Why Did You Start Smoking?
Do you smoke? And in case you had it to do over again
, would you still smoke? Probably not. If you could go back to whenever you initially smoked a cigarette, what would you do in that moment? Would you take your first puff, or would you abstain?
Of course, none of us can go physically back in time, but it is possible to go back within your mind and try to remember why you started to smoke in the first place. Who was with you? Were you with a group of friends, or with an older brother or sister? The fact is, most people who smoke started because of a friend or older sibling.
Did you feel sick? Did it make you nauseated? Did you feel cool and grown up?
If it made you feel ill the first time you smoked, why did you continue smoking? If you thought it made you look cool, you aren't alone. But where did you get the idea that it was cool to smoke?
Marketing: Advertising probably played a large part in getting you to start smoking. If you are in your mid to later years, smoking was glamorized not only in the movies, but it was also advertised in commercials, magazine ads, and the like. Without fail the image was tough, attractive, sophisticated, or all three.
These companies recognized very early that tying their items to something which was going to make you feel sexy or cool was going to help them sell much more. Advertisements even affected the brands that smokers bought.
These days ads still engender these images. Yet if these pictures demonstrated what smoking could really do to you, it's not likely that you would start. Showing someone on oxygen with emphysema or lung cancer is not going to ever be used in these ads, for obvious reasons.
Some of the most successful marketing campaigns connected to smoking have been Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man. These two characters were often seen doing rugged, suave things like driving fancy cars or roping cattle. Unfortunately, you might not know that the original Marlboro Man contracted cancer from his smoking and began to advise young folks not to smoke as he was dying from his disease.
Peer pressure: Of course, peer pressure is one of the most unstoppable forces for young folks when they're adolescents. And actually, it is during adolescence that most individuals pick up a cigarette and start smoking. Peer pressure can be a good factor if it encourages you to take up a sport or get good grades. But it can also influence you to do negative things that you wouldn't normally choose to do, such as smoking.
Perhaps you wanted to be included or viewed as cool by your pals. Whatever the reason you first decided to start smoking, peer pressure was most likely a part of that choice.
The smart thing to do is to decide to stop smoking. Forget about the ads and the peer pressure. Instead, think about the cost, both financial and physical, that you are paying to continue this deadly habit.
by: Ryan Round
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