Theories on Smoking

[Ziggy Stardust]

Cigarette smoking is probably the most disgusting habit that is legal & tolerated. It's repulsivity & unhealthfulness is beyond a shadow of a doubt, and yet many people still do it. Why?

Well obviously it's highly addictive both physically & psychologically but why do people start at all?

My theory is that it's a dominance strategy. By ruining the air quality of anyone within 20 feet of you essentially you are committing a subtle form of assault on them. If they don't resist it shows you have at least some dominance. Think about the form of smoking even more repulsive than cigarette smoking, of course I'm talking about cigars. What are the classic memes that come to mind when one thinks of cigar smoking (cigarettes ruin rooms, cigars ruin whole houses)? Che, Scarface, fat cats, right? Usually feet kicked up on a desk, classic dominance pose.

Agree/disagree, got your own theory? Obviously there are many reasons to smoke (excuse to take a break from work being high up there as well) but I'm curious as to what you think to the underlying root cause of starting to do so.

Note : I haven't really thought about this as relates to marijuana smoking, usually MJ is smoked in a social setting where everyone is smoking & it's not noxious & cancerous like cigarettes so I don't think my theory would apply to that.

What a load of <snip>.

 

[Terxpahseyton]

Well that OP was a new high of smoker-hate I did not see coming. Smokers are not only annoying looser idiots. The actual reason they smoke is to be dicks, too!
Narz plz say that this is parody.

At this point I would like to, once again. quote Steven King, who was a chain smoker until he quit. Will have to paraphrase:
"Smoking makes you a better writer. But it also kills you."
So after he, successfully, quit, he didn't go "Why did I ever even do it? It is just a self-serving addiction!" but he actually noticed that, in a very particular way, he was better as a smoker.
I myself have done some very intense and stressful university work through the whole night (deadline was up) with remarkable success. And I think one reason for that was that in those nights I chain-smoked.

Regarding the general face of the addiction: Once you enter chain-smoker-territory, a smoke is like the punctuation mark of every sentence. Before you begin something new, you have a smoke. When you finished it, you have a smoke. When it gets stressful or hard or frustrating, you have a smoke and start anew. It gives those neat little isles of relaxation, introspection and reward through-out the day.

How it starts - others already said social environment. Certainly the big one. But I would add that it also starts relatively harmless. You can go on for years not having a smoke in the majority of days without much trouble until you eventually turn into a chain smoker after all.

 

[civver_764]

I started smoking because my friends were smoking and I thought it would get me "high" somehow, like weed. Soon I realized that it didn't get me "high" at all but it was more like a big feeling of relief. As the days went on I needed to "relieve" myself more and more. It became like a reward mechanism for me. I would excitedly anticipate smoking, use the energy from that anticipation to complete a task, and then go smoke. Of course once I smoked the whole game was ruined. Once you lose the thing you were anticipating you realize how empty the whole experience is. It would leave me feeling drained of energy, smelling like ****, my mouth dried out, and the knowledge that I was even closer to death. Then I would slowly regain energy until once again I anticipated smoking. I'm so happy to be done with that miserable cycle.

Yes, some cigarettes were memorable. I did meet a lot of friends going outside to smoke, but those were the same friends I had to avoid when I decided to quit smoking.

In regards to your theory, @Narz, I think there is an element of "I'm doing this anti-social activity and you can't stop me! Haha!" to smoking, but that's not the whole story. And I think that's mostly for younger smokers.

 

[warpus]

The biggest reason people start and keep smoking in the early stages is the social aspect

You are probably right about that! The cool kids smoke and they meet up to smoke during their mysterious "smoke breaks", so to other young people that can sound quite appealing. Plus humans seem to enjoy social activities and we seem to always try to find new ways of socializing.

 

[shadowplay]

Reading this thread kind of makes me want a cigarette.

 

[Ryika]

Well that OP was a new high of smoker-hate I did not see coming. Smokers are not only annoying looser idiots. The actual reason they smoke is to be dicks, too!
Narz plz say that this is parody.

