So Why do People Smoke?

Now obviously there are different answers to this question for different people. I thought I would compile a list of positives and negatives to see and compare what the advantages and disatvantages of smoking are. This list has been created through research for previous blogs, interviews and personal knowledge. Please note that there are more positives and negatives that may have not been included.

Positives:

• Relieves stress, anxiety, paranoia and depression
• Encourages weight loss
• Sociable (e.g. having a 'cigarette break' at work)
• Positive effect on short-term memory
• Shortens response time
• Reduces the risk of Alzheimer's, Senile Demetia and Parkinson's disease
• Nicotine provides smokers with a pleasant feeling

Negatives:

• Causes bad breath
• Can cause the yellowing of teeth and fingernails
• Makes breathing more difficult
• Can cause cancers
• Can deminish one's sense of taste and smell
• Can increase migraines
• It is addictive - one becomes dependant on cigarettes
• Increases the chance of various illnesses such as lung diseases or heart attacks - not just cancers
• Decreases your years of life
• Cigarettes pollute our environment
• Those around are forced to suffer the same negative effects - second-hand/passive smoking
• and most importantly: can result in death

Looking at the above lists, it is evident that the negatives outweigh the positives. This is not only by numbers but also by significance. What I mean by this is that being sociable is not as significant as having difficulty breathing. A common response to these negatives is that it is not definant - note how most listed under negatives being with 'can' rather than 'does'.

So if the negatives are so dramatic, it just doesn't seem to make sense. Why do people smoke?!

References:


- Fleischer, G. 2010, 'The Real Positives of Smoking', http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=6863535052&topic=13289, Accessed 17/10/2010

- Ritzman, K. 2005, 'Smoking cigarettes has short-term health benefits', http://media.www.thetriangle.org/media/storage/paper689/news/2005/11/18/SciTech/Smoking.Cigarettes.Has.ShortTerm.Health.Benefits-1109656.shtml, Accessed 17/10/2010

- Ygoy, 2008, 'Cigarette Smoking Pros and Cons', http://smoking.ygoy.com/2010/03/09/cigarette-smoking-pros-and-cons/, Accessed 17/10/2010

Smoking is Sexy

Smoking in films has dramatically changed over the years (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2005, p.51). During the 1950s, cigarette product placement in films worked as an extra marketing technique to encourage smoking. Actresses such as Audrey Hepburn (see image below) were commonly found smoking in films. Infact, when I was searching for images of her, there were many with her holding a cigarette. This implies that smoking is sexy. Average people look up to celebrities and follow their actions in hope to be more like them (Fraser & Brown, 2002, p.183). This means that when people see actors/actresses smoking in films, they want to smoke too. When the harmful effects were learned, such marketing techniques were removed from the film industry, with actors and actresses only smoking in films if it is part of their character.

Image: Aydrey Hepburn http://cache2.artprintimages.com/p/LRG/16/1654/5KJGD00Z/audrey-hepburn.jpg

Although product placement has decreased, actors/actesses smoking in films still influence viewers, especially young adolescence (Distefan et al, 2004, p.1239). I interviewed a couple of teenage smokers and they agreed that movie stars may have had an impact on them smoking.

Maybe smoking should be stripped from the media?

References:

- Distefan, J.M., Pierce, J.P. & Gilpin, E.A. 2004, 'Do Favourite Movie Stars Influence Adolescent Smoking Initiation?' in American Journal of Public Health, Vol.94, No.7, pp.1239-1244, Accessed 19/09/2010, http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/94/7/1239 

- Fraser, B.P. & Brown, W.J. 2002, 'Media, celebrities, and social influece: Identification with Elvis Presley' in Mass Communication and Society, Vol.5, No.2, pp.183-206, Accessed 19/09/2010, informaworld.com 

- O’Shaughnessy, M. & Stadler, J. 2005, ‘Defining the Media’ in Media and Society: An Introduction, Vol. 3, pp. 51-54