Thread: Why do you think teenagers start smoking cigarettes in the first place?

I had to answer this in class and i didnt knoe what to write. But can you guys tell me specific details please.

to fit in

for style mostly.....

Because cancer is cool

For a lot of older persons who smoke it's because they were raised either by parents who also smoked or because their friends did and because of peer pressure they tried it to fit in. It used to be that the U.S. Army included a number of cigarettes in each service members daily rations when they were over seas.
Peer pressure is still a big part of why kids start smoking today even though there are television ads and education against it. Also, due to the higher cost the is a certain status that comes with smoking as you need to have the money to be able to afford to smoke.

Pressure from fellow students who smoke and say it's cool and does no harm. Also they copy their parents who smoke. Anyone who smokes at all is just showing how weak they are in not being able to say no.

There might be some teens who began smoking because of peer pressure, to look cool, etc. I saw it as something I was old enough to do so I tried it, and in turn, liked it. I had/have 2 best friends who used to be potheads and smoked cigarettes 3 years before I ever did. I can still say that I have never tried pot and started smoking cigarettes and drinking, quite literally, on my own terms. There's no one answer to this question as everyone's different, and above is my reason.

Almost all smokers start when they're teenagers; very few start later in life, though it does happen. This came up in a smoking women's group here in Yahoo that I belong to, and we came up with these reasons:

- thought it was cool, adult, made me feel more mature
- was curious about it
- peer pressure from friends
- peer pressure within family
- met (or married) a smoker
- stress management
- weight management
- it was a dare
- symbol of rebellion

Often, more than one of these reasons will be present when a teenager decides to start smoking. The main reasons adults decide to start smoking are more limited to:

- weight management
- stress management
- met (or married) a smoker

Most teenagers, and even many adults, who start also don't fully understand the possible future consequences of smoking, nor do they understand how powerful the addiction to cigarettes is. And those who decide to start smoking for only a short while to help them resolve something, such as a stressful situation or being overweight, wind up being unable to quit afterwards.

mostly because the image put out there by the media advertising and movies they allways look so cool

many people might start to look cool, and they continue that pattern...but some others, like me, tried it for experience. It gave me a good buzz if you smoke it right...so i kept doing it!