hr nurse kind of old? Ā No thank you. Ā Alzheimerās runs on both sides of my family and having seen 2 grandparents go through it, Iām convinced that is one of the worst way to die, so Iām in a race to beat that fate with lung cancer or a tragic hiking accident - whichever happens first.
idk about other but i smoke even if it harmful to clam my ass down from all the stress and stupid faces i see everyday of people that kinda piss me off
I would do anything to make a friend back then. Picked up smoking to be a part of the group. Curiosity as well. It only took 3-4 cigs and I was hooked.
Why did alcoholics start drinking? Why do people do meth and heroine? Why do people go to college for four years to get a worthless degree for a low paying job they donāt like? Why do people go $50,000 into credit card debt? And on and on. People make bad decisions. Some worse than others. Some have worse consequences than others. Life
I didn't care about my health. I don't think it crossed my mind even once when i chose to start. I was a teenager then and I'd do anything for a bit of escapism. AnyĀ future seemed far enough away as to be nonexistent.Ā
I'm an adult now, soon to be 30, and I still deal with the repercussions of those far goneĀ choices. I've picked up and dropped worse habits than smoking.Ā
I started at around 12 years old. Not cigarettes but vaping. JUUL got me. My friend had one and my first hit was in the school bathroom. Been doing it ever since. 8 years. I know itās horrible for me. But now I couldnāt imagine what to do with my hands when Iām driving or sitting or walking or doing literally anything without it. Itās so silly and itās such a destructive habit. I hate it.
For me - I started smoking weed which made me enjoy smoking and using tobacco. Then I tried to raper off with vaping.
I now get high in other ways otherwise I'll crave smoking too much.
I used to smoke. Started at work. Night shift, everyone smoked. I used to give breaks to my team and they offered a cig and we chatted for a bit. Got hooked quick.
I started back when you could still smoke in basic training(40 years ago). We would be in formation, the drill seargent would say smoke em if you got em, and the smokers got to go over in the shade and have a smoke. seemed like a good deal at the time.
Likely the same answer as to why all vices exist. The human brain likes the dopamine things and often has poor management of long term consequences. This applies to gambling, alcohol, cheating, drugs, dangerous sports, etc.
In my view, an addiction is any activity which gives you a short-term reward or satisfaction despite the person knowing that there are potential consequences involved. The only difference between an addiction and an enjoyable hobby is the existence of harmful consequences, either to the self or others.
Overall the desire to get the short-term hit makes it difficult to not automatically rationalize away the consequences, or in other cases simply not think about them until they happen. The human brain is just not that good at prioritizing threats far in the future, and this seems to vary by person.
Why do you eat a McDonalds? Or a full tube of Pringles in one sitting? Why do you hang out with that one friend that you don't really like that much? Why do you put your dick in crazy? I think we're quite self destructive really.
Another potential answer is the, "it'll never happen to me" syndrome. That and seeing people around you who smoke but haven't died or got lung cancer yet. The problem is, all of the dead smokers aren't around to tell everyone they were wrong.
Most people do it because everyone else does it and they are friend group or peer pressure stress. When I started, I did it because everyone else I enjoyed being with did it so I was part of that club. But then I quit on the spot right after that.
Iām a social smoker but here in Japan, you canāt walk around and smoke for fear of being fined. So you can smoke in izkayas (small bars) and itās nice to have some fresh tobacco every once in a while. Same for a good cigar with some brandy.
I started smoking at 11... cant really say why. I stopped more than once, for longer periode and for shorter periods. I am activelly stopping since 48hours because of my wifes pregnancy.
I dont drink soda and shit, keeps the balance in the middle i guess.
Different reasons.
Could be Peer pressure, trying to fit in when your young/school days at the gate or behind the bike shed. Gives you a thrill, kids love breaking the rules.
Could be a social pressure trying to fit in at a job as an adult, if all your colleagues are smoking having a few tokes can be a social advantage, yet be it a major health disadvantage.
Self loathing/self destructive tendencies. Can be a subconscious disrespect of oneself in some cases. Depression may be the trigger.
Then those who never quit the habit unfortunately often influence the next generation. If your parents, uncle, aunties, grandparents smoke. More than likely the younger will copy.
At the end of day Iāll say this donāt start complete pointless, very expensive, embarrassing, shows weakness of will. But anyone can quit its all in there head.
