Anyone New to Smoking?????

[yacapo]

I have a question that's been bugging me for quite a while. Are there actually people that are starting to smoke for the first time, after all we know about how it can KILL you???

I can understand the people that have been doing it for a long time, who didn't really know how harmful it really was. What makes me angry is when I see young people who should be well aware of what can happen to them.

Are people just stupid or what?? I know it's hard to quit, but it's not hard to never start.

It's just unbelievable how freaking dumb human beings can be. We just don't learn from past mistakes. It's amazing!!!

Are there any new smokers on this forum? If there are, can you give me a valid reason why in the world you decided to pick up this stupid, deadly habit? Also, convince me how you can be an intelligent person and still decide to start smoking. This will be quite a challenge!

[Angela]

Like the fast food industry, the tobacco industry has all kinds of money for marketing to young people. It takes a real act of strength and will to resist the incredibly pervasive influence of these powerful entities. It's not stupidity, I don't think; just malleability.

Posts like yours are good for fighting off the evil marketing influences!

[alexb5784]

People are brainwashed by the media to think something is cool. Even on the subways, I've seen ads for Bud beer. Why would they advertise beer on the subways? Little children see these ads and all the happy people in them. In return, they grow up believing that this is the way to get friends as an adult.

And even some of the commercials on tv for medicine, are bad. They tell people that it's okay to overeat and be unhealthy, because all you need to do is take a Tums or Pepto-Bismol, and you're better again! I can't believe I even know how to spell Pepto-Bismol! There are more important words to know. But as I've seen these commericials thousands of times in my life, I know how to spell the product name. That's advertising!

Kids can spell product names these days, but can't spell the names of States or vocabulary words in spelling bees.

[John Wesley]

It's perceived as cool. It gives you a buzz. All the bad asses are doing it on tv and in the movies. It's sexy. It's something older people do.

It makes perfect sense for teenagers to be curious.

[yacapo]

Originally Posted by John Wesley

It's perceived as cool. It gives you a buzz. All the bad asses are doing it on tv and in the movies. It's sexy. It's something older people do.

It makes perfect sense for teenagers to be curious.

That's exactly what's wrong with people! Everyone is trying to be like everyone else and nobody wants to be themselves. Nobody wants to be original.
Someone with a strong personality who is secure about him or herself wouldn't need to do what others are doing to feel cool or feel like they have to fit in. I never once tried any type of illegal drug while I was in school, or now for that matter.

It seems to me like the problem lies with people's insecurities and weak personalities. I don't have any kids yet (maybe in a year), but you can bet that one of the things I will try to teach him or her is how uncool it is to try to be like someone else. I mean, if you don't want to be you, then why are here? Why are you alive? It seems to me that you have to have a very low opinion of yourself to think that being yourself just isn't good enough. Maybe I'll make a commercial

[yacapo]

Originally Posted by John Wesley

It makes perfect sense for teenagers to be curious.

Did you say it "makes perfect sense?" Let's think about this for a second. There is something that can kill you and yet you are willing to try it because you are curious and see others doing it?? You can't be serious!

I think I've just identified another problem with society. We think this kind of stuff makes sense?? Does it make sense when you are lying on a hospital bed asking God why this is happening to you? Kids need to grow up, plain and simple.

We keep treating kids like they're stupid and immature and they will keep acting this way. We need to stop EXPECTING kids to be stupid by saying their behavior makes sense. When you expect people to be stupid, that's exactly what they will become.

[SmellyOrc]

Originally Posted by yacapo

We keep treating kids like they're stupid and immature and they will keep acting this way. We need to stop EXPECTING kids to be stupid by saying their behavior makes sense. When you expect people to be stupid, that's exactly what they will become.

Amen to that.
Being a teenager myself, I never have and never will smoke. Never even got tempted to smoke. I do not care if it's hip, cool or whatnot, I just won't do something to belong to a group or w/e. I also don't know why people would do that. Sure, you might be 'cool' (whatever ), but health and being yourself is more important than being cool in my opinion.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by yacapo

Kids need to grow up, plain and simple.

Yacapo, kids grow up at their own rate and in their own time. In the meanwhile, they're vulnerable, not because they're stupid, but for a lot of other reasons that have to do with nature and nurture. Big corporations are able to exploit that vulnerability to their very great profit by studying and understanding the soft spots kids have. The corps understand that if you get a consumer young, you've got 'em for life.

I don't think blaming and shaming these vulnerable targets is going to do much to help them say no to smoking (or big macs, or count chocula). John Wesley's right, it is natural for kids to be curious and rebelious, and I think it's harmful for Big Money to exploit that. It's those companies that need to be blamed and shamed and punished (and boycotted), not their victims.

[yacapo]

Originally Posted by Angela

It's those companies that need to be blamed and shamed and punished (and boycotted), not their victims.

Yeah, let's blame Mcdonald's for people being fat. That makes sense. Companies make money by giving people what they want. I don't care how many times a company tries to sell me something. If I don't think it's healthy for me, I'm not going to buy it. And if I do, I won't blame them for it. That's what you do when you have a business. You find out what people need or want and you provide it. If people weren't weak to begin with, they wouldn't have any customers.

