[ Post a Response | The Sublime Desire of Cigarette Smoking ]
Posted by Marcus on February 14, 2007, 1:47 pm, in reply to "Welcome! (Article Link Enclosed)" I agree that nicotine addiction plays only a small role in people continuing to smoke, even after they begin to notice some of the effects on their bodies. The Risk factor is a strong motivation in many types of human activity. The health risks of smoking are just a bit more severe and sublime than those of, say, hang gliding. By nature, humans are independent and I think that the pleasure that comes from blatantly defying conventional wisdom or socially accepted behavior plays a much stronger role in people continuing to smoke that they would admit. All that said, I believe that the fundamental fact that for a smoker, once he/she has beaten his/her lungs into submission, smoking is an immensely pleasurable physical experience plays a more significant role in why he/she continues to smoke than any other.
Very interesting article! I wish it had been a bit more in depth. I have often thought that the over the top visuals depicting the effect of smoking on the body are probably counter productive. Anyone born in the last 30 to 40 years has been exposed to abundant images of smokers lungs, yet we continue to smoke. I think that for those who were smoking before the images became so abundant; the reaction to them may be something like a shrug of the shoulders. "Yes, I know smoking's bad for me and my lungs are black. I accepted that some time ago" I can't help but think, though, that for smokers in their 30's and younger who were shown those images along with being exposed to plenty of factual information about the health risks of smoking from a relatively early age, part of the attraction to smoking and motivation to become a smoker is a desire to inflict that damage on oneself and see if you'll be the "one in three."
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