Smoking has become a hot topic in our society. Many places are passing laws that prohibit smoking. For smokers this is discouraging and makes them feel like outcasts. For non-smokers they feel they are only protecting their health. These opposing views cause problems between the two groups. The best way to understand smokers is to understand why they smoke. There are many reasons and understanding these reasons can help non-smokers be more courteous towards smokers.

Smoking has been proven to be an addictive habit. Breaking this habit is very hard. It is just like quitting the use of any other drug. Smokers who try to quit will often end up smoking again because the process is so difficult. It is not impossible, but not easy. Most people start smoking in their teenage years and carry it through to adulthood. Learning the reasons why they started smoking and why they continue to smoke can help a smoker learn how to quit smoking.

The reasons for smoking vary from person to person and depend upon their age. For teens who smoke they are usually looking to be accepted by friends, appear older, or just to defy authority. Adults smoke because they feel it helps to relieve stress, calm them down, give them energy and control their weight. Smoking also becomes symbolic in nature as most smokers begin to associate smoking with certain times of the day, certain things they do and it becomes routine. Most people continue to smoke because they are addicted.

The bottom line is that smoking is addictive and quitting is hard. This debate between smoking and not smoking is heating up, but people should not forget that they are dealing with other people. Losing sight of that will only make things more difficult and turn in discrimination and prejudice.