Why Do Smokers Smoke?

Despite being fully educated on the dangers of smoking to our health and the health of those around us, some people defy logic and continue to engage in an activity that has been proven to be fatal. There is no question that smoking causes various kinds of cancer, emphysema, asthma and various other lung and breathing problems as well as heart attacks and stroke. Smoking damages your skin, creates ugly wrinkles around your mouth, causes erectile dysfunction, stains teeth and fingers, visibly ages a smoker by years, and destroys the fragile lining of veins making operations, no matter how minor, potentially life threatening. So why do smokers smoke?

The effects of nicotine and tobacco:

The nicotine in tobacco is both a stimulant and a relaxant. The effects of nicotine are said to be calming and increase enjoyment of other activities. It can also suppress appetite. First-time smokers may also experience nausea, light-headedness and dizziness, but those initial effects do not last with continued use of nicotine and tobacco.

The impact of smoking on others:

Smoking cigarettes is the only legally acceptable drug that has one obvious and undeniable impact on others; the impact of second-hand smoke. Ignoring, for now, the health risk of second-hand smoke, lit cigarettes have an offensive odour that can be detected from a reasonable distance when an unsuspecting victim is caught either in a cloud of smoke or even downwind. Smoking in public near restaurants and cafes can negatively impact a person’s enjoyment of their food. Many people are allergic to the various allergens in cigarette smoke and second-hand smoke may cause nausea or asthmatic attacks.

Cigarette smoke near children and babies is particularly dangerous and is linked to increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and respiratory health problems. Smoking during pregnancy can cause birth defects and miscarriage, and yet despite the grave risks to their unborn child many pregnant smokers claim it is too difficult to quit.

Both second and third-hand (through clothing and upholstery) smoke carry carcinogenic chemicals that can cause cancer in non-smokers.

Cigarette butts and litter:

Most smokers do not dispose of their used cigarette butts in a considerate way, flicking butts and even burning cigarettes into streets, parks, playgrounds and bush land. Lit cigarettes have long been the cause of serious bush and forest fires. Cigarette butts are also non biodegradable and wash into rivers and waterways where they can be ingested by fish, sea birds and other marine animals, causing sickness and death.

The careless littering by smokers leads to other forms of littering through the habit of simply flicking rubbish away instead of bothering to find a nearby bin.

Conclusion:

Given what we know about the dangers of smoking to ourselves, our children and everyone around us, there is really no excuse to ever start smoking in the first place, and once the self-absorbed ego of teenagehood has been outgrown, there is certainly no reason to continue smoking. The reasons to quit smoking far outweigh the minor enjoyment of smoking. Anyone who claims they have tried to quit but found it too difficult clearly don’t care about themselves or anyone else.

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