Every day there are more and more smokers, not only adults but also teenagers. Why do people deliberately poison their bodies and put their health at risk? The reasons for smoking are different for everyone. Some "ignite" stress, others don't want to be the black sheep in the company of friends, and others kill time in this way. Addiction takes on the dimension of a disaster, destroying the person not only physically, but also psychologically.
Why does cigarette addiction occur?
To answer the question of what's so attractive about smoking, you need to understand how nicotine works in the body. The first cigarette is not pleasant. After inhaling tobacco smoke, dizziness, nausea, coughing and tremors of the limbs may occur. It seems that all these sensations should become motivators not to pick up a cigarette. But if for some reason a person continues to smoke, the body will gradually get used to nicotine.
During the first few months, smoking is enjoyable. Within 10 minutes after the first puff, certain processes occur in the body. Adrenaline production increases, the person begins to feel euphoria, the speed of thinking and concentration increases and a feeling of calm appears. But over time, the joy of smoking gives way to true 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 the nicotine concentration decreases, the nervous system signals that it is time to cool off. It makes you want to reach for another cigarette. The time elapsed from the first cigarette to nicotine dependence is individual for each person. Most of the time 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 the cigarette in their hands and smell the smoke. The reasons for smoking in women are the pleasure of the process itself. In addition, tobacco companies themselves encourage the fairer sex to start smoking, producing their products in beautiful packaging with different flavors. In the circle of smoking friends, a girl with a cigarette and a glass of wine feels supported, the desire to talk appears, to share her secrets.
Psychological reasons for smoking in adults and teenagers
How many people, so many reasons. Most of the time, teens pick up a cigarette because they feel peer pressure. A teenager wants to be like everyone else, to become "one of their own. "
Recruitment to a smoking group occurs among individuals who do not have a strong opinion. The same situation can arise in couples where one partner smokes and forces the other to join, otherwise the relationship will end.
Another reason for smoking among teenagers is the feeling of independence. Of course, this is an illusory feeling that allows you to grow only theoretically and only among your peers.
Family relationships become to a large extent a prerequisite for a child's future nicotine addiction. If one or both parents smoke, it is likely that their children will start smoking a cigarette in the future.
Social networks, attractive advertising on the Internet and on television, bright promotional posters in the streets, all this at an unconscious level leads young people to smoke. Even out of curiosity, the probability of him smoking sooner or later is above average.
The reasons for starting to smoke in adulthood are slightly different, although in some cases they are similar to those of 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 by gnawing sunflower seeds, eating, playing computer games, etc. Smokers, on the other hand, keep their hands and mouth occupied with the cigarette, they like to taste the smoke and the sensation that nicotine causes in the body;
- nervousness. Stress at work or home leads to constant irritability. How to get out of the situation and calm down? For some, the only solution is a cigarette. Smoking outdoors 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 that;
- shyness and inability to communicate with people. If a person is naturally reserved and doesn't know how to talk to strangers, every pause in dialogue becomes torture. Smoking in these situations is a kind of substitute for communication, a "buffer" for breaks;
- weak will. Once you get involved in the smoking process, you can become a real domestic drug addict. Weak-willed people, no matter how hard they try to get rid of addiction, cannot do it alone. There are many reasons: I'm going to stop tomorrow, I had a difficult day today and one cigarette won't hurt me, I'm going to finish the pack and stop for good. You cannot deal with this 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 due to the loss of something or someone. Smoking helps you, at least temporarily, emerge from the reality of life and immerse yourself in peace;
- loneliness. People whose only friends are cigarettes will not voluntarily give them up. With their help, the feeling of worthlessness disappears for a short period of time.
Regardless of the reasons for starting smoking, people don't stop smoking. The desire to inhale the aroma of tobacco smoke goes unnoticed. A person most often, on a subconscious level, picks up a cigarette, always becoming addicted to tobacco.
The psychological reasons for smoking are clear, but nicotine is also physically addictive. In addition to increasing the activity of brain receptors, alkaloids contained in nicotine are included in all body systems. Already after the first cigarette, he begins to actively adapt to a previously unknown state. And soon certain doses of nicotine 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. This is why it is much easier to get rid of the physical craving for nicotine than to break yourself psychologically. A completely adequate person, if informed about the dangers of smoking and its consequences, nods his head in the affirmative, but immediately lights a cigarette. Why is this happening? The answer lies deep within the human subconscious. Internal programs, no one knows how, are activated and placed in dependency, without asking permission.
Why can't a person, even if they really want to, stop smoking? He does this because he feels the desire. What made you start smoking when you were young now prevents you from giving up this habit as an adult. And it is not a question of common curiosity or a feeling of euphoria that motivated the cigarette. Now these are completely different reasons - psychosomatic.
Each time, after taking a puff of nicotine, a person feels relaxed and relieved, but in no way pleasurable. 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 party, smoking after a glass of cognac allows you to feel a double dose of peace;
- in a moment of emotional stress, you can find 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 relapse, is only possible in cases where the person has compelling reasons to do so or no longer feels the urge to inhale tobacco smoke.
Top reasons to quit smoking
The main reasons for quitting smoking often include health problems. Second is the fear of destroying relationships and family. And only in this way is it possible to develop a conscious desire not to spoil your health and not to spend money on cigarettes. Among the main diseases resulting from smoking are the following:
- heart and vascular problems;
- stroke;
- Cancer;
- bronchitis;
- ulcers;
- emphysema.
Recurrences of pre-existing conditions may also occur.
Increasingly, criminal chronicles contain materials about fires caused by cigarettes. For some, they are just situations that happened to someone and have nothing to do with them personally. But when the problem affects relatives, friends and even neighbors, thoughts of quitting smoking become closer.
In many countries, the government is actively combating smoking. For example, a law has been adopted according to which appropriate measures are being taken:
- ban on smoking in public places;
- increase in the excise tax on tobacco products;
- labeling and photos with inscriptions on packaging warning about the dangers of smoking;
- "information attack" by the media, teachers, parents, directors of companies and enterprises;
- ban on advertising tobacco products;
- punishment for illegal cigarette trade;
- prohibition of sales to minors 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 third parties.
How to stop 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 medicines 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 without smoke. Thus, it is easier to give up smoking, as there is a gradual cessation of smoking without withdrawal symptoms.
- E-Sigs. The so-called nicotine inhaler causes differing opinions among experts. In fact, in most cases, addiction develops precisely because of the process itself, which relaxes the person on an emotional level. The use of electronic cigarettes mimics smoking, but without the consumption of carcinogens and harmful tars through the lungs. Furthermore, there is no such thing as tobacco smoke that negatively affects other people.
- Codification. There are many private drug treatment clinics that provide services to get rid of tobacco addiction. There are three coding methods: hypnosis, instrumental and Dovzhenko method. With the help of hypnosis, a person receives information about the dangers of smoking and the consequences that may arise. Instrumental methods include acupuncture, which affects multiple nerve centers, and laser targeting different areas of the patient's body. The Dovzhenko method is the oldest method of getting rid of addiction. It consists of two steps. In the first, the smoker receives information about the dangers of smoking; in the second, an aversion to tobacco and smoke is instilled. The doctor and patient decide which method to choose.
- Psychological help. As with coding, the psychological impact occurs within the walls of the clinic. Individual sessions and group training are held there. Help from 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 this 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.