The Psychology of Everyday Living
by
Ernest Dichter


I'll break it up because this a pretty long article. It was published in 1947, to put it into perspective. I think two of the key issues are boredom and stress. If you don't smoke, that's fine, we get it, but some of us are struggling and would love to quit, for your sake as well as ours. Just read the article and tell everyone what your thoughts are.

"Smoking is Fun


What is the nature of this psychological pleasure? It can be traced to the universal desire for self-expression. None of us ever completely outgrows his childhood. We are constantly hunting for the carefree enjoyment we knew as children. As we grew older, we had to subordinate our pleasures to work and to the necessity for unceasing effort. Smoking, for many of us, then, became a substitute for our early habit of following the whims of the moment; it becomes a legitimate excuse for interrupting work and snatching a moment of pleasure. "You sometimes get tired of working intensely," said an accountant whom we interviewed, "and if you sit back for the length of a cigarette, you feel much fresher afterwards. It's a peculiar thing, but I wouldn't think of just sitting back without a cigarette. I guess a cigarette somehow gives me a good excuse."

"Smoking is a Reward:


Most of us are hungry for rewards. We want to be patted on the back. A cigarette is a reward that we can give ourselves as often as we wish. When we have done anything well, for instance, we can congratulate ourselves with a cigarette, which certifies, in effect, that we have been "good boys." We can promise ourselves: "When I have finished this piece of work, when I have written the last page of my report, I'll deserve a little fun. I'll have a cigarette."

The first and last cigarette in the day are especially significant rewards. The first one, smoked right after breakfast, is a sort of anticipated recompense. The smoker has work to do, and he eases himself into the day's activities as pleasantly as possible. He gives himself a little consolation prize in advance, and at the same time manages to postpone the evil hour when he must begin his hard day's work. The last cigarette of the day is like "closing a door." It is something quite definite. One smoker explained: "I nearly always smoke a cigarette before going to bed. That finishes the day. I usually turn the light out after I have smoked the last cigarette, and then turn over to sleep."

Smoking is often merely a conditioned reflex. Certain situations, such as coming out of the subway, beginning and ending work, voluntary and involunatary interruptions of work, feelings of hunger, and many others regulate the timetable of smoking. Often a smoker may not even want a cigarette particularly, but he will see someone else take one and then he feels that he must have one, too.

While to many people smoking is fun, and a reward in itself, it more often accompanies other pleasures. At meals, a cigarette is somewhat like another course. In general, smoking introduces a holiday spirit into everyday living. It rounds out other forms of enjoyment and makes them one hundred per cent satisfactory."

Smoking is Oral Pleasure


"As we have said, to explain the pleasure derived from smoking as taste experience alone, is not sufficient. For one thing, such an explanation leaves out the powerful erotic sensitivity of the oral zone. Oral pleasure is just as fundamental as sexuality and hunger. It functions with full strength from earliest childhood. There is a direct connection between thumbsucking and smoking. "In school I always used to chew a pencil or a pen," said a journalist, in reply to our questions. "You should have seen the collection I had. They used to be chewed to bits. Whenever I try to stop smoking for a while, I get something to chew on, either a pipe or a menthol cigarette. You just stick it in your mouth and keep on sucking. And I also chew a lot of gum when I want to cut down on smoking...."

The satisfied expression on a smoker's face when he inhales the smoke is ample proof of his sensuous thrill. The immense power of the yearning for a cigarette, especially after an enforced abstinence, is acknowledged by habitual smokers. One of our respondents said: "When you don't get a cigarette for a long time and you are kind of on pins, the first drag goes right down to your heels."

The Cigarette -- A Modern Hourglass


"Frequently the burning down of a cigarette functions psychologically as a time indicator. A smoker waiting for someone who is late says to himself, "Now I'll smoke one more cigarette, and then I am off." One person explained, "It is much easier to watch a cigarette get smaller and smaller than to keep watching a clock and look at the hands dragging along."

In some countries, the farmers report distances in terms of the number of pipes, as, for example, "It's about three pipes from here to Smithtown."

A cigarette not only measures time, but also seems to make time pass more rapidly. That is why waiting periods almost autuomatically stimulate the desire to smoke. But a deeper explanation of this function of smoking is based on the fact that smoking is ersatz activity. Impatience is a common feature of our times, but there are many situations which compel us to be patient. When we are in a hurry, and yet have to wait, a cigarette gives us something to do during that trying interval. The experience of wanting to act, but being unable to do so, is very unpleasant and may even, in extreme cases, cause attacks of nervous anxiety. Cigarettes may then have a psychotherapeutic effect. This helps to explain why soldiers, waiting for the signal to attack, sometimes value a cigarette more than food."

