Every day there are more and more smokers, not only adults, but also teenagers. Why do people deliberately poison their bodies and endanger their health? The reasons for smoking are different for everyone. Some "inflame" stress, others do not want to be the black sheep in the company of friends, others kill time in this way. Addiction takes on catastrophic proportions, destroying a person not only physically, but also mentally.
Why does cigarette addiction occur?
To answer the question of what is so attractive about smoking, you need to understand how nicotine affects the body. The first cigarette is not pleasant. After inhaling tobacco smoke, dizziness, nausea, cough occur, and tremors in the limbs may also occur. It seems that all these feelings should become motivators to not smoke a cigarette. But if a person continues to smoke for some reason, then the body gradually gets used to nicotine.
In the first months, smoking is pleasant. Within 10 minutes after the first inhalation, certain processes occur in the body. Adrenaline production increases, a person begins to feel euphoria, the speed of thinking and concentration increases, and a feeling of calmness occurs. 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 the concentration of nicotine decreases, the nervous system signals that it is time to refresh. It makes you want to reach for another cigarette. The time that passed from smoking the first cigarette to nicotine addiction is individual for everyone. Most often it lasts a year or a year and a half.
Research has 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. Women's reasons for smoking are enjoyment of the process itself. In addition, tobacco companies themselves encourage the weaker sex to start smoking by producing their products in beautiful packages of different flavors. In the circle of smoking friends, a girl with a cigarette and a glass of wine feels supported, there is a desire to talk, to share her secrets.
Psychological reasons for smoking in adults and adolescents
So 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 to the smoking group 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 only theoretically and only among your peers.
Family relationships largely become a prerequisite for a child's future nicotine addiction. If one or both parents smoke, then most likely their offspring will pick up a cigarette in the future.
Social networks, enticing advertising on the Internet and television, bright promotional signs on the streets, all this on an unconscious level forces young people to smoke. Even out of curiosity, the probability that he will smoke sooner or later 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 in translation means the desire to occupy oneself with at least something. Some cope with the situation by going shopping, others gnaw sunflower seeds, eat, play computer games, etc. Smokers, on the other hand, keep their hands and mouth occupied with a cigarette, they like to feel the taste of smoke and the sensation 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, cigarettes are the only solution. 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 unknown people, then every pause in the dialogue becomes torture. In such situations, smoking is a kind of substitute for communication, a "plug" break;weak will . Once you get involved in the smoking process, you can become a true home addict. Weak-willed people, no matter how hard they try to break free from addiction, cannot do it alone. There are many reasons: I'm quitting my job tomorrow, I had a hard day today and one cigarette won't hurt, I'll finish the pack and definitely quit. You cannot cope here without qualified professional help;the misconception that cigarettes are not as harmful as they say . And if there is no risk to life, then giving up what brings pleasure is foolish;problems in the family, at work, with friends, mental pain from losing something or someone . Smoking helps you, at least temporarily, to get out of the reality of life and immerse yourself in peace;loneliness . People whose only friends are cigarettes will not willingly give them up. With their help, the feeling of uselessness briefly recedes into the background.
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 making himself addicted to tobacco.
The psychological reasons for smoking are clear, but nicotine is also addictive on a physical level. In addition to increasing the activity of brain receptors, the alkaloids contained in nicotine are involved 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. That is why it is much easier to get rid of the physical craving for nicotine than to break down mentally. A completely adequate person, if told about the dangers of smoking and its consequences, nods 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 included and drawn into the dependency, without asking for permission.
Why can't a person, even with a strong will, stop smoking? He does it because he feels the desire. What got you started smoking when you were young is now preventing you from kicking the habit as an adult. And it's not a matter of simple curiosity or a sense of euphoria that fueled cigarettes. Now there are completely different reasons - psychosomatic.
Every time, after absorbing nicotine, a person feels relaxed and relieved, but not in any way satisfied. 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;
- in 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 relapse is possible only in cases where a person has convincing motives for doing so or stops feeling the desire to inhale tobacco smoke.
Main reasons for quitting smoking
The main reasons for quitting smoking are usually 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 destroy your health and not spend money on cigarettes. Among the main diseases caused by smoking are the following:
- problems with the heart and blood vessels;
- stroke;
- cancer;
- bronchitis;
- ulcers;
- emphysema.
Recurrences of pre-existing conditions may also occur.
Crime chronicles increasingly 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, thoughts of quitting become closer.
In many countries, the government is actively fighting against smoking. For example, a law was adopted according to which appropriate measures are taken:
- ban on smoking in public places;
- increase in excise duty on tobacco products;
- labels and images with inscriptions on the packaging warning of the dangers of smoking;
- "information onslaught" by the media, teachers, parents, business executives and companies;
- prohibition of advertising of tobacco products;
- punishment for illegal cigarette trade;
- prohibition of sale to persons under 18 years of age.
Different types of penalties are provided for non-compliance with all these rules, from fines to compensation for damage caused to the health of others.
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. These include medicines that contain low doses of nicotine, chewing gums, patches, nasal sprays, etc. A person who uses this or that product continues to receive nicotine, but in a pure form, without harmful impurities and smoke. This makes it easier to give up cigarettes, because there is a gradual cessation of smoking without withdrawal symptoms.
- E-Cigs. The so-called nicotine inhaler causes different 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 consuming harmful carcinogens and tar in the lungs. In addition, there is no tobacco smoke that negatively affects others.
- Coding. There are many private drug treatment clinics that provide tobacco addiction services. There are three coding methods: hypnosis, instrumental and Dovzhenko method. With the help of hypnosis, the person is given information about the dangers of smoking and the consequences that may arise. Instrumental methods include acupuncture that affects different nerve centers and laser directed at different areas on the patient's body. The Dovzhenko method is the oldest method of getting rid of addiction. It consists of two phases. In the first, the smoker is given information about the dangers of cigarettes, in the second, an aversion to tobacco and smoke is instilled in him. The doctor and the 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 trainings are held here. Professional help 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 that is alcoholism, drug addiction and gluttony. If a person does not realize the harmfulness of his situation in time, it will lead to extremely undesirable consequences.