Will become smoker or not?
There are a lot of things, without which people cannot live. Humans are accustomed to a large number of things that help them to have fun, relax or simply kill time. Among this set of habits, a special place belongs to old, but at the same time always modern habit - smoking. Surely it’s a bad habit, for which humans spend a lot of money, time and health, of course. In the modern world the number of smokers is rather increasing than decreasing. Some people start smoking, whereas others don’t even try, but why? After all, what factors matter most in determining whether someone will become smoker or not?
History of the spread of tobacco smoking in Europe is inextricably linked with the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, who gave the world its countless delights, including tobacco. In 1492 after a crossing of the Atlantic Ocean three ships: "Santa Maria", "Niña" and "Pinta" approached the shores of an unknown island.
On that island sailors discovered people, who produced the smoke from their noses and mouths. It has generated a striking impression on the Europeans. Returning to Europe, Columbus carried from the New World a lot of gold, potatoes, tobacco and a group of sailors, who have become the pioneers of tobacco smoking in Europe.
Moreover, the first mentions of smokers that have been found in the shrines within the territory of Central America, dating back to the X century BC. People believed in the medicinal properties of tobacco. Also the tobacco smoking was used in different religious ceremonies. People believed that smoking helps them to engage in dialogue with gods. There were two main tools for the smoking: pipes in North America, and cigars in the South of America. These cigars were the prototype for the modern cigarettes.
Despite the fact that people have long ceased to believe that tobacco smoking helps them to communicate with supernatural forces, they start smoking, even though they know a lot about the harmful effects of smoking. So let's look at some factors that affect a man and cause him to start smoking.
It is important to note that in the contemporary world tobacco smoking has become a huge business, which brings enormous profits. Moreover, even the mass culture promotes smoking. For example, in the movies about the mafia tough guys always smoke cigarettes or cigars. Consequently, the advertisement for smoking in cinematography, music and popular culture in general, is very active. As a rule, the young generation wants to be similar to their idols from the television and begins to be indulged in a harmful habit, which is associated with style and fashion for them.
Another factor that affects the human is parents. For example, if one of the parents is a smoker, the child can begin to assume that the cigarette smoking is normal. However, it is also possible that even if in the family there are no smokers, a teenager may start smoking as a sign of protest against the control of school and parents (after all, all of us remember how problematic this period of life was). Also the friends, i.e. those people, whose opinions and endorsement are very important for teenagers affect them. Thus, very young person may start killing himself at an early age.
Consequently, it should be noted that sometimes the causes of certain human actions can be found in the past. In connection with this, we should remember that there is one more psychological factor, which has been explained by Sigmund Freud. Freud explained the concept of development of personality as gradual transition from one stage to another. The first of them is the oral stage, which lasts from the birth to approximately 18 months of age.
Infants receive a food by breastfeeding, and during this period of life the area of mouth is closely linked with the satisfaction of biological needs and obtaining of a pleasure. Sigmund Freud was convinced that the mouth remains an important erogenous zone throughout the whole human life. Even in adulthood there are some symptoms of oral behavior, which appear in the use of chewing gum, overeating and cigarette smoking, of course. According to Freud, people smoke or overeat, to reduce the stress caused by the lack of maternal care.
You can accept or reject this concept; however, a huge number of smokers assert that smoking helps them to relax. They smoke, when they are nervous or worried, or when they simply have nothing to do; and they believe that a cigarette helps them to relieve the stress. Moreover, they really feel relief, when they smoke. However, the reason for this miraculous relief is not a cigarette, but the smoker's belief that a cigarette would help him.
In conclusion it can be said that such a bad habit as tobacco smoking has a very long and interesting history. A long time ago humans have even believed that tobacco smoking helps them to communicate with their gods and heal people. There are plenty of reasons why people start smoking and a lot of them should be sought in the early childhood. In the contemporary world there are various campaigns against the tobacco smoking, but anyway, the gift of Columbus became very familiar and even valuable for a huge number of representatives of mankind, and they decidedly don’t want to part with their harmful habit.
