Every day, smokers are becoming more and more, 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 "ignite" stress, others do not want to be the black sheep in the company of friends, and others kill time in this way. Addiction takes on the scale 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 acts on the body. The first cigarette is not pleasant. After inhaling tobacco smoke, dizziness, nausea, cough appear, tremors of the limbs may occur. It seems that all these sensations should become motivators 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 injection, certain processes occur in the body. The production of adrenaline increases, a 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 a 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 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 elapsed 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 show that the psychology of nicotine addiction is different for men and women. Men smoke because they are used to it, they like to play with a cigarette in hand and feel the aroma of 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 causes of smoking in adults and adolescents
As many people, as 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 them".
Recruiting into a smoking group takes place 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 or 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 future nicotine addiction in the child. If one or both parents smoke, then most likely their offspring will smoke cigarettes in the future.
Social networks, tempting advertisements on the Internet and on television, bright advertising inscriptions on the streets, all this at an unconscious level pushes 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 slightly different, although in some cases they are similar to teenagers:
"Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder" , which in translation means the desire to at least do something. Some cope with the situation by shopping, others by 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, what 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;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 turns into torture. Smoking in such situations is a kind of substitute for communication, a "stopper" of pauses;weak will . Once you get involved in the smoking process, you can become a real home addict. People with a weak will, no matter how hard they try to get rid of addiction, they cannot do it alone. There are many reasons: tomorrow I will stop, today I had a hard day and a cigarette will not hurt, I will finish the pack and definitely stop. You cannot do without qualified professional help here;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 foolish;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 give them up voluntarily. With their help, the feeling of uselessness briefly remains in the background.
Regardless of their reasons for starting to smoke, people do not quit smoking. The desire to inhale the aroma of tobacco smoke comes unnoticed. A person most often subconsciously reaches for a cigarette, becoming addicted to tobacco each time.
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 must be increased, as the body's tolerance develops.
Psychosomatics of smoking
Scientific research has proven that the main reasons for smoking are psychological. That is why it is much easier to get rid of the physical craving for nicotine than to break down psychologically. A perfectly 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 somehow get included and depended on without asking for permission.
Why can a person, even with a strong will, not give up smoking? He does this because he feels the desire. What got you started smoking in your youth is now preventing you from kicking the habit as an adult. And it is not a matter of simple curiosity or a sense of euphoria that prompted the cigarettes. Now these are completely different reasons - psychosomatic.
Every time after taking a puff of nicotine, one feels relaxed and relieved, but not 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;
- on a holiday, 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 compelling reasons for doing so or ceases to feel 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;
- blow;
- crab;
- 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, thoughts of quitting cigarettes become closer.
In many countries, the government actively fights against smoking. For example, a law is passed according to which appropriate measures are taken:
- ban on smoking in public places;
- increase in excise duty on tobacco products;
- labeling and pictures with inscriptions on packages warning of the dangers of smoking;
- "information attack" from media, teachers, parents, managers of companies and enterprises;
- ban on advertising of tobacco products;
- penalty for illegal trade in cigarettes;
- prohibition of sale to persons under 18 years of age.
Various 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 do I 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 medicines containing nicotine in small doses, gum, patches, nasal spray, etc. A person using this or that product continues to receive nicotine, but in a pure form, without harmful impurities and smoke. This makes it easier to quit smoking, as there is a gradual cessation of smoking without withdrawal symptoms.
- E-Sigs. The so-called nicotine inhaler causes conflicting opinions among experts. Indeed, in most cases, addiction develops precisely because of the very process that relaxes a person on an emotional level. Using e-cigarettes mimics smoking, but without consuming harmful carcinogens and tar from the lungs. Also, there is no tobacco smoke to negatively affect others.
- Coding. There are many private drug treatment clinics that provide tobacco addiction services. There are three coding methods: hypnosis, instrumental and Dovzhenko's method. With the help of hypnosis, a person is given information about the dangers of smoking and the consequences that may occur. Instrumental methods include acupuncture, which affects different nerve centers, and a laser directed at different areas of the patient's body. Dovzhenko's method is the oldest method of getting rid of addiction. It consists of two stages. In the first case, the smoker is given information about the dangers of cigarettes, in the second case, an aversion to tobacco and smoke is instilled. The doctor and the patient decide which method to choose.
- Psychological help. Just as in the case of coding, the psychological impact takes place within the walls of the clinic. Individual classes and group trainings are held there. The help of specialists increases the chances of completely quitting smoking 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 the danger of his situation in time, it will lead to extremely undesirable consequences.