Given that most smokers have no problem with smoking around other people, thereby slowly killing them, too, I don't think he even went far enough.
One could make the argument that smokers are the ISIS of the west, just that their suicide attacks are a lot slower.

 

[Ryika]

Most smokers my furry little butt.

Okay, let's say almost all smokers then. Although to be fair, one has to remember that a smoker who does not smoke while other people are around and can't get away, is not actually visible as a smoker at all, so that skews the statistics a bit.

It's probably around 8 out of 10 smokers on average.

 

[GoodEnoughForMe]

People smoke because it feels good. It's really that simple. It's a de-stresser, that's one reason its use hasn't crashed quite as hard amongst working class people. I treat myself to a cig a few times a year and it's awesome. I just go out into the garage and have one, usually after I mow the lawn on a warm summer evening. It makes me feel content, confident, and sparks my creativity (the latter of which is why a decent amount of creative types smoke). I fully admit it smells bad and I immediately shower and brush my teeth afterwards. But the high is really nice. That's all. It feels good.

 

[Narz]

Most smokers start early teens though, not military age. Immaturity probably has a lot more to do with it than weak-will.

Weak-will is part of immaturity.

Totally does.

Well I've never tried a cigar so maybe it tastes awesome but I still suspect you're fooling yourself.

What a load of bollocks.

Cool, what's your take?

Well that OP was a new high of smoker-hate I did not see coming. Smokers are not only annoying looser idiots. The actual reason they smoke is to be dicks, too!

I just said it's a dominance strategy, lot of my good friends smoke. I didn't say it's conscious. I still give them s*** for it and am proud when they quit. I don't want to see my friends die early or become infirm.

At this point I would like to, once again. quote Steven King, who was a chain smoker until he quit. Will have to paraphrase:
"Smoking makes you a better writer. But it also kills you."
So after he, successfully, quit, he didn't go "Why did I ever even do it? It is just a self-serving addiction!" but he actually noticed that, in a very particular way, he was better as a smoker.
I myself have done some very intense and stressful university work through the whole night (deadline was up) with remarkable success. And I think one reason for that was that in those nights I chain-smoked.

Regarding the general face of the addiction: Once you enter chain-smoker-territory, a smoke is like the punctuation mark of every sentence. Before you begin something new, you have a smoke. When you finished it, you have a smoke. When it gets stressful or hard or frustrating, you have a smoke and start anew. It gives those neat little isles of relaxation, introspection and reward through-out the day.

I totally understand. I'm not feeling "holier than thou" that I don't smoke, I'm simply grateful I found it so gross & never got addicted. I feel I would always find an excuse to smoke & it would be a huge distraction in my life (internet & sweets are already bad enough).

How it starts - others already said social environment. Certainly the big one. But I would add that it also starts relatively harmless. You can go on for years not having a smoke in the majority of days without much trouble until you eventually turn into a chain smoker after all.

I can't see how it would be harmless, it makes you stink (your breath & clothes), it's like eating candy everyday I suppose, you can convince you're it's not so bad as long as you're not seeing the effects yet.

 

[Narz]

Most smokers my furry little butt.

Well nobody knows how many people are smoking alone in their rooms. Still, there are tons of people on the streets smoking (and usually flicking their butts into the streets douchally). It should be banned in public places. Already in NYC it's banned in public parks & restaurants but obviously this isn't enough. Should be banned anywhere that's not private property. The public health benefits would be immediate & massive (as is the case anytime smoking is banned anywhere).

Smoking bans are the cheapest/most effective ways to improve public health. If you want to kill yourself, it's all good, want to kill others, <snip>

Moderator Action: Foul language removed and infracted. FP

 

[Ryika]

I find your emotional reaction to be interesting and so different from your usual calm persona. If you don't act like that, why do you feel attacked?

 

[Traitorfish]

Say what you like about smokers, I've never seen one start a forum thread to instruct me on their collective moral superiority.

 

[Flying Pig]

Moderator Action: This thread is not off to a good start. Be civil with each other or it will be closed.
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

 

[Ryika]

That's me and a lot of people I appreciate you're talking about.

