h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

people clearly smoke because it makes them look cool. self-destruction is rather "in" at the beginning of the 21st century - just look at Kurt Cobain

thom

They smoke because the marketing spend on promotion of smoking outweighs that against to an immense degree, and once you've started it's highly addictive. Which is why the advertising spend is good value - a smoker is generally a smoker for life.

yeah, but i mean, it's pretty cool too though. i mean you do look rather hard and like you shag loads of people all the time. good looking people. i know the actuality is that you can't manage it all, but you still look cool.

yeah, and it's damn addictive.

thom

Is it always so that non-smokers know better why smokers smoke?

it's weird that. the funniest thing to me is that people who used to smoke but have given up are always the most stanch anti-smokers. shows cigarettes are still addictive long after you've given up.

ohwell
thom

I suppose it's like riding a motorbike without a helmet - it looks good as long as you don't think too hard about the consequences.

They don't come much more vehemently anti-cigarette than me, and I've never smoked one in my life. I have asthma, and a smoky room sets me off. Funny how a room with a smoke-free atmosphere doesn't often cause asthma attacks in smokers.....

According to Sigmund Freud, the death instinct or "thanatos" is ever present in humans. When it is turned outwards, it leads to aggression, but when it remains turned towards self, it leads to self-destructive actions and thoughts.
The knowledge of the potentially life-threatening effects of smoking may have actually appealed to people with inwardly-tuned thanatos, thus unconsciously urging them to smoke.

According to Freud people start to smoke because the lack of breastfeeding when they were babies.

According to Freud peple who smoke in restaurants are antisocial. Oh, different Freud.

Usually I say that I started to smoke before I got aquainted to Freud's theories.

*all that can be seen in the glowing tip of a cigarette protruding from the hood*

*listens and smiles*

*bursts into laughter*

cough cough

*smoke billows from the hood*

the moral of this is never laugh as you take a drag on a smoke

...in answer to the question...cause i enjoy it.

*leaves to go to the greenhouse*

*returns feeling seasick*

that wasn't a greenhouse...

There IS a greenhouse on the board of that ship!

I think that there are a large number of reasons that people smoke. For me it was a way to make myself look older, I started at 14 and when you're that age you don't think about when you're going to die. My parents and my Na-na smoked and so that proved that you didn't necessarily die of smoking and those who did were obvously just unlucky (14 year olds thinking.) I've realised now that it IS a big thing and it worries me, I've decided to give up and have made an appointment at the Doctors to see what support I'll get from him.

But I think that the whole Non-smoker attitude of "Why don't you just give up?" with the little *cough cough* attached is a little nieve and doesn't really help at all. So Non-Smokers - Try to offer us a bit more support, Not condemnation. Whatever reason we started for, we started and if we want to give up we will, you see that's the biggest obsticle, WANTING to. Please realise that this is a HIGHLY addictive drug and we need all the support we can get. So help us, don't condemn us.

About four years ago, I got to know my boyfriend.He did not smoke, but some day ,when we quarrel with each other,I found he smoked ,and the room was full of thick smoke. At that time ,I was surprised and very angry.later , when I reconciled with him, I asked him why he smoked on that day. He smiled and said "sorry,my dear, I just , I just felt sad , and I wanted to escape from the thick smoke".then I know that most people smoke when they are independent or lonely.of course,perhapse I am wrong .but I just put forwards some of my feeling and my ideas.