An Internal Battle

Despite their affection for smoking, most smokers know tobacco is bad for their health, and they want to quit. A whopping 70% of smokers want to quit.
So what's so difficult about quitting? The nicotine in tobacco products acts directly on the brain, making you feel good. This feeds a physical addiction. The more tobacco you use, the more your brain and body want.
Yet intellectually you know that smoking is harming you. The decision to continue smoking or to quit smoking is an internal battle between the part of you that loves to smoke and the part of you that knows you must stop.
Only you will know when you are ready. Be prepared, though, because quitting is difficult. At some point, you may crave the love you gave up and reach for a cigarette.
It's always a challenge to say goodbye to an old flame.

Why People Love To Smoke

There are many reasons why people love to smoke. The roots of the romance are different for everyone. Your reasons for smoking are likely unique to you.
In many cases, an emotional dependence on tobacco takes hold before a physical dependence develops. Perhaps you enjoy the social camaraderie that smoking offers. Likewise, smoking is a good friend during moments of loneliness.
Although some smokers claim practical reasons for smoking (primarily to lose weight), the romance often goes much deeper. And, like all romances, the relationship is complicated.

The End of a Romance: A Love/Hate Relationship

Do you remember your very first cigarette? Many smokers have fond memories of that moment. Few seem to recall the gagging and nausea that actually occurred. And they forget that they had to smoke a couple of packs to "acquire a taste" for smoking.
In any case, a love of smoking developed. And your relationship with smoking is as intimate, seductive and rewarding as any that you've ever had.
Many people have a hard time quitting because smoking is a truly pleasurable experience. They love everything about smoking: the way it tastes, the way it smells, the way it makes them feel. Smoking allows them to stay calm during times of stress. Smoking peps them up when they're feeling lethargic. Smoking helps them focus when they can't concentrate. And smoking makes them feel sexy and cool.

What is it like for you?

Smoking

When your parents were young, people could buy cigarettes and smoke pretty much anywhere — even in hospitals! Ads for cigarettes were all over the place. Today we're more aware about how bad smoking is for our health. Smoking is restricted or banned in almost all public places and cigarette companies are no longer allowed to advertise on TV, radio, and in many magazines.
Almost everyone knows that smoking causes cancer, emphysema, and heart disease; that it can shorten your life by 10 years or more; and that the habit can cost a smoker thousands of dollars a year. So how come people are still lighting up? The answer, in a word, is addiction.
Once You Start, It's Hard to Stop
Smoking is a hard habit to break because tobacco contains nicotine, which is highly addictive. Like heroin or other addictive drugs, the body and mind quickly become so used to the nicotine in cigarettes that a person needs to have it just to feel normal.
People start smoking for a variety of different reasons. Some think it looks cool. Others start because their family members or friends smoke. Statistics show that about 9 out of 10 tobacco users start before they're 18 years old. Most adults who started smoking in their teens never expected to become addicted. That's why people say it's just so much easier to not start smoking at all.
How Smoking Affects Your Health
There are no physical reasons to start smoking. The body doesn't need tobacco the way it needs food, water, sleep, and exercise. In fact, many of the chemicals in cigarettes, like nicotine and cyanide, are actually poisons that can kill in high enough doses.
The body is smart. It goes on the defense when it's being poisoned. For this reason, many people find it takes several tries to get started smoking: First-time smokers often feel pain or burning in the throat and lungs, and some people feel sick or even throw up the first few times they try tobacco.