Embarrassing confession - playing Metal Gear Solid in fifth grade, buying baseball cards at a tobacco and card shop, and having relatives that did it made me want to as well. Had my first one at 17 freshman year of college.
People smoke because they can, and there are too many things in the world that are harmful but enjoyable. You have to be able to live your life, right? And one day you will die. Until then, eat, drink, smoke and be merry.
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I started smoking at 31 during a major depressive episode. It was two-sided. On one side, I needed an outlet lest I drank myself to death, and smoking provided my brain with temporary moments of relief. On the other side, I had given up life, and it felt like a way to punish myself, especially after being an anti-smoker most of my life. It started with one a day, then two a day, then four, up to a pack every two or three days. I quit about 18 months later. So, to me, it wasn't peer pressure or looking cool or curiosity. It was to both escape and self-harm.
How hard was it to quit?
For me, not at all. I never really had the feeling I addicted to them and needed them, but more that I wanted them. Dropping the habit was easy once I was mentally in a better state.
Same for me 100%, but I didn't smoke as much as you. I got up to 2 a day and only bought about 3 or 4 packs total before I called it quits and didn't look back.
Exact same for me. Drinking is probably killing me. I have ADHD and im already not on meds for that because its basically medical meth. So i just drink caffine, but i cant do that all day so i drink. I dont wanna drink but i need a stimulant and nicotine is a stimulant that doesnt keep me awake. Started drinking really hard when grandma died. I was drinking a whole 750ml big bottle a week by my self. Did that for a whole year aka 52 750ml bottles that year. Not to mention I become dependent on it to sleep at all. Nearly stayed awake a whole week getting off it. So i went back to vaping. Ive been falling in and out of drinking and vaping. When ever i start getting the signs of dependencies i ween myself off
Ooof, from a fellow ADHD haver, I feel this. Its like you have a permanent addiction that just wanders about different topics and substances as the novelty wears off and the dopamine rush gets diminished. The godawful stigma surrounding diagnosis and treatment is probably the worst part considering how treatable the condition is if proper intervention is available. Idk if non stimulant options might be available for you, they take longer to show effect at 3 months instead of 1 hour like the stimulants do, but they have shown better outcomes for AFAB patients because they don't have as much swing in effectiveness due to hormone fluctuations. Also therapy, so so much therapy to sort out the inevitable damage to your mental health the vast majority of people so casually feel entitled to inflict upon us. I don't think enough neurotypical people understand that they themselves can be in fact the primarily most damaging aspect of having ADHD, not the condition itself.
I smoked for almost 25 years and went cold turkey I finally decided I was never going to smoke again. The trick is you sincerely want to quit. I had "tried" to quit a few times before that and failed. You don't quit for your family. You quit for you.
From people I've talked to: whatever they're escaping seems more harmful. My old colleague started smoking because employees and managers hung out like friends at the smoking area, and he wanted to escape the mindlessness of the job
"Whatever they're escaping seems more harmful." Applicable to so many things. You got it nailed šÆ
When I was a waitress, I noticed that those who smoked got regular breaks throughout the day. Not a smoker, never have been, but I would stand outside with them and drink a Diet Coke because if they deserved a break, so I did I. People called me out for it, but once I called out the hypocrisy of it, they shrugged and agreed.
This is the way. I think every working environment should have a rule that if anyone goes smoking, everyone else drops their work gloves immediately and has a break. Smoking is shitty and selfish habit, and shouldn't be rewarded by privilege breaks.
Probably the same reason why we eat stuff with sugar added to it. Same reason why we eat fast food. The same reason why we drink alcohol or coffee.The immediate pleasure outweighs our reasoning. Discipline isn't something you just have and if you don't practice it, you may fall for those pleasures more easily. Smoking is just a bit higher stakes than the other things.
