Smoking has become one of the world’s main concerns after the realization of its effect on human health. Tobacco was first introduced by Native Americans and was considered to be harmless and a stress reliever. Eventually, this habit became popular all over the world, and as normal as food. The increase in technology has brought out all the negative aspects and the side effects of smoking. Scientific analysis has proven that smoking is one of the main causes for death in the world. Since smoking has become a part of everyday life, quitting it has become even harder for those who are addicted. Advertisements and social pressure cause smoking with its devastating, life-threatening effects.
Advertisements in the past were responsible for making smoking more popular all over the world. Many individual’s decision to smoke comes from advertisements which support smoking. Proclamations made by cigarette companies claim people will feel happier, more glamorous, and healthier. A suggestive proclamation by “Lucky Strike” company states, “Smoke Luckies! You’ll get the happy blending of perfect mildness and rich taste that fine tobacco – and only fine tobacco – can give you. . . . So get complete smoking enjoyment. Be Happy – Go Lucky today!” The company has used “lucky” as its product name trying to make consumers believe that anyone who smokes these cigarettes is lucky and will have happiness. Advertisements like this brought attention to cigarettes and set the stage for smoking to be accepted. It became common for people to smoke at any age. Young and old were all smoking cigarettes without understanding their consequences.
Also, social pressure is the most important cause of people smoking because they see “everybody is doing it.” In a personal interview with Mr. Saad Joseph, he said that his father smoked which led him to start smoking at an early age. The interview indicated that parents can influence their children’s decisions. Since children are looking at their parents as their role models, many times children will adopt this habit from their parents. It seemed more than one person was smoking in his family who supported the idea of smoking. This environment has viewed cigarettes to be normal or not wrong to smoke. Joseph’s reason to not quit his habit was that everybody in his family viewed it as normal or common so he did not have any pressure to quit. Another reason people smoke is that they want to spend time with their friends and end up smoking for fun. Smokers will think that they look more like a modern or a cool person and this can influence many individual’s opinions. One of the main concerns for smokers is reputation and how they look in front of others. Peer pressure can change their opinion toward the good or the bad without thinking. People with low self-confidence will be driven toward anything that is highly accepted by the group that they interact with.
Even though smoking is popular, smokers must be aware that...
