How/Why do most people start smoking? (A Poll For Curiousity)

I am not in anyway promoting the use of tobacco this is purely for my own personal education/curiosity.

Without telling everyone on the forums my life's story I'll skip to the point.

Why/how did or would you/someone start smoking?

Keep in mind I was born in 1990 so I don't know much about it before my birth, as on the contrary some of you might.

Summary:

This is one of those topics you could go on and on about, forever, such as (from a male's perspective) how a woman's mind works (I gave that as an example because girls in my age bracket I will never understand) same for male's (from a females perspective). I have been curious how/why people start smoking. I don't know if anyone on the forum smokes or not, nor do I judge one for doing so, but why/how did you start or think one would start?

My Story:

I have smoked some myself, I will admit to that, and this is from a kid who use to hold his breath around smokers in fear of getting sick or something (I have OCD, use to be much worse, it was a compulsion I guess). I don't play the blame game, I have, that was my choice but I have to say that if it was not for a girl at my high school who I unfortunately hung out with occasionally, (for whatever reason) frequently did smoke and always tried to pressure me into doing so. To this day I don't know why, and I've accepted the fact that I'll never understand, nor do I necessarily want to (She has issues, we don't speak anymore).

Why I'm Curious:

Since my first formal job this past summer, then later continued as of 2 or more weeks ago I noticed a lot of my co-workers do. Most of them are older and they are pretty discrete about it, but some of them I would never have imaged smoking until they that idea was changed when they came through my check stand buying a pack.

Another thing that sparks my interest is that it seems like a large amount of soldiers smoked in World War 2, and the fact that they had a cigarette that was standard issue (I've been fascinated with World War 2 since I was little). Granite I was not alive at the time nor do I know any of this for a fact but from Band of Brothers and The Pacific it seems like it was used to put up with the stresses they had to face in daily life. I'm not saying every soldier of WW2 did but it seems like a lot did. It also use to be socially acceptable as it was in advertisements and all over tv in the 50's from what I've seen.

Medical Stuff:
Just adding this last minute, I don't know what is in them for the most part, tobacco obviously but you (atleast me) hears a lot of things like, "There is drain cleaner in them" so I know little about that myself.

I don't know how people from the 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, or 90's have been affected by them for the most part. I have met people who buy 3 packs in one visit, where I work, and they seem fine but I have also met a guy with a voice box, so its a broad range.

I guess that is about all, I know there is a warning, that's about all for that part.

I was going to write more but it seemed like overkill.
Thanks for the fix to my curiosity!

-Lollies

When I answered the poll I put Family as that is where you first observe adults smoking, Also TV ads from the eearly 70s glamorized smoking, then came the high school years where a lot of your friends/family friends smoked. (And now they Don't but you still Do)

To be blunt All the above should be a category in the poll as they are all contributing factors why a person smokes or not

my first cigarette was on the banks of the river seine during a school-trip to france.

i regularly started to smoke tobacco (and other things) whilst being a rebellious teenager, probably because i thought it looked cool at the time.

smoked for twenty years until i managed to give up baccy about eight years ago in my mid-thirties...

I've never smoked. Anybody I know who does started because they wanted to look cool in front of people who already smoked to fit in. Or in front of people who didn't, to look edgy. I can't understand why somebody would start because of stress, surely the smoking only helps with stress once you have got the addiction?

I don't mind smokers as long as they don't push it around other people. I've met people who claim that they have as much right to smoke around people who don't because their chose to smoke is as valid as that of those who don't. I'm afraid that's just not the case though.

to give the finger - why else..!!?

I started smoking in grade 7 to be "cool". It became a habit and I ended up smoking about 2 packs a day after smoking for 16 years. I quit in 2000 and have never gone back but it wasn't easy. I ended up putting on about 50 pounds from snacking instead of smoking. Now I'm back down to a healthier weight but smoking is one of those things that really takes a toll on you. When I see a group of young kids smoking, I want to knock their heads together cause they don't know or care about the risks and the lifelong costs of it.