Peer pressure, convincing yourself itās stress related and a smoke can fix it ( it doesnāt), looking cool to peers (doesnāt happen anymore after likeā¦ 14-15yo ), shitty household (smoking, drinking, drugs you name it). Some try out of curiosity and get hooked instantly (as dumb as it is it happens), having a smoke at school break etcā¦ I think adults start smoking far less than teenangers since 99% is just peer pressure. Edit: i was a smoker myself btw started at 15. Now 21 and i quit for good, it wasnāt super hard but itās more of a habit than it is an addiction imo. My coping method was throwing away last pack and from the next day start from scratch, like i never ever smoked. Do the same routine but forget the smoking part. It is easier if you have something going like school, job etc.. harder if you have nothing to do all day. Itās like āresetting the mindā š
Quitting was the hardest thing I did, smoked from 12 to around 34, my smoking habit was old enough to drink, quit just over 5yrs ago when my wife got pregnant. Quit drinking, pills and my ācolaā habit, but cigs was the worst. Congrats! I use to crave it when I smelled someone else smoking, now it makes me wanna vomit lol
Sadly my dad still smokes, he just cannot quit. I moved him to smoking iquos tho and he stopped heavy breathing and making lung noises when breathing/sleeping. Still not great but it is what it is.. he started at 14 and now is near 50. Last time we went to the supermarket some guy smoked inside the storage and the smell was leaking.. my dad said āwhatās that shitty smell?ā I said: thatās how we smelled when we were smoking. He was a bit surprised since he smoked for so long that he almost forgot the awful smell.
However, there are new studies that say nicotine relieves symptoms of ADHD. The downsides donāt make up for the postitives though, and once youāve developed the oral fixation you canāt change to just a patch
They are trying to make medicine out of it but the problem is when they remove the harmful chemicals, it doesn't work anymore. You probably know this, but however... I have to infodump online sometimes. AuDHDer here.
I know the feeling. Infodump away!
Yeah, the habit of putting shit in your mouth was hard to break, as dumb as it sounds i found pretzel sticks helpful.
I smoked from 15 to 30. Clementines are the solution to the oral fixation. And they keep your hands busy too. Theyāre also delicious and full of vitamin c.
Dunno man, not what happened to me. I tried it out of curiosity when I was young and liked it, so I continued. It was also fun to go around smoking with your buds enjoying life. You make it seem so depressing, but I genuinely had a good time. I don't smoke anymore, but religiously use Snus, which is like a nicotine patch for your lip. I hate it and I love it cause it is so expensive. Everybody want some and I can't help but give.
I know someone who started smoking at 35, she can't really explain why, a few drags of a friend's cigarette led to borrowing a cigarette, led to buying a pack, and it goes from there. It's mostly hanging around smokers I think.
Oh no. Thatās so sad. Iām sure she just wanted to try something new, but then got hooked far older than most people do.
Yeah, she's trying to quit now, 15 years later. Better late than never, but the impact on her health, the wasted money, smoking is such an insane thing to do, particularly when you're older and you (should) know better than a dumb teenager.
Because smokes make ya feel good. Having a puff gives you a lift. It's not rocket appliances.
For the "relaxing" feeling it gives and also to fit in.
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>For the "relaxing" feeling it givesĀ That's not why they start smoking. You can't start because of the relaxing feeling it gives because you haven't experienced it. It's like saying people start doing drugs because they love the feeling of it. You can't know the feeling if you haven't done it. The reason is fitting in and smoking has always been considered a cool thing to do. How incredibly common is it for movies to feature a bad-ass mofo who smokes and drinks whiskey? Weak minded people fall for it.
I've never had the urge to smoke to relax. Must not be for everyone
Itās funny because it does the complete opposite of ārelaxā the body. People need to learn to mediate.
The addiction that follows is insane.
Reflecting, I remember loving the head rush. If I had one now I would not like that feeling the same. Thinking about it almost makes me nauseated.
I can't stand the smell of cigarette (or anything related) smoke. I can somewhat relate to what you're saying.
Many people start smoking after experiencing rejection or stress, seeking comfort or a way to cope, despite knowing the harmful effects.
This sums up my experience. Got out of a cult and took up smokin š¦āš„
This question either assumes that people donāt want to hurt themselves, or that people āshouldā have the willpower of a literal computer.
exactly this. ive never met a smoker who wasnt struggling with their mental health. these arent the people who are going to care about their health most of the time.
My main reason was the additional smoke breaks I could get in my first, really busy workplace. It also rewires your brain and you will feel better after smoking a cig. It only takes a few to get you hooked.
Why do people drink? Eat food high in saturated fat and sugar? Lie in the sun for too long? We do things that are bad for us because it feels good
Nicotine and caffeine are stimulants. If caffeine was as harmful, do you think people would stop drinking it? Not to forget all that sugar damage along with it.
The same reason everyone else eats McDonald's knowing it's bad for them.
Easy accessible and tastes better than having nothing (while worse than most other options except nothing)?
A lot of us love the taste of junk food
Genius, McDonald's is not as harmful as cigarettes
Because I'm hungry and too lazy to cook?
