Reasons for Engaging in Smoking - Essay Example

Why Do People Smoke? Smoking describes the use of tobacco usually packaged in the form of cigarettes by lighting and then puffing in and releasing smoke. Tobacco has high levels of nicotine, which is highly stimulating. Smoking has become a habit among people of all lifestyles and ages and usually sets in at teen age. It is perceived as a common habit in every land. Spotting an individual blowing his or her puff makes one curious to understand why people smoke. The question on why people smoke has raised a hot debate among researchers and medical practitioners. However, as will be brought to light in this paper, smoking as a habit is pioneered by several things. Arguably, many smokers cannot do without their daily pack of cigarettes. Others often try quitting but in no time, they get back to the old habit. There are individuals who cannot work or talk before a dose of their favorite brand. One wonders what makes people smoke. How powerful is the stimulant nicotine in tobacco that it makes its users not to go a day without a puff? Different people smoke for different purposes and at different times (Rathus and Nevid 187).There are varying circumstances that trigger the first smoking experience. There are heavy smokers who smoke several packets per day while others smoke a few sticks. To others, it is an occasional habit. It comes up at times and disappears. According to Jarvis, most smokers start the habit at the start of teenage. The main prompt for most of them to start is out of sheer curiosity. Watching adults smoke gives young teens that are out to explore the curiosity to feel the taste of a puff. This triggers them to light the first cigarette. Some leave it immediately as they realize that the taste is awful and not as amazing as they thought. On several attempts, they get accustomed to the taste and they adopt the habit. Some teens get the temptation to try out smoking after an appealing cigarette advertisement. Since the adverts show how trendy one looks as they smoke, a teenager will try out smoking in order to look like the people in the advert. In other cases, movies showing characters that triumph and have the habit of smoking can trigger a teenager to try out (Rathus and Nevid 187). According to Nicholas and Fowler, teenagers living in a neighborhood where smoking is a common trend are likely to adopt the habit. Some will try out in a bid to look like everyone else. Children whose parents smoke are at a higher risk of trying out. Teens who have a low self-esteem will smoke to evade the reality and look more outgoing and wild (Staffo 69). They assume that having the confidence to light a cigarette will make them appear less timid. This is usually the case in circumstances where those full of adventure receive a lot of acceptance into the peer group (Feist and Brannon 321). In some cases, smoking starts as a response to demands of a peer group. Some smokers confess that their peers urged them to light the first cigarette, which was a free offer. In response to such pressure, the teenager yielded and tried out. Teenager, especially girls become wary of their weight and body shapes. Every girl wants to look sexy and petite. Studies show that smoking reduces weight. Girls with this knowledge start the habit so that they keep their weight in control. Adverts and movies present images of skinny smokers. For example, most fashion and celebrity magazines have appealing images of stars who smoke and their amazing bodies. A teenager seeing these images will get the conviction that smoking is a sure way to ensure they lose weight. (Feist and Brannon 322). Some teenagers try out smoking because of personality traits that they have nurtured over time. In some kids, these traits just exist in them and define who they are. Some teenagers are enthusiastic to try out things to feel the thrill or ecstasy. Others are natural risk-takers and are willing to try anything regardless of the effects. In other cases, children will try out smoking to express the rebellion they feel. To them, smoking will express how defiant they have become. Studies show that smoking is a trait that has a genetic contribution. A child from a family of smokers will naturally have the desire to try out the puff (Feist and Brannon 320). Some teenagers carry along the habit of smoking into adulthood. However, smoking at an older age occurs for other reasons. Since it no longer excites the individual as something new but is rather a formed habit, the reasons for smoking determine how often one smokes. Some people receive a rewarding feeling from smoking. They describe the feeling as rewarding because smoking gives them the only opportunity to congratulate themselves after a task well handled. However weird it may sound, smokers find the act rewarding. If nobody compliments a smoker, he has his cigarette. Smoking is a good antidote for stress and depression. When a smoker is under depression, resulting to cigarettes takes him to a different world. It serves to help their thoughts wander to a different setting