Community Chat

[NoelSeven]

I just read an interesting article as reported by CNN. Here's the opening comment:

"Smoking can kill you. We've known that for at least 50 years -- and yet millions still smoke, and thousands more pick up the habit every year."

The awful truth in stats:

"Smoking is still the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the United States, and has been for decades. It kills more people than obesity, substance abuse, infectious disease, firearms, and traffic accidents, according to the CDC. Some 443,000 Americans die from smoking-related illnesses every year, according to the U.S. Department of Health."

Why are people still smoking? Reportedly, it's defiance and addiction.

The good news and the bad news are the stats: "In 1965, 42% of the population smoked. Today, 19% of Americans do, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That number sounds comparatively small, but that's an estimated 43.8 million Americans -- and the decline in smoking has plateaued, experts say."

Any thoughts on why people you may know still smoke? It's very rare around here and there are a lot of restrictions on where people can smoke. None of our friends smoke, but we do have a neighbor who struggles with quitting.

Here's the article for those interested:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/11/health/still-smoking/

[Yuban3]

Simple. Nicotine is addictive.

[ennui1]

Some people enjoy smoking.

People who smoke have more breaks at work, which is beneficial. If you hang outside with the smokers, you learn a lot of office gossip.

I remember reading an article that said women smoke because it makes them feel stronger. The psychology of "woman holding fire."

[focksie]

It's both physically and psychologically addictive. Drinking can be an addiction. Overeating can be an addiction.

Why do people start in the first place? Peer pressure, it looks cool, anxiety or stress.

[scotttie]

I am totally mystified. Besides the fact that everybody knows it can kill you (my nieces smoke after they watched my mother die a horrible cancer death from cigarettes);

it is also VERY expensive. I understand those who are already addicted and just cannot (or won't) quit but why do young people still take it up? It costs as much as a car payment!!

[Yuban3]

On 1/13/2014 beammeupscottie said:

I am totally mystified. Besides the fact that everybody knows it can kill you (my nieces smoke after they watched my mother die a horrible cancer death from cigarettes); it is also VERY expensive. I understand those who are already addicted and just cannot (or won't) quit but why do young people still take it up? It costs as much as a car payment!!

Why do young people start? For the same reason they've always started. Too look "cool", to "fit in" with a certain crowd.

[CardinalGirl]

On 1/13/2014 Yuban3 said:

Simple. Nicotine is addictive.

You have to try it for it to be addictive. I don't understand why anyone would even try such a horribly stinky and nasty thing.

[MomOf4]

Drinking can kill you too, yet more people drink to excess than smoke. Why isn't there ever a stronger effort to put a stop to that? I have never understood that.

[NoelSeven]

On 1/13/2014 Yuban3 said:

Simple. Nicotine is addictive.

Yes, it is, but that doesn't explain why thousands of new smokers start up every year in spite of knowing it will do them tremendous harm.

We're missing something here... as parents? I don't know, maybe most who start smoking have parents who smoke.

[Topaz Gem]

I think it starts out as a coolness factor when you're young, then when the smokers mature and realize that it will hurt their health, they find out that they're hooked.

I don't know how anyone can afford to smoke now with cigarettes taking a major chunk out of their budget. They've gotten so unbelievably expensive, yet people continue to buy them.