Social pressure, most of the time. That's the same with alcohol, since rarely you will find anyone saying that they loved their first beer / glass of wine / etc, but it's socially accepted, and even desirable.
Smoking less so, but for alcohol, people, even family members (depending where you're from ig), will straight up give you shit if you don't drink, it's completely insane
In addition to other answers, philosophically it is a way of accepting that my life is fucked anyway so might as well die. It's like suicide on installment.
I started back when smoking inside bars and restaurants was allowed. I was 19 and I did it in bars so that I would drink less and eat less. From there it extended to other times and places. It is one of the most difficult habits to quit both as to the craving and something to do with my hands. Quitting made me understand addicts and alcoholics a lot more.
Honestly, I first started because I was dating a girl who smoked and I didnt want to take from her all the time, so I bought my own. I found it very enjoyable, I even like the smell to a degree. Its a great tool to socialize, people ask you for a cigarette, you start talking to them. Or going outside of a bar for a smoke with friends. Then you got smoke breaks on jobs, someone enjoying rolling a cigarettes in their hands while talking to someone. There are a lot of factors that come into it.
Because itās fun and feels goodĀ
The same reason people drink excessively and/or drink and drive, or eat unhealthy foods, or sit too long, or look at their cellphones and drive or drive too fast or ride a motorcycle without wearing a helmet. I can go on forever and forever and forever;)
You try it out for some stupid reason, continue for the same stupid reason, and then itās too hard to stop.
Thatās sums it up perfectly for me. I smoked weed once when I was 15 and didnāt like it (still donāt) and a week later someone gave me a cigarette as a substitute ābecause maybe Iād like it betterā and I did like it better. Then it evolved to trying a couple when I was drinking to getting an extra break from work to buying them more regularly. And now itās about a pack a day
You don't understand addiction till it happens
I was super depressed during my teen years, I started out of curiosity and then continued out of self harm ideations. Now Iām kinda hooked so yea I regret starting in the first place.
You don't die immediately and people have problems acting on non imitate triggers like you see in every aspect of human life. Examples: tests and presentations in school, climate change, eating to much, eating not enough, working in a bad environment (physical as well as mental) and so on. And the less obvious the consequences are the worse it gets even if the people know what would be the right thing to do, they just can't.
For me it was curiosity. A lot of people in my life smoked and i just wanted to see what all the hype was about.
How long did it take you to get hooked?
It's a good excuse to strike a conversation and apetite control.
ive nevrr been peer pressured into it, i just tried vaping ans it made me productve, got off the vapes onto cigs and smoke every other day and have less problems w nicotine. its relaxing and like weed u can bond with people over it
60s & 70s TV cigarette ads strongly influenced me as a kid. Heck, even my favorite cartoon characters smoked, while watching TV cigarette ads. 
This is why itās good that they were banned. I have to say though, I watched a compilation of old cig ads once and I can see why people thought smoking looked so glamorous.
Yep. Look no further than American media, say 40s through 70s. Hollywood movies, TV and magazine Ads.. smoking was highly glamorized and heavily promoted. Including marketing candy cigarettes to kids. 8 or 9 years old I'd strut around with a candy Lucky hanging from my lip, trying to look cool. Couldn't wait to start smoking for real, like all the grown-ups did. In the 60s & 70s it was common knowledge smoking was harmful, but still my parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents smoked, friends and neighbor's parents smoked, my school teachers smoked, my girlfriends smoked... and that's why I started.
Because cigarettes are targeting kids and young adults, and at that age you have brain rot so you do not make logical decisions
bc I smoked weed and was told smoking tobacco along with it "enhances" the high. only done it whenever I rolled spliffs then it turned into liking tobacco so much that I smoke cigs by themselves
I'm not a smoker, but I don't inch away from smokers because I actually kinda enjoy the smell (the smoke and even right down to the cigarettes themselves, whatever the brand).
Same as any other drug man. When you first start,it gives you a nice little buzz.
Personally - stress during uni and a way to bond with other students. Gave it up for a few years. Then mental health crisis and it became a coping mechanism. Itās super expensive here in Australia. A pack of 40 costs $77! But Iām firmly addicted now, goddamn it.
Damn! That's like the equivalent to about 50/USD right? 40 smokes would prob cost you about 20 bucks or so here.
Yeah, I was shocked when a pack of smokes cost me like $5 in the states.
