Every day there are more and more smokers, not only adults, but also teenagers. Why do people deliberately poison the body and put their health at risk? The reasons for smoking are different for everyone. Some "light up" stress, others do not want to be the black sheep in the company of friends, and others kill time in this way. An addiction takes on the scale of a disaster, destroying a person not only physically, but also psychologically.
Why does cigarette addiction occur?
In order to answer the question of what is so attractive about smoking, you need to understand how nicotine acts on the body. The first cigarette is not enjoyable. After inhaling tobacco smoke, dizziness, nausea, cough appear, and tremors in the limbs may occur. It would seem that all these sensations should become motivators in order not to pick up a cigarette. But if for some reason a person continues to smoke, then the body gradually gets used to nicotine.
During the first months, smoking is enjoyable. Within 10 minutes after the first puff, certain processes occur in the body. The production of adrenaline increases, the person begins to feel euphoria, the speed of thinking and concentration increases and a feeling of calm comes. But over time, the joy of smoking gives way to real addiction. Nicotine is included in the metabolism and the body gets used to the fact that this substance is constantly present in the blood. When nicotine concentration decreases, the nervous system signals that it is time to refresh yourself. This makes you want to reach for another cigarette. The time passed from smoking the first cigarette to nicotine addiction is individual for everyone. Most often it takes a year or a year and a half.
Studies have shown that the psychology of nicotine addiction is different in men and women. Men smoke because they are used to it, they like to play with a cigarette in their hands and feel the aroma of smoke. The reasons for smoking in women are to enjoy the process itself. In addition, the tobacco companies themselves encourage the weaker sex to start smoking by producing their products in beautiful packs with various flavors. In a circle of smoking friends, a girl with a cigarette and a glass of wine feels supported, a desire appears to talk, to share her secrets.
Psychological reasons for smoking in adults and adolescents
How many people, so many reasons. Teenagers most often pick up a cigarette because they feel pressure from their peers. A teenager wants to be like everyone else, to become "one of their own. "
Recruitment into a group of smokers occurs among individuals who do not have an opinion. The same situation can arise in couples where one partner smokes and forces the other to join, otherwise their relationship will end.
Another reason for smoking tobacco among teenagers is a sense of independence. Of course, this is an illusory feeling that allows you to grow up only theoretically and only among your peers.
Family relationships to a large extent become a prerequisite for future nicotine addiction in a child. If one or both parents smoke, then most likely their offspring will take up a cigarette in the future.
Social networks, enticing advertising on the Internet and on television, bright promotional signs on the streets, all this on an unconscious level pushes young people to smoke. Even out of curiosity, the likelihood that he will sooner or later smoke is above average.
The reasons for starting smoking in adulthood are somewhat different, although in some cases they are similar to teenagers:
- "attention deficit hyperactivity disorder", which translated means the desire to occupy oneself with at least something. Some cope with the situation by going shopping, others gnawing on sunflower seeds, eating, playing computer games, etc. Smokers, on the other hand, keep their hands and mouth busy with a cigarette, they like to feel the taste of smoke and the feeling that nicotine has on their body;
- nervousness. Stress at work or at home leads to constant irritability. How to get out of the situation and calm down? For some, the only solution is a cigarette. Smoking in the fresh air or while drinking a cup of coffee becomes a kind of ritual. Of course, you can find many other ways to relax, but not everyone wants to do it;
- shyness and inability to communicate with people. If a person is naturally reserved and does not know how to talk to unfamiliar people, then every pause in the dialogue becomes torture. Smoking in such situations is a kind of substitute for communication, a "plug" of pauses;
- weak will. Once you get involved in the process of smoking, you can become a real household drug addict. Weak-willed people, no matter how hard they try to get rid of addiction, cannot do it on their own. There are plenty of reasons: I’ll quit tomorrow, I had a hard day today and one cigarette won’t hurt, I’ll finish the pack and definitely quit. You can’t cope here without qualified professional help;
- misconception that cigarettes are not as harmful as they say. And if there are no risks to life, then giving up what brings pleasure is stupid;
- problems in the family, at work, with friends, mental pain from the loss of something or someone. Smoking helps you, at least temporarily, to emerge from the realities of life and immerse yourself in peace;
- loneliness. People whose only friends are cigarettes will not give them up voluntarily. With their help, the feeling of uselessness fades into the background for a short time.
Regardless of the reasons for starting smoking, people do not give up smoking. The desire to inhale the aroma of tobacco smoke comes unnoticed. A person, most often, on a subconscious level, reaches for a cigarette, each time driving himself into tobacco addiction.
