Doris Tsai

Italian

Why Do So Many People Smoke?

    Nowadays more and more people rely on smoking. Smoking is one of the worst things teens or adults can do to their bodies. Nearly 4400 teens between the age of 13 and 19 smoke every single day.  Why? Answers are various. Addiction is the main reason. Because of nicotine, it is difficult to stop after one is lit up. Some of the teens may start smoking because they are curious. Others my like the idea of doing something dangerous or something grown-ups don’t want them to do. Some light up as a way to feel rebellious or set themselves apart. Some don’t want to feel being left out while their friends smoke. Trying to fit in with the crowd, they choose to smoke.  Still others might have grown-ups around. Lots of them smoke and they might think it’s the way to act like an adult. They smoke trying to attract attention. They think it is cool, sexy, mature, or glamour’s to smoke. Some people especially girls start smoking because they think it may help keep their weight down and have slim figures as movie stars or fashion models.

    But it is not a very good way for people to fit into the same clothes. You’ve probably heard that smoking can cause cancer or heart and lung diseases. Even worse, you may have developed some sickness like bad breath, getting colds and coughs, and stained teeth because of smoking. However, teenagers cannot really think that much into the future to worry about an illness they might get twenty years later. Anyone who starts to smoke could become addicted to it. If you are addicted to something, it’s very hard to stop doing it. That’s why so many adults have a hard time quitting smoking. Disregarding these two problems, many people become psychologically trying to smoke. It is part of their daily ritual because it helps them wake up in the morning and it helps them sleep well in the night. It comforts them when they are upset and rewards them for a job well done. Smoking also has pleasurable physical effects. It relaxes people and perks them up. Another reason for people starting to smoke is because their family members also do so. Most adults who started smoking in their teens never expected to become addicted. That’s why people say that it’s just so much easier not to start smoking at all.

    Nevertheless, these factors make it easy to smoke and hard to quit. The pleasures of smoking start within seconds of lighting up and the bad effects can take years to make them known. On the other hand, when you try to quit smoking, it will go through withdrawal (depression). Symptoms of withdrawal include: being irritable, sweating, having headaches, as well as feeling tired or dizzy. And it also makes you feel painful. Quitting smoking is so hard as quitting going to drugs because for them the cigarettes are just like their friends. Another reason is that the medical research does not directly indicate smoking will kill their life. Hence they don’t try to quit smoking with unswerving determination.   

616 Words