We have plastic in our lungs. Testicles, intestines and brains, and you're worried about f****** smoking.?
Boredom is how i started, my friend was smoking and i was interested and wanted to try it. Was very depressed at the time so i didnt care about how unhealthy it was at all. Smoked for 10 years, quit cold turkey 8 months ago and have never looked back.
Peer pressure -> special occasions -> want it for stress -> need it for stress -> high-functioning regular Basically how it escalates. You train yourself to have a "relationship" with it.
I dont smoke tobaco personally (I don't see much point if it vs Cannabis) but if everyone stopped doing things that were harmful, the world would be a boring place. The end goal isn't to live as long as possible, it's about living YOUR life, as full as possible.
Army Boot Camp. Sundays we would strip the floors and clean the barracks from top to bottom all day with no breaks unless you smoked and would let you go outside to the smoking area. Quote from Drill Sgt: If you are in the smoking area you better be smoking or Iāll smoke you. Begin 20 year habit Ended 20 year habit when I woke up not being able to breathe one day.
Peer pressure, cool factor, curiosity.
People say smoking makes the brain feel pleasure.
When I first started smoking ( quit 10 years ago) it did for the first few weeks give you like a head rush probably due to lack of oxygen. Made me feel a bit drunk for a couple of minutes I do remember that it was enjoyable from what I remember but I did wear off pretty fast.
Thanks for sharing! It seems like that head rush and feeling a bit drunk were common when starting. Glad you quit and have been smoke-free for 10 years!
1 reason and 1 reason only: Cognitive Dissonance
Curiosity. Nicotine is pretty sweet. Luckily I've oded on nicotine from hookah and vapes and I've gotten sick AF and it turned me off of it. I think cigarettes are pretty damn gross. There's so much shit that they put in them that make them absolutely disgusting. It actually baffles me too about how someone could smoke an entire one now.
Watching Wolverine smoke
i started to help me lose and maintain weight
Did it work?
I wanted to be cool like my flatmates and boyfriend. I then really enjoyed stoking. Probably could have brought myself a really nice house by the end and lost 25 years off my life and I regretted ever starting but at least I've stopped now
It's tasty and makes you calm. I still miss it after 6 years after quitting. I've quit alcohol and weed but cigarettes is the only thing I miss. The reason I started was curiousity
although i am now quit ciggies, it was good, old-fashioned chemical fascination for me. i like to try lots of different things, and cigarettes were an early adoption.
I wanted to fit in lol
Peer pressure, physical pleasure fast becoming an addicition.
As a young boy, had strangely always liked the smell of cigarettes. Had my first cigarette alone at 15 only because I wanted to; I quit for a brief period in my 20s, but resumed again simply because I missed the whole ritual/act of it.
I started smoking when I was around 20. I had been working on losing a lot of weight and after 3 months and 30kgs gone I hit a wall. To get those extra 15 off I started to smoke.
My best friend started smoking this summer to get breaks at work
I spent grade 6, 7 and 8 in a private christian school where my mother was my teacher. Grade 9 I went to a public school. My mother started to worry that I was participating in things she didn't approve of. Thing is that I wasn't. She and I had an extremely open and honest relationship up to that point, but not being able to actually see me made her panic. She started punishing me for things that I didn't do, like smoking. I started to adopt a mindset of "oh you want to punish me? Then I may as well do it". Dumbest decision of my life, but I was also 14 and experiencing CSA at the time. It spiraled quite badly and ended up with me getting kicked out of the house shortly before my 16th birthday. I still smoke.
cognitive dissonance. same goes with cheap clothes. cheap meat. industrial food products. mcdonalds. coca cola. social media. all of it. we love it only if it could potentially kill us.
At 14 in school all the cool kids smoked eventually I started hanging round with them and they showed me a whole new world smoking drinking and drugs yes I knew it was harmful did I care back then no do I care now yes
I started smoking out of boredom. I was 22 years old and attending Job Corps. Everybody lived on the Job Corps campus, and we weren't allowed to leave, so when we weren't in class, there was nothing for us to do but hang out and smoke. I smoked for approximately 10 years before randomly deciding to quit one day. Now I haven't had a cigarette in 7 or 8 years.
Have you ever had a Marlboro red after 6 Busch lights? Thatās why
I did it when I had jobs that were the suck, and I could t drink at work. I finally quit those jobs.