The psychological reasons for smoking are all clear, but nicotine also causes addiction on a physical level. In addition to increasing the activity of brain receptors, the alkaloids contained in nicotine are included in all body systems. Already after the first cigarette, he begins to actively adapt to a previously unfamiliar state. And soon certain nicotine doses become the norm for a person, and in the future they need to be increased, as the body’s tolerance develops.
Psychosomatics of smoking
Scientific research has proven that the main reasons for smoking are psychological in nature. That is why it is much easier to get rid of physical cravings for nicotine than to break yourself psychologically. A completely adequate person, if told about the dangers of smoking and its consequences, nods his head affirmatively, but immediately lights a cigarette. Why is this happening? The answer lies deep in the human subconscious. Internal programs, no one knows how, are turned on and drawn into dependence, without asking permission.
Why is it that a person, even with a strong will, cannot quit smoking? He does this because he feels the desire. The thing that made you start smoking in your youth now prevents you from giving up this habit as an adult. And it’s not a matter of ordinary curiosity or a feeling of euphoria that prompted cigarettes. Now these are completely different reasons - psychosomatic.
Every time, after taking a puff of nicotine, a person feels relaxed and relieved, but not in any way pleasure. All smokers have their own reasons for not quitting:
- In the morning, nicotine together with coffee helps you wake up and recharge your batteries;
- at a feast, smoking after a glass of cognac allows you to feel a double dose of peace;
- at a moment of emotional stress, you get relief with the help of a cigarette;
- nicotine triggers mental processes (according to the smoker).
Quitting smoking once and for all without the possibility of relapses is possible only in cases where a person has convincing motives to do so or he stops feeling the desire to inhale tobacco smoke.
Main reasons for quitting smoking
The main reasons for quitting smoking most often include health problems. In second place is the fear of destroying relationships and family. And only then is it possible to develop a conscious desire not to ruin your health and not spend money on cigarettes. Among the main diseases resulting from smoking are the following:
- problems with the heart and blood vessels;
- stroke;
- cancer;
- bronchitis;
- ulcers;
- emphysema.
Recurrences of pre-existing conditions may also occur.
Increasingly, crime chronicles contain materials about fires caused by cigarettes. For some, these are just situations that happened to someone there and have nothing to do with them personally. But when the problem affects relatives, friends and even neighbors, the thoughts of quitting smoking become closer.
In many countries, the government is actively fighting smoking. For example, a law has been adopted according to which appropriate measures are being taken:
- ban on smoking in public places;
- raising the excise tax on tobacco products;
- labeling and pictures with inscriptions on packs warning about the dangers of smoking;
- "information attack" from the media, teachers, parents, heads of companies and enterprises;
- ban on advertising of tobacco products;
- punishment for illegal trade in cigarettes;
- prohibition of sales to persons under 18 years of age.
For non-compliance with all these rules, various types of punishments are provided, from fines to compensation for damage caused to the health of others.
How to quit smoking?
Today there are enough ways to get rid of nicotine addiction, but the main thing is the desire of the smoker himself.
- Nicotine replacement therapy. This includes drugs containing nicotine in small doses, chewing gum, patches, nasal spray, etc. A person, using this or that product, continues to receive nicotine, but in its pure form, without harmful impurities and smoke. Thus, it is easier to give up cigarettes, since there is a gradual cessation of smoking without withdrawal symptoms.
- E-Sigs. The so-called nicotine inhaler causes mixed opinions among experts. Indeed, in most cases, addiction develops precisely because of the process itself, which relaxes a person on an emotional level. The use of electronic cigarettes imitates smoking, but without the consumption of harmful carcinogens and tars by the lungs. In addition, there is no tobacco smoke that negatively affects others.
- Coding. There are many private drug treatment clinics that provide services for getting rid of tobacco addiction. There are three encoding methods: hypnosis, instrumental and the Dovzhenko method. With the help of hypnosis, a person is given information about the dangers of smoking and the consequences that may arise. Instrumental methods include acupuncture, which affects various nerve centers, and laser aimed at different areas on the patient’s body. The Dovzhenko method is the oldest method of getting rid of addiction. Consists of two stages. At the first, the smoker is given information about the dangers of cigarettes, at the second, an aversion to tobacco and smoke is instilled in them. The doctor and the patient decide which method to choose.
- Psychological help. Just as in the case of coding, the psychological impact occurs within the walls of the clinic. Individual sessions and group trainings are held there. The help of specialists increases the chances of completely quitting smoking by one and a half times.
Nicotine addiction is one of the most common in the world. Along with it is alcoholism, drug addiction and gluttony. If a person does not realize the harmfulness of his situation in time, this will lead to extremely undesirable consequences.