Reasons People Smoke

There may be as many reasons to continue to smoke as there are to stop. The motivations for maintaining a smoking habit might be based on a person's environment, emotional and physical composition, and his self-image and desire to conform. Perhaps people with mental conditions are similarly persuaded; according to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 80 percent to 95 percent of people with schizophrenia are cigarette smokers.

History

• The Native Americans introduced the early settlers to their custom of smoking tobacco. The settlers brought the habit to Europe, where it continued to spread. In the early 20th century, smoking tobacco in pipes and cigars grew to include cheaply manufactured cigarettes. Meanwhile, the tobacco industry used advertisements and the film industry to promote its product by portraying smoking as glamorous and socially desirable. As evidence of smoking's unhealthy effects became known, the tide turned to include ads, written literature and campaigns by health professionals and others to educate the public about the hazards of smoking.

Starting to Smoke

• Young people often feel compelled to try smoking despite knowing the health risks involved. A family in which the adults smoke might influence the children in that family to begin smoking. In other instances, curiosity may drive a person to experiment with cigarette smoking. Young people also face the risk of submitting to the insidious lure of smoking by associating the act with peer acceptance and camaraderie. Youth may subscribe to the sophisticated image of smoking sometimes depicted in movies, gangster lore and other stereotypical characters and situations.

A Growing Habit

• Some people become smokers almost overnight; for others, the habit develops gradually. There are also people whose smoking increases during periods of abstinence from drugs or alcohol or who smoke only in certain situations. Whatever the case may be, people who smoke evidently experience favorable effects that, in turn, generate a dependence on nicotine and, often, a reliance on the physical motions and rituals involved in smoking.

Dependence

• After a person starts to smoke regularly, it becomes difficult to contemplate the possibility of functioning without smoking. Part of the reason those fears may be justified is because the smoker is now physically as well as psychologically dependent on nicotine. Not only does he need a cigarette when he drives to work or school in the morning, he may need a smoke just to get himself in the shower before he even has his coffee.

Efffects

• There are many people who feel physically better after smoking. It may engender a sense of calm and relaxation for these individuals. For others, smoking might provide a temporary respite from nagging worries or fears. Another group of people may rely on a cigarette, cigar or pipe to serve as a distraction during uncomfortable social situations by giving them something to do with their hands. In certain medical conditions, including ulcerative colitis and irritable bowel syndrome, some people find that smoking provides temporary relief of their symptoms.

Stopping

• Although many smokers would like to quit smoking cigarettes, cigars or pipes, they often find it very difficult to do so. Withdrawal from nicotine is frequently uncomfortable, causing distressing physical and psychological symptoms such as irritability, anxiety, insomnia, headaches and depression. The anticipation of withdrawal symptoms may hinder a smoker's earnest desire to quit smoking.