Why do People Smoke?
My whole life I have wondered why people smoke? I have wondered why would you want to put something into your mouth and suck on it till addictive toxins go into your lungs and do damage? Being a person that has been to many parties and experienced many things I have come to the conclusion that they do it because it was there. When someone is smoking outside and one person wants to talk to them, they go talk to them. But what will they do while the other is smoking. They think well maybe I will smoke one too. They do this so that they can talk to people without feeling out of place. Then you think about the person that is already out smoking, did they do the same as the person that went to join them? Was it just a conversation starter when they first started? Did they start doing it at a young age because they thought that it looked cool? These are also valid reasons, but I think that another main reason is that they started at a young age because they saw their parents doing it.
When you are young and you see your parents or older sibling doing something you want to imitate it. The same as when you learn to talk or learn to do tasks around the house. I think that they feel that it is necessary for them to start smoking. When you are young you don't think that it is going to hurt you in the long run. You think that you are invincible. Nothing bad will happen to you. This reason to some people can hold water. But the reason I don't understand is the one where someone starts smoking because everyone else...
My opinion
I have to say that I felt fairly similar to the author, when I was a kid. My parents were big-time chain-smokers when I was small, and my sister soon joined them, just to give it a try. I find that while smokers do have dubious motives for starting to smoke, what clearly keeps them smoking is 1. an addiction and 2. the great feeling of it 3. boredom and 4. the lack of an alternative. People have been taking in nicotine for thousands of years, but they did it by chewing leaves (or something) which is not harmfull (!), perhaps nicotine-gum is the best way to go?
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