How To Avoid Becoming A Smoker

To the non-smoker, smoking behavior can seem incomprehensible. Almost all smokers know about the health risks of smoking, but they keep puffing. Many continue the habit for decades, their health and well-being declining with each passing year.

What motivates people to take that first cigarette? What is behind the decision to start smoking?

That First Cigarette

Most people start smoking when they are teenagers. The desire to fit in and be "one of the crowd" is particularly strong during adolescence. Many teenagers begin smoking to be cool. If their friends smoke, they feel pressured to take up the habit.

Young people may also feel that smoking makes them appear grown up. For some, it may be a form of rebellion against their parents and teachers. Most young people are aware of the dangers of smoking, so lecturing them about the health risks can be futile.

Do Smokers Have More Fun?

Advertising is also a big motivator in the desire to take up smoking. Tobacco ads depict young, healthy, active people taking part in fun group activities. The message is clear -- smoke brand X and you too can have this much fun.

Adults also feel the desire to fit in, which is a motivating factor behind many human behavior patterns. Adults, too, are susceptible to popular images surrounding smoking. They usually have enough self-awareness to know that smoking will not ensure social acceptance, but there is the universal appeal of the smoker as rebel -- cool and independent. This can be alluring for many young adults, especially those who see themselves as being on the fringe.

Lack Of Optimism

Perhaps certain individuals are more drawn to smoking than others. There is evidence that people with a long-term outlook on life, those with plans for the future, are less likely to start smoking because they know it will cause future health problems and shorten their life span.

On the other hand, those with shorter outlooks and less optimism about the future are more likely to smoke.

The Good, Bad, And Ugly

Other people turn to smoking as a way to relieve stress. Even though tobacco is ineffective for handling stress in the long run, it does provide short-term relief. Those who have stressful jobs or who are in difficult life situations may take up smoking as a coping mechanism.

There are a number of unpleasant aspects to smoking that must be overlooked in order to become addicted. Smoking stains the teeth and the fingers. It causes bad breath. It fouls the air and creates an unpleasant environment for non-smokers.

It is a testament to how pleasurable smoking can be that so many people will put up with its negative aspects. Most smokers say they enjoy cigarettes, and those who have managed to quit often feel they have lost an old friend.

Can You Quit?

Almost all smokers will come to a point where they will want to quit. The reality of smoking-related health problems draws near, and they reach the decision that it's time to give up the habit. Unfortunately, the addictive nature of tobacco makes this a very difficult task.

The spurious nature of the "benefits," the enormous costs in health and in money literally burned up, and the huge difficulty of quitting, one question screams for an answer. Why start?

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