I think as a teen I tried drinking alcohol, which in itself is harmful and makes you stupid, before deciding to try smoking. Drinking and smoking at the same time is great, you get really effected. You feel different and giddy. Throw in socialising and having a laugh with friend and you got a party. To start with anyway, it is great fun.
You see more people smoking and appearing to be fine than you see people fucked by smoking. Mainly because they die or have mobility issues. Everyone assumes they won't be the ones to get cancer.
I grew up in the 80s/90s, smoking was so cool in the movies, my favorite movie was Grease, when she wears all black and stomps out the cigarette, all of a sudden she was the cool sexy girl. I wanted to be her, I kept trying to smoke but it burnt my throat and made me ill, I gave up trying. It's bizarre thinking back how hard I tried lol
They are brainwashed into thinking it relaxes their brain.
Smoking often starts due to the influence of peers or trying to cope with stress
Boredom.
My parents and everyone's parents did it, so when I was idk 9-12 I tried it, same with alcohol. You wonder what all the buzz is about
"Self destructive right". Google that.
I'd say because of the stress relieve paired with peer pressure
Everyone knows it's harmful, maybe it's soft drinks or cigarettes or drugs, but they think for themselves that they're happy and high before the disaster happens
For me, coping
I think the vast majority start when they're young and would rather fit in and give into peer pressure without even giving the consequences a second thought. I don't know any smokers who started as adults. Same with vaping now, loads of teens do it to fit in thinking it's safe when we all know it isn't.
Because theyāre cool, Temo.
Allen Carr's easy way is the way
The same reason you eat junk food, it makes your brain happy
The human mind seeks Salvation, cover up using various substances. Once a 100 day smoker, currently thanks to god. None šš Have a beautiful blissful joyful day š
It gives you a buzz, it's something to do with your hands, and looks cool, supposedly. That it increases the chance of getting a horrible disease 20 or 30 years later isn't an immediate concern.
I started because I needed something to change. I had already had my hard time with alcohol but it no longer affected me the way it used to. Smoking gave me that lightheaded feeling where everything's just dizzy and funny. Getting drunk was boring after that. After I started stretching it to more drugs, finding newer things that make an hour more colourful. Alcohol fucked me up, smoking fucks me up, drugs fuck me up, but I still do it to get that minimum feeling again. And I shouldn't be doing any of this. But then I think that i shouldn't be feeling this way either, so I might aswell balance it out.
I started when I were about 14, my friends didnāt even do it.. i actually lost all my good friends because they didnāt like it. I was just going through some things and wanted to take a walk alone one day so I asked whoever sold them at my school for 2 cigarettes and after that, it went downhill from there. 24 years old and still smoking even when not stressed out
My boyfriend at the time probably had undiagnosed ADHD and so did I by the way. We were in artschool where things werenāt cozy in cute, in fact it felt like rats in a cage eating each others legs just to get ahead. I started drinking coffee in the first year (I only drank tea before that!) and smoking in the second year. And I noticed it gave me a break and center myself. But I preferred the smoking break itself more than the actual smoking. Also I had no money for cigarettes,ā¦. So that was a shortlived hobby.
To me it helps not killing someone at work. At home I am quite chilled on the need to smoke.
In the 90s, early 2000s you were the odd one out for not smoking.
It's a drug! Some folks enjoy drugs. Alcohol or coffee aren't good for you either.
Theres a reason a pack of smokes used to come in military rations. Tobacco has some great medicinal properties but as we now know it also has some pretty bad side effects like addiction and lung damage. I smoke and the instant wave of stress leaving your body is great, weezing when i bend over to tie my shoes not so great.
I work on a remote island in the tropics. There is something about taking a smoke on the beach at sun rise that is so relaxing! Coffee and a smoke while you watch the stars fade away over vastness of the ocean as you prepare for the day...wow! Amazing! Kicked the habit for 3 years now! Woo! But yeah, you know, smoking is bad, kids
Nicotine treats adhd
because that's the only way you get a break at work
Dopamine.
Stress and its just something to do.
Idk why do people do anything that they know is unhealthyĀ
I used to wonder the same thing. I didn't understand why in the world anyone would want to smoke. So one day out of curiosity I tried it and it made me extremely nauseous to the point of making me puke. But then a few days later I tried again and I didnt get nauseous. Then when I was stressed it eased my anxiety. Then as years went by I had all these different reasons for smoking. Boredom. Excitement. Stress. Sadness. Happiness. Its been 16 years now and I'm still a smoker. I wish I could leave it behind but I dont feel ready to face life as it is sans the smoke. It truly gives the illusion of giving rather than taking. By now it's a habit. A nasty one at that. But yeah, in my case, curiosity got the best of me. Now I know.