I'm only 24 years old. I remember exactly what it was like to be 14, 16 or whatever. SmellyOrc is absolutely right! Those are the kinds of people that will make something of themselves. Most of the people I went to high school with have kids but no career and their life just stinks. But at least they had a good time being "kids."

You know what I find funny? When teenagers reach the age of 18, we expect them to be adults, when just two years earlier at 16 we thought they were vulnerable and shouldn't be blamed for doing certain things. Does that make sense?

We expect kids to become adults as soon as they reach 18, but they are treated as kids right up until they reach that age. People don't grow up from one day to another. It's gradual, which is why they need to start being held responsible for their actions way before they reach the age of 18. We need to stop making excuses for them, or our future as a society looks very sad.

[Angela]

Yacopo, I'm all for personal responsibility, but it's clear to me that kids are no match for the insidious marketing aimed at kids. Remember Joe Camel? That was aimed at preadolescent children, not teenagers, because Camel knew that if they could intrigue those soft little minds, they had them in the bag as not-too-distant future consumers. McDonald's, similarly, uses Ronald McDonald, playgrounds, and other tricks to lure the little ones into their greasy mitts.

It takes education for consumers to see through and resist the insidious efforts made by these companies. I think the corporations should be held responsible for addicting children to cigarettes and fast-food.

That said, I'm all for an advertising campaign aimed at teenagers: a photo of a person dying of lung cancer with the caption, "Are you STUPID??? don't smoke, you nincompoop!! What an *********************!"

That might work.

[alexb5784]

Just last weekend, I was watching The Twilight Zone on DVD and the host of the show was promoting cigarettes at the end of the program. He said that cigarettes were tasty, healthy and chic. But back then (in the 1950's) people didn't know cigarettes were bad. Heck, even doctor's recommended them!

Angela is right, it's all about self-education. And that's hard to do when the media and society persuades you to behave in a certian way. Many people say smoking is bad, but yet they abuse their health in other ways. Children look at this and say "Daddy doesn't smoke, but he drinks. What's wrong if I smoke? He's no better than me. I'm not doing anything wrong." We have to set examples in the home first, if we want our children to respect their health

Check out this advertisment from the 1950's and you'll understand just how much control the media has over people.

More Doctors Smoke Camels (1950's)

[fballer11]

isn't that a south park episode. I forget who, but some guy despises smoking, and stuffs himself with McDonalds every five minutes.

Man, South Park gets it every time.

[The David]

Watch your blood pressure, Yacopo.

[alexb5784]

I have a friend who has all the South Park episodes on DVD, I'll have to find that one

[John Wesley]

Did you ever think it might be fun to do something bad, just because it's bad? Because people are preaching nonstop about how bad smoking is, it has acquired this air of mystery that makes it appealing. Also, there is no guarantee it will kill you, and if it does, it won't be for 40 years.

I think some of you are taking a one sided approach to this question. There is obviously an appeal there because everyone knows about the health effects and tons of people still smoke. To call everyone that smokes stupid is to make an enormous generalization.

I'm not say it's a smart move, but people have the right to make their own choices without others looking down their noses at them.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by John Wesley

...people have the right to make their own choices without others looking down their noses at them.

They do? Really, a right?

[BettyBoo]

For smokers who want to quit I recommend Paul McKenna "Stop smoking for good" hypno-therapy.
its working for me for the past 18 days. I can't imagine myself taking a cigarette right now. I can't believe it. But it does makes me nervous, don't know what to do with my hands. Little off subject, but it's good to know.

[Matthew Shea]

It's too bad this thread has such a negative attitude. The way the OP was worded, I'd be very surprised if anyone even had the guts to respond to the question that was put forth. If you want information from someone, you don't ask them a question, then proceed to insult them for their poor choices in life. The people responding so far are just as bad for the most part.

Personally, I'd say that 10 years ago or more, those who are blaming the tobacco companies would be right. Those same companies have been severely punished for their behavior, however, and currently have their tail between their legs to the extend of funding all sorts of anti-tobacco advertising, web sites, and various other programs. These days, I'd venture to guess that those who start smoking do it out of a sense of rebellion or because they're emulating a bad example given to them by trusted adults or peers.

[Adam]

Ya know, it's all the advertiser's fault.

It's also all the fault of the people who purchase the product.

What organ's fault is it that you're alive right now, your heart, your lungs, or your brain's fault?

So, who's fault is it that people smoke? The advertisers, the consumers, and the people who make smoking such a mysterious and appealing way to rebel. The economy is organic. Without the producers, smoking would dissapear. Without the consumers, smoking would disappear. Without the advertisers or the unwitting anti-tobacco groups advertising for smoking, smoking would be seriously damaged.

When I started smoking, it was because it was a bad thing to do. Plain and simple. The anti-tobacco groups probably helped to pressure me to smoke more than my peers and the advertisers did. It was still my own choice, though. Without the anti-tobacco groups, I probably would not be smoking today. Without the tobacco companies, I definitely would not be smoking today. Without myself, obviously I wouldn't be smoking today.