I don't know about this. I mean I did compare all smokers to ISIS, technically at least, but of course I didn't mean aaaaaaall smokers, I only meant those who would smoke in public places.

 

[Ryika]

"Most", "almost all", "8 out of 10" "have no problem with smoking around other people"

Guess I'm lucky to know all the exceptions to the rule right?

Possible. This is a bit of an assumption, but maybe you come from a more wealthy area than me? I noticed that the amount of smokers dropped immensely when I visited Berlin a while ago, but here where I live, in the middle of a few cities with a rather low-income population, most smokers are really ruthless with their slowmo-suicide attacks.

 

[Traitorfish]

I think there's a measure of sample bias, here. You remember the guy who puffs aggressively in your face at a bus stop. You don't remember the five guys smoking discreetly round the corner. From this you conclude that the former sort outnumbers the latter five to one.

 

[Ryika]

This is useless.

I don't know, I think we made great progress.

Going to find an astma patient at a busstop.

I knew it.

Bus stops aren't even the problem though, it's when you go to, for example a public bathroom, and after waiting for 15 minutes realize that people have been smoking in there because they were too lazy to go downstaris, and that's why it took so long. And on top of that, you're now sitting in a gas chamber.

Utterly disgusting.

 

[Ryika]

Now you're just joking, right?

 

[Terxpahseyton]

I just said it's a dominance strategy, lot of my good friends smoke. I didn't say it's conscious.

Still absurd, I have to say. I think you are just projecting the hostile feelings you hold. Not consciously, of course. Or perhaps, if you are a smoker in a very hostile environment, to smoke may become an act of dominance, but out of necessity if you want to have a smoke in defiance of that hostility. But it is not something innate to it. That just seems absurd to me.

Well I've never tried a cigar so maybe it tastes awesome but I still suspect you're fooling yourself.

I recently got hold of some cuban cigars and they were fantastic. Just be careful that they are relatively fresh. If they dry up they go bad.

I can't see how it would be harmless, it makes you stink (your breath & clothes), it's like eating candy everyday I suppose, you can convince you're it's not so bad as long as you're not seeing the effects yet.

Well not harmless, but relatively harmless. A smoke here and there most likely won't kill you. But for many people, it just doesn't work like that, at some point. However, I do know people who seem immune to being addicted. They smoke only very few each month and never go beyond that. And I think the harm of that is plainly negligible in the grand scale of things.

@Valessa
You seem plainly hysteric. It is true that second-hand-smoke can be very unhealthy. I am glad you can not smoke in a restaurant anymore. But tiny whiffs in an open space will extremely likely not kill you at all, not even slowly, but u know, something else. Car fumes, for instance, pose much greater risk. Or sitting around a bonfire. Or sitting a lot at your workplace. Or.... The way you single out smokers as a health risk to you is simply beyond any sensible proportion. So the only conclusion I can draw from this is, that you just really like to hate on smokers. Making you a dick. If I ever meet you, I'll be sure to light one just for you.

 

[Ryika]

You seem plainly hysteric. It is true that second-hand-smoke can be very unhealthy. I am glad you can not smoke in a restaurant anymore. But tiny whiffs in an open space will extremely likely not kill you at all, not even slowly, but u know, something else. Car fumes, for instance, pose much greater risk. Or sitting around a bonfire. Or sitting a lot at your workplace. Or.... The way you single out smokers as a health risk to you is simply beyond any sensible proportion. So the only conclusion I can draw from this is, that you just really like to hate on smokers. Making you a dick.

But all of these have objective benefits, smoking has not. It's also not only a health risk, it's also really disgusting. Smokers smell bad, and when they talk to you, you feel like you're talking to a garbage can that hasn't been emptied for a month or so. It makes me feel physically ill. And then there's the ash, ugh.

Smoking is just utterly and wholly disgusting. Uggggghhhhhhh. I feel like my stomach is turning just thinking about this.

If I ever meat you, I'll be sure to light one just for you.

Oh yeah, and I'm the person who lacks respect here, huh!