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 "lighten 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 proportions of a disaster, destroying a person not only physically, but also psychologically.
Why does addiction to cigarettes appear?
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 pleasant. After inhaling tobacco smoke, dizziness, nausea, cough and tremors may appear in the limbs. It seems that all these feelings should become a motivation to not 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 pleasant. Within 10 minutes after the first puff, several 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 calmness comes. But over time, the joy of smoking gives way to true addiction. Nicotine is involved in 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 pick up another cigarette. The time elapsed from smoking the first cigarette to nicotine addiction is individual for everyone. Most often it lasts 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 smoke. Women's reasons for smoking are to enjoy the process itself. In addition, tobacco companies themselves encourage the weaker sex to start smoking by producing their products in beautiful packages with different 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
So many people, so many reasons. Teenagers more often pick up a cigarette because they feel pressure from their peers. A teenager wants to be like everyone else, to be "the one".
Recruitment to a smoking group occurs among like-minded individuals. 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 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, then it is very likely that their offspring will smoke a cigarette in the future.
Social networks, tempting advertisements on the Internet and on television, bright promotional signs on the street, all this at an unconscious level pushes young people to smoke. Even out of curiosity, the chances that sooner or later he will smoke are 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 translates to 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. On the other hand, smokers keep their hands and mouth busy with a cigarette, they like to feel the taste of smoke and the feeling of nicotine in 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 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 this;shyness and inability to communicate with people . If a person is naturally reserved and does not know how to talk to strangers, then every pause in the dialogue becomes torture. Smoking in such situations is a kind of replacement of communication, a "plug" of pauses;weak will . Once you get involved in the process of smoking, you can become a real addict in the family. Weak-willed people, no matter how hard they try to get rid of addiction, cannot do it on their own. There are many reasons: I will quit tomorrow, I had a hard day today and a cigarette won't hurt, I will finish the pack and definitely quit. You can not cope here without qualified professional help;the misconception that cigarettes are not as harmful as they say . And if there are no dangers to life, then giving up that which brings pleasure is folly;problems in the family, at work, with friends, mental pain from the loss of something or someone . Smoking helps you, at least temporarily, get out of the realities 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 fades into the background for a short time.
Regardless of the reasons for starting smoking, people do not quit smoking. The desire to inhale the aroma of tobacco smoke comes unnoticed. A person, most often, at a subconscious level, reaches for a cigarette, each time introducing himself to smoking addiction.
The psychological reasons for smoking are all clear, but nicotine is also physically addictive. 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 several doses of nicotine become the norm for a person, and in the future they must 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 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 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, start and stop dependently, without asking for permission.
Why can a person, even with a strong will, not quit smoking? He does this because he feels the desire. The thing that got you started smoking in your youth is now preventing you from kicking the habit as an adult. And it's not a matter of ordinary curiosity or a sense of euphoria that fueled cigarettes. Now these are completely different reasons - psychosomatic.
Every time, after taking a puff of nicotine, one feels relaxed and relieved, but not in any way satisfied. 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, you relieve yourself with the help of a cigarette;
- nicotine stimulates 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 motives to do so or he stops feeling the desire to inhale tobacco smoke.
The 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 spoil 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.
Increasingly, crime chronicles contain material about fires caused by cigarettes. For some, these are just situations that happened to someone out 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 tobacco. For example, a law has been adopted under which appropriate measures have been taken:
- prohibition of smoking in public places;
- increase in excise duty on tobacco products;
- labels and pictures with inscriptions on packages warning about the dangers of smoking;
- "informational attack" from the media, teachers, parents, company and enterprise managers;
- prohibition of 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, different types of penalties are provided, from fines to compensation for damage caused to the health of others.
How to quit smoking?
Today there are many ways to get rid of nicotine addiction, but the main thing is the smoker's own desire.
- Nicotine replacement therapy. This includes drugs that contain nicotine in small doses, gum, patches, nasal sprays, 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 quit smoking, as 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. Using electronic cigarettes mimics smoking, but without consuming harmful carcinogens and tar from the lungs. In addition, there is no tobacco smoke that negatively affects others.
- encryption. There are many private drug treatment clinics that offer services to get rid of smoking addiction. There are three coding methods: hypnosis, instrumental and 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 different nerve centers, and laser, which targets different areas on the patient's body. The Dovzhenko method is the oldest method to get 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 introduced. 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 there. The help of specialists increases by one and a half times the chances of completely quitting smoking.
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 understand the harmfulness of his situation in time, this will lead to extremely undesirable consequences.