In fact, I would even go as far as to say that people who don't do *enough* to stop the tobacco companies are just as much at fault as the smokers, tobacco companies, and the groups who are advertising for cigarettes (whether they intend to or not). The only people who aren't at fault are those who just don't care.

Now, are we done laying blame, so that we can move on and get to the root of the question, or do we want to keep arguing over who is responsible? (Aren't we supposed to want to take responsibility, since we are working towards personal development?)

The question is, why do people start smoking, even though they know that it will probably be a large factor in their death.

Because teens think that they are immortal. At least, they believe that they will live long enough that the choices they are making now will not affect them their entire lifetime. The fact that smoking contributes to fatal diseases does absolutely nothing to affect the decision making process of teens and young adults, simply because they have not developed a sense of mortality.

Here's a quick exercise that will demonstrate the lack of logic that goes through a teen's mind. Find a child about 5 years old and tell them that if they clean their room right now, you will give them as much candy as they can eat tomorrow, but they can get a piece of candy now and not clean their room, but they will be grounded tomorrow. In almost every case, the child will choose the instant gratification despite the consequences. As the child matures, their perspective of time improves and the need for instant gratification diminishes, but a true sense of mortality (not just knowing intellectually that things can die, but knowing emotionally and intellectually that you will die) does not develop until a person is in their early twenties, on average.

A more effective way to keep teens from smoking is to forget all about the deadliness of smoking and point out the immediate effects of smoking. Tell kids that the first time they smoke, they'll probably cough their lungs out. The first time that they seriously inhale, they will get light headed and sick, probably even throwing up in the process. Each time they smoke, they are raising their blood pressure, which makes them weaker and reduces oxygen to the brain, making them temporarily stupid. For about 15 minutes after they smoke, they will be able to create more memories easier, but when they aren't smoking, it will be much harder to remember things. Since they can't smoke in class, they won't be able to learn in class as effectively as before, so their grades will suffer.

If people had told me the short term effects of smoking, I probably wouldn't have started. Since I only heard the "serious" long term effects, I didn't care one bit. At the time of my first cigarette, thirty years was over twice a lifetime away, so dieing in thirty years was beyond my ability to imagine, even though I could grasp the words behind the concept intellectually.

[skinnyninja]

How I started smoking....

I was very well educated about the ill effects of smoking when I first started. And, I have moderate to severe asthma, which my parents assured me that I could never even conceive of smoking. It was unthinkable for me to smoke.

Before I was ever a smoker, I saw very clearly the mindlessness of smoking. All of these people, mindlessly taking puff after puff, not even conscious of it, not even savoring any of it. I even asked some smokers if they enjoyed it. "Not really. I wish I could quit" seemed to be the universal response. Based on all of this, I had a certain attitude towards smokers....I judged them in my mind to be either stupid or weak-willed. Something must be wrong with these people, I thought.

Apparently I was destined to learn a lesson here, because I eventually picked up the habit. The best way I can explain it is to blame alcohol. Yep, cigarettes seem like a worthwhile experiment when you're drunk. So I smoked heavily and daily for ten years straight.

I quit smoking 1 year, 2 months, and 22 days ago. The lesson I learned is this: don't turn up your nose at other people the way that I did. Be compassionate. Any one of us is a potential addict--whether the addiction is nicotine, drugs, alcohol, sex, or whatever. I thought I was "above" those stupid smokers....until I became one.

We are all human. Try to be helpful. Be compassionate.

[Angela]

Adam, my parents took the bull by the horns. They actually made me and my brothers take a drag on their own cigarette. It was awful for all three of us -- we hacked, got sick, turned grey. One brother and I grew up to be adamant non-smokers, and the other brother smokes to this day.

I believe I DID address the root of the question: why do people start smoking, even in light of its obviously being bad for you? One big reason: the diligent efforts of tobacco companies to manipulate young people through aggressive marketing that appeals to their little unconscious minds.

Sorry to beat a dead horse, but it had emphysema and I was beating the tar out of it.

[belugagirl]

Adam, I totally agree: for most kids, the threat of eventual horrid death from a related disease means little. What is it going to do to me NOW? That's the question whose answer may keep them away.

You made some good points about immediate and chronic consequences. I've got another that I'm sure would have an impact for most teens: it makes you unattractive to the opposite sex (for a host of reasons, like, how it will make you smell, how your kisses will taste, how it will affect your skin and appearance, and what it says about your level of independence from the crowd).

I remember an anti-smoking education commercial a few years back that did exactly what I had been thinking for a couple years that "someone" should do. It began with a pair of attractive teenagers making subtle, flirty eye contact across a room at a party. She begins walking in his direction with her friend. He takes out a cigarette and lights up. She makes a face of disgust to her friend, and they veer another way.

Yes, tell kids that smoking can make you ill and can kill, but once they're into puberty, also tell them it's a turnoff.