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 "relieve" stress, others don't want to be the black sheep in the company of friends, still others kill time this way. Addiction takes on the dimensions of a disaster, destroying a person not only physically, but also psychologically.
Why does smoking addiction occur?
To answer the question of what is so attractive about smoking, you need to understand how nicotine works on the body. The first cigarette is not pleasant. After inhaling tobacco smoke, dizziness, nausea, cough and tremors in the limbs may occur. It would seem 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 gradually gets used to nicotine.
During the first few months smoking is pleasant. Within 10 minutes of the first shot, 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 comes. But over time, the joy of smoking gives way to a real addiction. Nicotine enters 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 cool down. This makes you want to reach for another cigarette. The time 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 smell the aroma of smoke. The reasons for smoking in women are to enjoy the process itself. Moreover, the tobacco companies themselves encourage the weaker sex to start smoking by producing their products in beautiful packaging with various flavors. In a 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
How many people, so many reasons. Teenagers very often reach for a cigarette because they feel pressure from their peers. A teenager wants to be like everyone else, to become "one of them".
Recruitment into a group of smokers occurs among individuals who do not have an opinion. The same situation can occur 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 the sense of independence. Of course, this is an illusory feeling that allows you to grow 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, their children will most likely start smoking a cigarette in the future.
Social networks, tempting 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 probability that sooner or later you smoke is higher than average.
The reasons for starting to smoke as an adult are slightly different, although in some cases they are similar to those of teenagers:
- "attention deficit hyperactivity disorder", which translated means the desire to at least take care of something. Some cope with the situation by shopping, others by nibbling sunflower seeds, eating, playing video games, etc. Smokers, on the other hand, keep their hands and mouths busy with a cigarette, they love to taste the 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 the only solution is a cigarette. Smoking outdoors or drinking a cup of coffee becomes a sort 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, any pause in the dialogue becomes torture. Smoking in such situations is a kind of substitute for communication, a "stopper" of breaks;
- weak will. Once involved in the smoking process, you can become a real home drug addict. Weak-willed people, no matter how much they try to free themselves from addiction, cannot do it alone. There are many reasons: tomorrow I will quit, today I had a hard day and a cigarette won't hurt, I will finish the pack and quit for good. You can't do it without qualified professional help;
- misconception that cigarettes are not as harmful as they say. And if there is no risk to life, then giving up what gives pleasure is stupid;
- problems in the family, at work, with friends, mental pain due to the loss of something or someone. Smoking helps, at least temporarily, to emerge from the reality 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 why they start smoking, people don't stop smoking. The desire to inhale the aroma of tobacco smoke goes unnoticed. A person, very often, at a subconscious level, takes 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 present in all systems of the body. Already after the first cigarette he begins to actively adapt to a previously unknown state. And soon some doses of nicotine become the norm for a person, and in the future they will have to be increased as the body's tolerance develops.
Psychosomatics of smoking
Scientific research has shown 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 psychologically. A completely adequate person, when informed about the dangers of smoking and its consequences, nods in the affirmative, but immediately lights a cigarette. Why is this happening? The answer lies deep in the human subconscious. Internal programs, no one knows how, are activated and brought into dependency, without asking permission.
Why can't a person, even with a strong will, stop smoking? He does it because he feels the desire. What made you start smoking as a young person now prevents you from quitting this habit as an adult. And it's not a matter of ordinary curiosity or a feeling of euphoria that drove the cigarettes. Now these are completely different reasons - psychosomatic.
Every time, after taking a puff of nicotine, a person feels relaxed and relieved, but without any pleasure. All smokers have their 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, 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 compelling reasons to do so or ceases to experience the desire to inhale tobacco smoke.
Main reasons to quit smoking
The main reasons for quitting smoking very 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 we remember the following:
- heart and blood vessel problems;
- hit;
- cancer;
- bronchitis;
- ulcers;
- emphysema.
Relapses of pre-existing conditions may also occur.
More and more often crime news contains 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 thought of quitting smoking comes closer.
In many countries, the government is actively fighting smoking. For example, a law has been adopted according to which appropriate measures are taken:
- ban on smoking in public places;
- increase excise taxes on tobacco products;
- labels and images with inscriptions on packages warning about the dangers of smoking;
- "information attack" by the media, teachers, parents, company and business leaders;
- ban on advertising of tobacco products;
- punishment for illegal cigarette trade;
- prohibition of sale to minors under 18 years of age.
For failure to comply with all these rules, various types of sanctions are foreseen, 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. Therefore, it is easier to quit smoking, as there is a gradual cessation of smoking without withdrawal symptoms.
- Electronic seals. The so-called nicotine inhaler arouses conflicting opinions among experts. After all, in most cases, addiction develops precisely because of the process itself, which relaxes a person on an emotional level. Using e-cigarettes mimics smoking, but without consuming carcinogens and harmful tar in the lungs. Furthermore, there is no tobacco smoke that negatively affects others.
- Coding. 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 targets various nerve centers, and lasers aimed at different areas of 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 smoking is instilled in him. 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 training courses are held here. The help of specialists increases the chances of completely quitting smoking by one and a half times.
Nicotine addiction is one of the most widespread in the world. Along with it is alcoholism, drug addiction and gluttony. If a person does not realize in time the harmfulness of his situation, this will lead to extremely undesirable consequences.