[Anonymous]

Why do people continue to smoke despite knowing the bad affects it has on one's health?

Euthanasia is when someone ends their life because they longer want to bear the pain, that is illegal in the UK. Is smoking not just the same thing but as killing yourself, but doing it slowly?

I have heard that it is not a problem if you smoke when you're young, and that problems will only become evident if you smoke until your 30s/40s. Is there any truth behind this, if not should the government not try harder to tackle the problem of smoking related health implications?

Opinions?

I smoked for five years and I was a slave to cigarettes. It took me five years to realise that I would not buy food that blackens my stomach with tar, so why should I do that to my lungs. I realised that I was buying bad health and a nail for my coffin every time I purchased them cancer sticks.

Thank goodness that I quit.

[tk1993]

Why do people continue to smoke?
Addiction.
If it wasn't so hard to stop, people wouldn't do it. Most smokers know the effect it has on their body but they continue to spend hundreds of pounds a year to get their fix.

[Anonymous]

(Original post by tk1993)
Why do people continue to smoke?
Addiction.
If it wasn't so hard to stop, people wouldn't do it. Most smokers know the effect it has on their body but they continue to spend hundreds of pounds a year to get their fix.

Do you smoke?

[Nutty_Psychologist]

Why do people do anything thats bad for them?
Drinking alcohol, even caffeine!
Everything comnes with a warning label, and as much as I don't smoke and don't like it, you can not compare euthanasia and smoking, they are compeletly different. If that was the case you could say that every time I eat a fry up, that contributes to the cholesterol thats building up in my arteries and slowing killing myself.
There's adverts, smoking campaigns, free quit smoking services. Really. The goverment can only do so much, at the end of the day it's choice, and some people make that choice. No amount of government money can do that.

[mikeyd85]

Because the weed is tasty.

[SirRamAlot]

Why do people live only to die inevitably one way or another?

[The Polymath]

(Original post by Anonymous)
Why do people continue to smoke despite knowing the bad affects it has on one's health?

Euthanasia is when someone ends their life because they longer want to bear the pain, that is illegal in the UK. Is smoking not just the same thing but as killing yourself, but doing it slowly?

I have heard that it is not a problem if you smoke when you're young, and that problems will only become evident if you smoke until your 30s/40s. Is there any truth behind this, if not should the government not try harder to tackle the problem of smoking related health implications?

Opinions?

I smoked for five years and I was a slave to cigarettes. It took me five years to realise that I would not buy food that blackens my stomach with tar, so why should I do that to my lungs. I realised that I was buying bad health and a nail for my coffin every time I purchased them cancer sticks.

Thank goodness that I quit.

Peer pressure, addiction etc.

Why do you eat junk food? That's bad for you.

It's interesting actually - your point about euthanasia, that is. If suicide is illegal, but smoking is not, surely you can just smoke yourself to death? Drinking alcohol is legal - surely you can just drink enough to kill you? In fact, most things people do to kill themselves are legal - jumping off a building, slitting your wrists etc. are all legal so long as they don't kill you? Where is the line drawn? Is it when your *intention* is to kill yourself? How can you prove that someone had the intention? If I wanted to commit suicide I could just start eating loooaads of junk food, drinking loads of alcohol and pass it off as an epiphany telling me to enjoy life.

[tk1993]

(Original post by Anonymous)
Do you smoke?

No, I don't. A large amount of my family do though.

[CJKay]

TBH I don't know why people start up in the first place. Considering the side effects of drinking can be countered by sticking to your limits and eating fatty foods is usually countered by a good amount of excercise, there's not a lot you can do to prevent your lungs from tarring up unless you keep smoking to a minimum (which most people learn they can't do) - so why even bother to begin? It didn't take many ex-smokers to convince me it was a pointless and unattractive habit, so I have no idea what compels others to think it might be worthwhile.

[Anonymous]

When I mentioned euthanasia, I was suggesting that smoking (not alcohol and bad food) is similar because I don't beleive the pleasure of smoking to be nearly as good as having a pint or a fry-up. I acknowledge this is subjective however, as an ex-smoker I can safely say that I smoked because of the addiction, there was no pleasure from it whenver I lit a cigarette. Now atleast eating bad food and drinking alcohol can be quite pleasant. Therefore aren't most people killing themselves deliberately in order to feed their addiction? I know that if that's the case, then it's not even comparable to eating junk and drinking.

[Anonymous]

(Original post by Anonymous)
When I mentioned euthanasia, I was suggesting that smoking (not alcohol and bad food) is similar because I don't beleive the pleasure of smoking to be nearly as good as having a pint or a fry-up. I acknowledge this is subjective however, as an ex-smoker I can safely say that I smoked because of the addiction, there was no pleasure from it whenever I lit a cigarette. Now atleast eating bad food and drinking alcohol can be quite pleasant. Therefore aren't most smokers killing themselves deliberately in order to feed their addiction? I know that if that's the case, then it's not even comparable to eating junk and drinking.

Sorry about double post.

[Zorg]

From the sounds of it most, if not all of you, do not smoke or have not smoked. Smoking provides pleasure just as drinking, eating and playing do. Only difference is the perceived addiction. Sure it has addictive substances in, but so does alcohol.
Euthanasia is illegal for different reasons. I am neither advocating it nor condemning it, merely stating your comparison here is flawed. The main reason being, those who smoke have made a clear decision to do so.
I'd compare it more to a habit such as biting your nails, in the sense that it becomes a subconscious act after a while. Try to take that away and people feel lost and want it back.
I agree that smoking is not good for you, but I don't think it's as black and white as you put it. On a slight tangent, what's the point in prolonging your years if you don't enjoy them? “And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.” Let people do what they want, they have enough information to make an educated decision.

[Anonymous]

(Original post by Zorg)
it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.” Let people do what they want, they have enough information to make an educated decision.

I do strongly agree with this statement of your post.

I take it you are a smoker, how long have you been smoking and have you felt any health affects yet?

[who.the.heck]

(Original post by Anonymous)

I smoked for five years and I was a slave to cigarettes. It took me five years to realise that I would not buy food that blackens my stomach with tar, so why should I do that to my lungs. I realised that I was buying bad health and a nail for my coffin every time I purchased them cancer sticks.

Thank goodness that I quit.

Well it took you five years to quit, why didn't you quit sooner? Surely you knew it was bad for you? It's kind of common knowledge.

To be honest, people saying things like this would make me reluctant to quit if I did smoke, because I'd be afraid I became all high and mighty about not smoking despite having used to be a smoker...

[Zorg]

(Original post by Anonymous)
I do strongly agree with this statement of your post.

I take it you are a smoker, how long have you been smoking and have you felt any health affects yet?

What part of that statement do you disagree with and why?

I was a smoker. Smoked for a good couple of years before i gave up. After a year or so I felt I wanted a smoke again and started smoking again. After a couple of years saw it was affecting my lifting so quit again.
My point isn't that it doesn't have health effects, it's that no one has the right to tell another person they are living their life wrong. At the end of the day how will their smoking affect you?