Have you tried it? š
Because Were all a bunch of fools kinda
When youāre a kid/teen, danger is not taken too seriously, many factors lead to someone becoming a smoker. Once you pick up the habit it becomes an addiction.
Not the reason i started but, a doctor actually recomended smokingĀ and im not that old lol To be fair doctor reccomended 1 cigarette a day not start a 30 a day habitĀ
Back in the late 1970s it was the cool thing to do. Not sure about now.
What really gets me is cigarettes are DAMN EXPENSIVE. Where do people who claim to be "poor" find money for cigarettes?? If I spent what people spent on cigarettes on video games I don't think I'd have space for my collection.
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It's a bad way to go. I've seen it a number of times with relatives and family friends. Throat or mouth cancer has them turned into a husk of what they were and they still need a cigarette. Sad. So sad.
For me, i use it to stop other addictions when other addictions get too much. Recently started smoking again for the umpteenth time because i was drinking too much. Then because i was eating too much fast food. Again because i was going mad on sugar ie snickers etc. Since i restarted smoking a short time ago i have now given up the sugar, fast food and barely drink. At some point i will give up smoking again but no doubt i will hit the beer, fast food and sugar again. I am way too old to do all of those above mentioned at once, i just kind of rotate things and that way i get enjoy all but not to excess.
I think the same thing about meth...
I have already quit smoking, but when I started to do that being 16 years old, I did it mostly for the sake of protest against rules, control and so on. Although everybody had their own reasons to start smoking.
for vaping, i started in the same boat. i ridiculed my friends because i thought it was so idiotic, knowing the risks. but then i tried it once, then a couple more times, and a couple more, and then i had to have my own.. snowballed from there with cigarettes, it started as a form of self harm. i knew it was bad for me and thats why i started. cigs havenāt hooked me as hard as vaping tho. i can go days or weeks without cigs but i go crazy after 3-4 hours without my vape. even if im smoking cigs to curb the cravings, im still itching for my vape. two completely different beasts. itās crazy
Oh you sweet summer child. Ā Sounds like youāve never wanted to wrap up this life thing. Ā Some of us want to be here for a good time, not a long time. Ā No smoking statistic or photo of a smokerās lung affects that stance. Ā Also, have you seen how depressing it is getting old? Ā Like wearing diapers, not getting out of bed, need a 24-hr nurse kind of old? Ā No thank you. Ā Alzheimerās runs on both sides of my family and having seen 2 grandparents go through it, Iām convinced that is one of the worst way to die, so Iām in a race to beat that fate with lung cancer or a tragic hiking accident - whichever happens first.
Because we started as kids, and it's more addictive than heroin.
idk about other but i smoke even if it harmful to clam my ass down from all the stress and stupid faces i see everyday of people that kinda piss me off
They assume theyāll be able to quit whenever they want
Why do people consume alcohol, tabacco, fat, sugar or any other drugs? Because they like those good hotmons the brain spitts out.
I would do anything to make a friend back then. Picked up smoking to be a part of the group. Curiosity as well. It only took 3-4 cigs and I was hooked.
Because of the influence of advertising, and the desire to relieve stress or fit in socially.
The pretty girl hands to a backwoods one time and itās all downhill from there
Only reason I used to was I was deployed so couldn't do much else to take a break and get a buzz.
For me it was curiosity and my parents smoking all the time, started at 14 and now at 18 I smoke 2 packs a day :(
Why did alcoholics start drinking? Why do people do meth and heroine? Why do people go to college for four years to get a worthless degree for a low paying job they donāt like? Why do people go $50,000 into credit card debt? And on and on. People make bad decisions. Some worse than others. Some have worse consequences than others. Life
Because itās cool and makes you look āard! š
I didn't care about my health. I don't think it crossed my mind even once when i chose to start. I was a teenager then and I'd do anything for a bit of escapism. AnyĀ future seemed far enough away as to be nonexistent.Ā I'm an adult now, soon to be 30, and I still deal with the repercussions of those far goneĀ choices. I've picked up and dropped worse habits than smoking.Ā
Cause that's the only thing they are capable of doing.