allowing them to forget about the cause of their distress. In their expression, that puff gives them a relief. Such relief makes them reach for a cigarette each time distress comes their way. Smoking acts as their consolation. Interestingly, to some smokers, a cigarette makes the way for a good start of their day. Each morning after breakfast, they must smoke at least one cigarette. In addition, in the evening before they go to bed, a cigarette gives them a good feeling and they can retire to bed peacefully. Smokers consider a cigarette a good end to their day. It offers them a consolation after a long day and gives them those rare relaxations they would not get anywhere else. Some smokers accompany a cigarette to their drinks. As they sip down a glass of their drink, a cigarette adds to the pleasure. This type of smokers often smokes in pubs as they drink and chat with their friends. Nicotine is a stimulant and often goes down well with drinks as smokers argue. After a three-course meal, a cigarette forms the fourth course to a smoker. Some smokers find a cigarette going down well with a coffee or tea. In other cases, sharing a cigarette creates a bond between smokers. On celebration occasions, people smoke to add onto the celebration mood. Some people smoke as they drive to keep them going whereas others smoke when they have no task requiring their attention. When lonely or forced to wait for someone, a smoker will turn to a cigarette. The media represents smoking as a worthwhile adventure (Pampel 27). Some research shows that some people smoke to add onto pleasure derived from sexual adventures. It is interesting to note that other smokers smoke to enhance their moments of reflections as they bring the memories of their lives into place. Nicotine, the stimulant found in tobacco is highly addicting. This explains why a frequent smoker experiences a hard time when trying to break from the habit (Pampel 25). The addiction makes an individual have an unending craving for the product. The sight of a fellow smoker with a cigarette in his or her mouth triggers desire. Most smokers who try quitting often stumble back to the habit. Some people miss the ecstasy derived from nicotine and will easily get back to the habit (Hardy and West 134). Levels of nicotine addiction vary among individuals. Some people can barely live without cigarettes and they are virtually prisoners of the stimulant. Others can control their craving for tobacco but this control often reaches a limit. The reasons associated with smoking determine whether an individual can completely quit the habit (Hardy and West 134). One has to develop the will to get over the craving when it strikes. An individual must find other means of relaxation or a distraction to help them let the cigarette go. Biochemical studies reveal how nicotine causes an addiction to its users. Nicotine gains entry into the brain despite the brain barrier. On entry, it leads to production of dopamine, the neuro –chemical that dictates the wants of the brain. Dopamine leads to the development of a craving for more nicotine. The user craves for more of tobacco. He or she cannot help but go for another cigarette. In cases where an individual turns to smoking under different circumstances, dopamine keeps records of the circumstances. Each time they arise, dopamine sends a signal that triggers a craving. The individual reaches for the cigarette to satisfy the craving. In conclusion, smoking is a rampant habit in society. Though a habit that social norms and ethics condemn, it has, and possibly will remain part of the society for decades. Each individual has his or her own reason for holding onto the habit. Quitting the habit brings about withdrawal symptoms because the resulting craving desire lacks satisfaction. Despite the cause of the habit, it has negative effects on one’s health. The habit receives condemnation in the standards of societal norms but is still legal for adults and therefore remains a personal choice. Smokers say it is an easier task to get the first puff and live the lie that one is smarter, cooler or deserves a standing in society but very tasking to quit (Pampel 26). Quitting this habit needs a strong will because it is a psychological issue. Work Cited Brannon, Linda and Feist, Jess. Health Psychology: An Introduction to Behaviour and Health. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2009. Print. Christakis, Nicholas and Fowler, James. The Collective Dynamics of Smoking in a Large Social Network. Web 14 Feb 2012. Jarvis, Martin. ABC of smoking cessation. Why people smoke. Web 14 Feb 2012. Nevid, Jeffrey and Rathus, Spencer. Psychology and Challenges of Life. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2010. Print. Pampel, Fred. Tobacco industry and smoking. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2009. Print. Staffo, Deanna. Let’s clear the Air: 10 Reasons Not to Start Smoking. Montreal: Lobster Press, 2007. Print. West, Robert and Hardy, Ainsley. Theory of addiction. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2006. Print. Read More