What kinds of situations result in smoking? Do people really start smoking because they want to fit in or is there some more subtle reason?

Smoking: The cure Smoking is, at least initially, a relatively cheap method to temporarily cure Attention Deficit Disorder. Much like Ritalin, or its longer-lasting derrivative Adderal, nicotine is a stimulant which decreases the rate of hyperactive neural activity, commonly attributed as a cause for ADD.

Smoking: Idle activity It's something else to do. Commonly, a bored (and soon to be former) non-smoker, sitting with friends at, say, a local coffee shop, will try to smoke just to have something to do. The somatic experience of smoking kicks in immediately to reinforce the newly-administered nicotine. The result? Instant addiction.

Smoking: Revisited Any long-time smoker who has managed to quit (for that day anyway) will be more than happy to tell you about how hard it is to quit (and rightfully so!) smoking. As much of an extreme as it sounds, once you start, you will almost inevitably pick it back up. Whatever the inital reason (usually just curiosity -- see below) is, the person is then afflicted with the knowledge and the delusion that it really wasn't all that bad.

Smoking: A curious thing So what is it really like? Just about everyone you meet has tried smoking at one point (even if we're not talking cigarettes) or another in their lives. Mostly because they just wanted to know what it is, and what the big deal about it is. Some, to prove to themselves that it's really not hard to quit. They soon discover that "the big deal" is nothing more than a huge percentage of the population being addicted and wanting to want to quit.

Smoking: For that special someone As unfortunate as it sounds, many people begin smoking early in life because someone they know smokes. More importantly, someone they want to know in the biblical sense. They subconsciously believe that if they begin smoking, this person will automagically be attracted to them. Although there is a bond between all smokers (if you don't believe that, try talking to a smoker before, and then after you bum a smoke) it's not quite that strong.

Much like Freud, the only reason I feel knowledgable on the subject is because I have fallen for each and every on of the traps listed above, and am still a smoker.

created as part of Everything Quests - Smoking