LittleGuy

This is coming from the viewpoint of an underage who's sworn(and has alot of other friends who do as well) never to drink, smoke or generally use any other abusable substance in the future.

I often fail to see why people are still taking up smoking, what with the abundant campaigning against it, people should be getting the message that these things are BAD for you.

I can understand maybe if the thing's addictive, you might have a problem with trying to quit, even if it's bad for you.

But why do people take it up in the first place? Smoking for the uninitiated seems to be a coughy, choky business. Alcohol tastes disgusting- I know people get accustomed to the taste, but why drink something that yucky in the first place? Especially given the after effects...I remember this time on an aeroplane when I dare tried a small cup of champagne and proceeded to groan in agony the entire flight.

Please enlighten the young and inexperienced.

Oxidizing Material

I would be in the same boat as you, ie, not knowing why people do such things. I'm told it's something to do with "Relaxing" or "recreation" or some stupid shit like that, but hopefully someone will be able to explain.

ImGod

My answer to the drinking part is in this thread. I don't smoke, because of the smell it leaves on your clothes, cars, and house. Lung cancer sucks too. Instead, I substitute coffee for nicotin.

Somedays you just feel like a drink

Godless Dave

Smoking: peer pressure* and rebellion are probably the biggest. People, in general, have trouble letting long-term health concerns influence immediate behavior, and teenagers are at a stage of cognitive development that makes those decisions even more difficult

*By "peer pressure" I don't mean the simplistic "You'll be cool if you do it!" stuff from health class films, but the social pressure of seeing other people do something. Humans, like other social apes, seem to be motivated to imitate the behavior of others in their group.

Alcohol: Well, some of it does taste good when you get used to it. A dry red wine embraces your tongue in flavor, then gives it a lingering goodbye kiss before it heads down your throat. Mmm. And alcohol makes you feel good. Also, unlike tobacoo, alcohol is not bad for you per se. One drink a day is actually very healthy for most adults - it lowers blood pressure and decreases the risk of heart disease. It's drinking too much alcohol that's bad for you (my doctor says more than two 12-ounce beers a day is bad for the liver). I am certainly not advising you to drink now. You should wait until you are at least 18. And if you decide never to drink you are avoiding possible health problems, and I for one would not fault you for such a decision - you should be the one in charge of your body and your health. But it is not the evil demon-drink you may have been led to believe.

Edited to add: alcohol never tasted disgusting to me. I had my first sip of beer as a little kid and I liked the taste right away.

Mageth

This is coming from the viewpoint of an underage who's sworn(and has alot of other friends who do as well) never to drink, smoke or generally use any other abusable substance in the future.

Good for you! At a minimum, wait til you're an adult (or of age) to try any of these things, if you should ever wish to. And if you wish to, do it for your own reasons, not because of peer pressure.

Note, however, that it's not good to knock too much on people who do indulge in a vice or two. It is possible to drink, use tobacco, or even the occasional drug without going overboard.

I drink occasionally, and I enjoy tobacco in various forms occasionally. Why? I have a taste for both of them in moderate amounts. I enjoy the taste of wine, beer and spirits (particularly bourbon and scotch). I like the relaxed feeling I get after one or two drinks (that's generally the max for me, and that only once a week or so). I enjoy the aroma and flavor of a good cigar or pipe, or even the occasional cig. Nothing's more peaceful to me than smoking a pipe or cigar around a campfire with a good friend, taking an occasional nip of my good friend Jack (Daniels, that is).

One of the benefits of an adult is that, with some self-control, you can learn to enjoy occasional indulgence of a vice or two without going overboard. It's harder for "youngsters" to do that.

Note that I'm not trying to talk you into any of these things, merely pointing out that they can be enjoyed responsibly. And it's generally easier to do that, IMO, if one waits until one is a bit older before trying them out. Further, never let peer pressure influence you to do something against your personal choice in these matters.

....

Someone once said, "Never trust a man without any vices".

Derec

Then you must abstain from food too? Look at these alarming statistics about bread that I have found.

Face it, there is no such thing as an unabusable substance.

To answer your question though: alcoholic drinks taste good and a slight intoxination is actually pleasant. Also moderate use (as oposed to abuse) of alcohol is healhy.
Finally, ethanol is a very good antidote to methanol (as taken from a M85 data sheet).

UMoC

brighid

You shouldn't ever do things people pressure you into doing. Although that is easier said then done.

I know that when I drank underage it was for the thrill of getting away with something I shouldn't be doing. I was pretty responsible though so I never got in any trouble legally, or otherwise ... except perhaps a hangover.

I particularly enjoy wine, but I am very picky about beer and only like a few hard liquors. Red wine can be an acquired taste, but a good wine is just divine.