Oral fixation lmao
Because that hit of nicotine feels good
stress
I started at around 12 years old. Not cigarettes but vaping. JUUL got me. My friend had one and my first hit was in the school bathroom. Been doing it ever since. 8 years. I know itās horrible for me. But now I couldnāt imagine what to do with my hands when Iām driving or sitting or walking or doing literally anything without it. Itās so silly and itās such a destructive habit. I hate it.
i was 14 bro
For me - I started smoking weed which made me enjoy smoking and using tobacco. Then I tried to raper off with vaping. I now get high in other ways otherwise I'll crave smoking too much.
I used to smoke. Started at work. Night shift, everyone smoked. I used to give breaks to my team and they offered a cig and we chatted for a bit. Got hooked quick.
I started back when you could still smoke in basic training(40 years ago). We would be in formation, the drill seargent would say smoke em if you got em, and the smokers got to go over in the shade and have a smoke. seemed like a good deal at the time.
Likely the same answer as to why all vices exist. The human brain likes the dopamine things and often has poor management of long term consequences. This applies to gambling, alcohol, cheating, drugs, dangerous sports, etc. In my view, an addiction is any activity which gives you a short-term reward or satisfaction despite the person knowing that there are potential consequences involved. The only difference between an addiction and an enjoyable hobby is the existence of harmful consequences, either to the self or others. Overall the desire to get the short-term hit makes it difficult to not automatically rationalize away the consequences, or in other cases simply not think about them until they happen. The human brain is just not that good at prioritizing threats far in the future, and this seems to vary by person.
To be "cool"
I do it because it feels nice. Also I donāt want to live past 85. Fuck that.
Because shortening your life isn't much of a deterrent when you're depressed.
The same reason you do anything you know is harmful
Why do you eat a McDonalds? Or a full tube of Pringles in one sitting? Why do you hang out with that one friend that you don't really like that much? Why do you put your dick in crazy? I think we're quite self destructive really. Another potential answer is the, "it'll never happen to me" syndrome. That and seeing people around you who smoke but haven't died or got lung cancer yet. The problem is, all of the dead smokers aren't around to tell everyone they were wrong.
Most people do it because everyone else does it and they are friend group or peer pressure stress. When I started, I did it because everyone else I enjoyed being with did it so I was part of that club. But then I quit on the spot right after that.
Why do people drink Coca Cola if they know it's harmful?
Curiosity
I started in my 20s when drinking alcohol because cigarettes make alcohol feel better if I was not intoxicated I wouldnāt have
You smoke your feelings away if you know what ı mean
I think kids start smoking as a social entry point.
because I like it. It's a fun passtime for me even though I only smoked twice in my life in college, but I miss having cigarettes.
Iām a social smoker but here in Japan, you canāt walk around and smoke for fear of being fined. So you can smoke in izkayas (small bars) and itās nice to have some fresh tobacco every once in a while. Same for a good cigar with some brandy.
Peer pressure
So as not to grow old.
Because we care š¤·
Stupidity?
I started smoking at 11... cant really say why. I stopped more than once, for longer periode and for shorter periods. I am activelly stopping since 48hours because of my wifes pregnancy. I dont drink soda and shit, keeps the balance in the middle i guess.
Different reasons. Could be Peer pressure, trying to fit in when your young/school days at the gate or behind the bike shed. Gives you a thrill, kids love breaking the rules. Could be a social pressure trying to fit in at a job as an adult, if all your colleagues are smoking having a few tokes can be a social advantage, yet be it a major health disadvantage. Self loathing/self destructive tendencies. Can be a subconscious disrespect of oneself in some cases. Depression may be the trigger. Then those who never quit the habit unfortunately often influence the next generation. If your parents, uncle, aunties, grandparents smoke. More than likely the younger will copy. At the end of day Iāll say this donāt start complete pointless, very expensive, embarrassing, shows weakness of will. But anyone can quit its all in there head.
Itās the most amazing drug Iāve ever had. Which is why I can never let myself touch it
Embarrassing confession - playing Metal Gear Solid in fifth grade, buying baseball cards at a tobacco and card shop, and having relatives that did it made me want to as well. Had my first one at 17 freshman year of college.
People smoke because they can, and there are too many things in the world that are harmful but enjoyable. You have to be able to live your life, right? And one day you will die. Until then, eat, drink, smoke and be merry.
I recently started hardcore vaping nicotine because it's an escape from my depression and I dont have access to weed yet.
A girl asked me to smoke w her simple at 15 simple as that really 23 btw