I've been debating this question in my head for a while. Do ciggarette cause an addiction or is it merely just a habit?

If it were addicting, wouldn't you be addicted to it the first time you smoked? It doesn't have to be drastic, but a slight addiction.

I feel that it is just a habit because you have to keep doing it. It's like biting your nails. You keep doing it out of habit.

Does anyone agree? Or not. Haha.

No, it is addicting. cigarettes are a drug, they're tobacco. the Nicotine in the cigarette is what's addicting. It's an addicting chemical. Although, I do not believe that it is as addicting as people say it is. Once u do it, you want to do it all the time? I don't think so. I recently smoked a whole carton over a period of time and then just stopped cause I ran out and had no desire for a cigarette. I did start smoking when I was 14 though and after a couple of months I would like die for a cigarette. I couldn't get one, one time and like starting crying. lol. it's a drug. Different people also react differently to things. But other than that one time when I was 14, I never had an "addicting desire" for one when I had been smoking.

It is addicting. You just need a certain amount of nicotine to become addicted.

I'm pretty sure there's something in there (nicotine) making it addicting.
It can be an addicting habit.

Yeah, I agree with everyone else. It's the nicotine in the cigarette that causes you to become addicted.

Why is this in the debate section? It's rather factual. Cigarettes contain nicotine. Nicotine is addictive. Therefore, cigarettes are addictive.

^Haha. Having to be the one to state the obvious sucks, huh?

I guess. I've heard that most people who actually get lung cancer are non smokers.

How do you explain those that have been smoking their entire lives and are still alive without cancer or anyother disease that is associated with smoking?

Diseases are dependent on a host of factors, not a single source (i.e. you won't get cancer just because you are exposed to a certain element), although the rates of lung cancing in smokers does point to a direct correlation.

You have to stop and think for a minute.

All lung cancer patients may not be smokers, but all smokers eventually get lung cancer if they continue to smoke recklessly.

Smoking is the number one cause of Lung Cancer. Research a little.

QUOTE(JakeKKing @ Nov 3 2006, 12:55 PM)

I guess. I've heard that most people who actually get lung cancer are non smokers.

i don't think so.
the american lung association website says that 87% of lung cancers are caused by smoking. there is an estimate that 162,460 people will die from lung cancer in the US in 2006. so 141,340 (or 87%) will die from lung cancer caused by smoking, while only approximately 3000 people will die from lung cancer caused by second-hand smoke.

QUOTE(JakeKKing @ Nov 3 2006, 12:55 PM)

How do you explain those that have been smoking their entire lives and are still alive without cancer or anyother disease that is associated with smoking?

like mipadi said, diseases are dependant on a host of factors, not just one source. it also depends on how frequently you smoke, how much you smoke and other health-related choices in your lifestyle.

But correlation isn't causation. Just because it's correlational doesn't mean that it causes it.

I've noticed this trend on the internet....

People get so wrapped around the "facts" and previous debates that they don't examine real life (i.e. a person's attitude toward things, whether or not there's an underlying cause, etc).

With that being said, I smoke. I don't care about cancer. I don't give a shit about dying. My pockets really aren't thinned out because I buy my cartons of Newports. If I don't die here, I'll die on a motorcycle, on during combat, yada yada yada.

Yes it's a habit and I have no intention on quitting.

Yes, I am aware of that. The point about correlation was just to show that there is a direct connection between lung cancer and smoking. There are numerous other connections as well—so numerous that most medical professionals agree that smoking causes lung cancer, or is a major contributor. Not having immediate access to medical literature, though (and not having the time to tediously look the information up) means that I don't have any citations stating that smoking causes lung cancer, although the prevailing documentation does indicate this is true.

I agree with Brandon. Haha. But Camel Joe's my biotch.

Seems that the motive behind this thread was that you wanted to smoke, but knew it was unhealthy, so you were hoping someone else would come along and provide justification for your desire. It doesn't seem like the best decision-making policy to hope others make your decisions for you.

Exactly.

Dude, if you want to smoke go for it. Ya don't have to make a thread to help find justification for it. Altogether a waste of time.

Yeah, I have a friend that smokes. Everytime someone tells him, "You know, smoking kills you," he answers with an overly sarcastic, "Really? Geez, thanks for letting me know!"

So if you want to smoke, smoke—but that doesn't change the fact that it is addicting and it does shorten your life. If you're fine with that, then go for it.

I already have been smoking before I made this thread. I just wanted to see how people view it. I know there are factual things about smoking, but just how viewed it. I guess. Camel Joe.

People don't make my decisions. I'm just looking for refinements. Socrates did it, why not I?

He seeked refinement, while you're looking for justfication for what you do. You obviously already know how most people feel about smoking, and you jumped when Brandon agreed with you. That's looking for people to agree with you, not for refinement.

yeah... so this isn't really a debate anymore is it?
well from the beginning there wasn't anything to debate over anyways but yeah...

If you make a decision, stand by it. Why should anyone else have to justify your decision?

There are people who make decisions but are not strong enough to stand by them on their own, or atleast, they care too much about what others think. It's like a girl trying on a new outfit for school. She'll ask her friends if she looks alright even though she wouldn't have worn if it was ugly. She needed someone else to tell her she looks good or that she has good tastes.

That's all this guy is doing, or alteast, that's what everyone feels because of the kinds of questions he asked and his reactions to them. He wants someone to stand by him with his decision. Brandon, you don't go around asking people how they feel about smoking or how they feel about you smoking do you?

So, like the person before us said, there aren't any grounds for debate here.

I have been smoking for about 3 years now. I do wish at this point that I did not. I do think that cigs are addicting. But at the same time.... For me, it is just a huge habit.

it is habit forming, i have smoked sence i was 12 years old, i am now 23 and i cant quit. I would like to though.