I have never cared for tobacco of any sort, although I found my fathers pipe smoking to be the least offensive of the tobacco products. Some of it was evening sweet smelling.

I think some young kids start smoking in order to be cool, more adult like or to rebel. They continue to hook because it is addictive and for many people the addiction takes over and many rationlizations are put forth to keep the addiction going.

Addictive personalities run very heavily in my family and I knew that from a young age. This really turned me off to heavy alcohol or moderate drug use. It is one of those dangerous roads I do not want to go down. Some people are capable of occassionally indulging in drugs in moderation without problem. Although I feel I can easily control alcohol I have always worried about my ability to do the same with more addictive substances, and therefore I have stayed away from all of them. I tried pot a couple of times but it never really did anything for me, plus it really aggrevated my asthma so it just wasn't worth the pain.

I think choices about drinking, smoking and drug use are adult decisions. Everything in moderation seems to be key ... if one can do that.

Brighid

Derec

For me it was different. I grew up in a home atmosphere of moderate alcohol use and my parents let me drink some wine from childhood.
It was quite a culture shock when I came here and saw what an unhealthy attitude towards alcohol Americans tend to have. Insane drinking age of 21 and "thou shall nots" and at the same time very irresponsible drinking behaviours, especially in a frat enviroment.

Quote:

I think choices about drinking, smoking and drug use are adult decisions.

But that is not necessarily at 18 for everyone.

UMoC

RoddyM

I figure that smokers smoke because they are addicted. Just about every adult smoker I know wants not to want to smoke. I don't think any smoker enjoyed their first hundred cigarettes. They haven't really enjoyed any since then either. They are not experiencing enjoyment just relief.

It's not a habit. If you move to an area where you put out the trash on Tuesday instead of Thursday do you keep on putting it out on Thursday for the rest of your life?

Older smokers, say 40 plus, grew up in an era when even non-smokers were apologists for smokers. People had this idea that nicotine actually benefited people in times of stress, like in war movies. Some old movies, especially English movies made in the 1940's are nothing but advertisements for cigarettes.

Anti-smoking ordinances and campaigns can actually promote smoking and discourage quitting. They can work to increase the feelings of "rebellion" that assist in causing young people to take up smoking. Or by making a big deal about smoking they promote the idea that it's difficult to quit. The last thing a smoker needs is the prospect of difficulty. He is such a wimp he is only going to reach for a cigarette. The prospect of not smoking causes stress. If he hasn't had a cigarette for half an hour his addiction is causing discomfort. He smokes a cigarette feels better and is so less inclined to consider intelligent reasons to quit.

I smoked for 20 years before I was able to really understand that cigarettes had absolutely no positive benefit at all. Cost me about 10% of my income, worked 2 years for nothing, less than nothing. Worst of all it turns you into the worst kind of liar, someone that lies to themself 24 hours a day.

Quitting's not that hard once you realize that brainwashing got you started and that brainwashing was more responsible than addiction in keeping you smoking.

dangin

We had a wonderful researcher here from england. He is an M.D. and his specialty was research in migraines and strokes. He started off a speech about stroke once.

"Do you smoke, do you drink, do you eat bacon? If you do not, you may live to be 100 but whether you do or not it will certainly feel like it."

And of course as Robert Heinlein said through his fictional alter ego Lazarus Long. "To enjoy life take big bites, moderation is for monks"

Sure I've had a drink or two, made my own dandelion wine as a teen (awful stuff), I've smoked a cig or two thousand, I've toked a bong (not in a long time though), and even a few other things that came my way. (nothing ever involving needles though)

There's nothing wrong with a life of abstinance from chemistry. But there is also nothing wrong with experimenting with the world around you.

The longer you wait to get started the better usually. There is no better example than Robert Downey Jr's difficulties with control to serve as an example of someone who started drugs too young.

The real gauge of abuse is not how you are while on a substance, but how you are when you are off it. Having a drink everyday at 6:00 may not be a big deal, but if it is a big deal on the day when you can't have a drink at 6:00 you might need to examine your ability to control your intake.

Youthful pledges of abstinance from anything should be taken with a grain of salt. You will change a lot as you age. The act of "pledging" to avoid drugs, alcohol, and tobacco is a form of peer pressure too.

And to go out with a quote. My dear friend Penny was smoking and someone said, "that will take ten years off your life". Penny replied "yeah well they would be the worst ten years anyway."

Final thought. I smoked pot daily for 5 years and took an IQ test. I scored a 131 or 98.2%. 8 years later,(after about another 6 years of daily pot smoking) I took another IQ test and scored a 133.

That demon weed will rot your brain.