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Old 05-15-2018, 09:40 AM
 
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Growing up in an era in which virtually all adults smoked, in which too many adults thought it was cute and funny to see their kids light up and puff on cigarettes, it’s amazing anyone didn’t start smoking back then. But now that the real dangers of smoking are not only know, but are common knowledge, why do young people today start smoking? Every year I still see more and more young people take up smoking I’ve even seen young adults take up smoking so they had an excuse to leave work for frequent breaks since you can’t smoke at work. My wife and I are 49 and we never smoked. We saw our parents struggle to quit and their health problems. We see her older sister struggling to buy a pack of cigarettes on her low hourly pay. I have relatives of the same generation as myself and despite seeing their chain smoking parents struggling, all four of their kids either smoke or chew tobacco. Even after their dad dies from his smoking none of them made an attempt to quit smoking. It’s very hard to quit tobacco but it’s easy to never try it. If peer pressure is what gets some kids to start, why hasn’t that peer pressure moved in the opposite direction to pressure peers to not start smoking. This goes for vaping as well since it’s still the addictive chemical found in tobacco? It is disappointing to see young celebrities, followed by legions of even younger fans, take up smoking.
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Old 05-15-2018, 10:08 AM
 
8,192 posts, read 3,389,423 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by victimofGM View Post
Growing up in an era in which virtually all adults smoked, in which too many adults thought it was cute and funny to see their kids light up and puff on cigarettes, it’s amazing anyone didn’t start smoking back then. But now that the real dangers of smoking are not only know, but are common knowledge, why do young people today start smoking? Every year I still see more and more young people take up smoking I’ve even seen young adults take up smoking so they had an excuse to leave work for frequent breaks since you can’t smoke at work. My wife and I are 49 and we never smoked. We saw our parents struggle to quit and their health problems. We see her older sister struggling to buy a pack of cigarettes on her low hourly pay. I have relatives of the same generation as myself and despite seeing their chain smoking parents struggling, all four of their kids either smoke or chew tobacco. Even after their dad dies from his smoking none of them made an attempt to quit smoking. It’s very hard to quit tobacco but it’s easy to never try it. If peer pressure is what gets some kids to start, why hasn’t that peer pressure moved in the opposite direction to pressure peers to not start smoking. This goes for vaping as well since it’s still the addictive chemical found in tobacco? It is disappointing to see young celebrities, followed by legions of even younger fans, take up smoking.
But at least it is probably not nearly as big a percentage as it used to be.

And I think what you mentioned about getting breaks at work might be a factor. I used to work in an office where some of the old smokers had a break every 15 minutes. They went outside and had their little smoking parties, which probably took up more than half of their day.

Businesses could save money and discourage smoking at the same time, by limiting the number of breaks workers can have.

Another reason young people start is probably because they never were really sick and can't imagine what it's like. They probably think they will just drop dead without suffering. They don't want to get old anyway.
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Old 05-15-2018, 10:22 AM
 
Location: Georgia, USA
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Some businesses are discouraging smoking by not hiring smokers at all.
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Old 05-15-2018, 10:24 AM
 
Location: Cape Cod
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I think smoking is stupid and the people that do it are weak minded and too lazy to do the hard work it takes to quit. They all know that it is costing them a fortune and costing them years off their lives but they keep doing it.

I know several people that are now facing terrible health battles with cancer due to decades of smoking.
I caught a relative the other day sneaking a smoke. She has already had cancer not to mention all kinds of other health issues over the years yet she can't kick the butts and she has lied that she has. It is very frustrating.


It is crazy to see teens and young people smoking today with everything we know about the deadly effects of smoking.
I would say it is peer pressure that gets them going or growing up seeing their parents smoking.

What starts kids smoking? We could ask the same question of what gets them started on taking hard core drugs.
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Old 05-15-2018, 10:30 AM
 
Location: Southern California
29,267 posts, read 16,619,492 times
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I hope my grandkids never pick up a cig, they watched their father die a few yrs ago and I believe that GOT TO THEM. My long family did NOT smoke so I truly feel very fortunate. One uncle died in his 60's and he smoked and worked in the steel mill so lungs were filled with toxins.

Last edited by jaminhealth; 05-15-2018 at 11:20 AM..
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Old 05-15-2018, 11:14 AM
 
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Models frequently smoke as smoking tends to suppress the appetite.

10 Victoria's Secret Models Who Smoke | VS Models
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Old 05-15-2018, 11:52 AM
 
17,505 posts, read 17,415,571 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mynuddin View Post
Those who are very worried and tense, they are attracted to smoking.
I have aspergers (high functioning form of autism), depression since puberty, and PTSD from things I experienced in the military. My sister has severe anxiety and neither of us ever smoked.
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Old 05-15-2018, 12:07 PM
 
Location: God's Country
5,182 posts, read 5,217,585 times
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Back in the 50s, our parents accused us of trying to act like grownups.


Wrong.


Truth is that we thought it was cool, to look and act like James Dean.
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Old 05-15-2018, 01:22 PM
 
Location: north narrowlina
765 posts, read 470,647 times
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and let's not forget the mindset that believes "i'd rather be smoking to curb my appetite than be fat"..... anything, even high risks of heart disease and lung cancer is still considered a better deal than having a few extra pounds on your bones. sad. looks are EVERYTHING in our society, as long as you are skinny and considered "desirable", who cares what is happening to your insides with nicotine or bulimia or anorexia. sad sad sad.
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Old 05-15-2018, 02:01 PM
 
Location: In the Redwoods
30,286 posts, read 51,800,126 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cape Cod Todd View Post
I think smoking is stupid and the people that do it are weak minded and too lazy to do the hard work it takes to quit. They all know that it is costing them a fortune and costing them years off their lives but they keep doing it.
You clearly don't understand how addiction works... and we ALL do something that's knowingly bad for us, and/or costly, but for some reason smokers are always targeted as "weak." We're an easy scapegoat, I guess. But if you'd think I am weak and lazy just for being a smoker, how do you explain that I lost 60lbs through diet/exercise, and have kept most of it off for over a decade? Or my two (BA and Masters) degrees? Struggling with an addiction or behavior doesn't necessarily speak for one's overall character, ya know.

As for WHY people start smoking, most begin when they are adolescents or teens - when neurologically speaking, the frontal cortex hasn't yet developed the ability to reason and fully consider consequences. This isn't just an opinion, it's (I thought) a well-known fact:

https://harvardmagazine.com/2008/09/the-teen-brain.html

I started smoking when I was 15 because it was "cool" at the time, and thought "I'll just quit when I need to." That was over 25 years ago, and I'm still struggling to manage that. I know it's bad, not to mention expensive, but it's also one of the most addictive substances that exists. So yeah, it's easier said than done.

Last edited by gizmo980; 05-15-2018 at 02:32 PM..
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