There are 13 more "excuses" but I'll hold off for now, and wait for some input on this topic.

Because im on fire!!!!

Here's the link to the article if you're interested. I found it fascinating.

http://smokingsides.com/docs/whysmoke.html

I smoke because I am on fire!







Now where is that cold shower when you need it to put it out!

Habit and the western influence say the Japanese

All this seems like psychobabble that glorifies smoking. I think it has more to do with the addictive properties of nicotine more than any "excuse" you can make for yourself.

"With a Cigarette I Am Not Alone"


Frequently, our respondents remarked that smoking cigaretees is like being with a friend. Said one, "When I lean back and light my cigarette and see the glow in the dark, I am not alone any more...." In one sense, a cigarette seems to be something alive. When it is lighted it appears to be awakened, brought to life. In a French moving picture (Daybreak) the hunted criminal, played by Jean Gabin, holds out as long as he has his cigarettes. He barricades himself against the police and stands siege courageously for some time -- until his last cigarette is gone. Then he gives up.

The companionable character of cigarettes is also reflected in the fact that they help us make friends. In many ways, smoking has the same effect drinking has. It helps to break down social barriers. Two smokers out on a date light up a cigarette as soon as they get into their car. "It's just the right start for an evening," they say. Immediately they feel at ease, for they have found an interest they both share.

We could report many true anecdotes to illustrate how cigarettes bring people together. One such story was related by a middle-aged lady: "A long time ago, on a steamer, there was a boy I was quite eager to meet... but there was no one to introduce us.... The second day out, he was siting at a table right next to me, and I was puffing away at my cigarette. The ashes on my cigarette were getting longer and longer, and I had no ash tray. Suddenly he jumped up and brought me one. That's how the whole thing started. We are still happily married."

In reality most started smoking while very young either on a dare or just to be kewl with your friends type of thing....

Why did it continue due to that by the time they got over the issue that maybe I'm not so kewl just cause I smoke they were hooked and could not give the habit up.

Yeppiers been there done that smoked caused my friends did it saw others doing it figure it must not be so bad if that many others did it.

Well after smoking for between 20-25 years and finally up to 3 packs a day I was blessed with a granddaughter. But......there was a problem her lungs were not totally in great shape she was born a preemie and under oxygen for a week fighting for her life. She was coming home to live in my house. I had a choice I needed to make in order to promote her living in a healthy environment.

So I made the choice to give up cigarettes in order for my granddaughter to come home to a smoke free environment in order for her lungs to be able to catch up.

Put them down cold turkey the day she was 3 days old it has been 7 years this last January.

The reasons we all start are different as well as the reasons we find to stop. It is something that unless we really want to give them up it is one of the hardest addictions to stop..........

I smoke....because I am addicted.

I smoke because I like it.

I smoke because environmentally it was the 'norm'...parent's smoked, relatives smoked...it was the mature, groan up thing to do.

Is it? Or perhaps you can better understand why people do, despite all of the health risks and warnings, and the social risks involved with smoking. I'm not justifying it at all, but perhaps a clearer picture needs to be painted about why some people do, and why it is such a hard habit to break. We are human beings after all, and we are not second class because we smoke, but it is a hard thing to live with these days, given the current constructs of societal laws regarding this subject. There is nothing truly "glorious" about it, but some of us have fallen victim to nicotine and we will always be slaves to it, until we can kick the habit, and never go back. Yes, I am fully aware of the help programs for quitting, but unfortunately, stress and boredom keep undoing any desire for us smokers to get the help we should get.

Thanks, after reading this I now really need a smoke!!!
Time for a reward....

Wow, that is powerful, Txs, great story, thanks for sharing. I know it must have been difficult for you, but the sacrifice was well worth it. I've always been amazed at "cold-turkey" it works for some but not for others. I went 31 days without it, but I went back to it. Not like it was before, but I still went back to it. The stress and boredom was too much for me to bear, and I went back to it. I am ashamed that I am a smoker, but I would like to one day quit. It's just been very difficult for me, and probably a few other people here too. And the ones that have kicked the habit, I salute you. It is Very Very hard to give up.

"I Like to Watch the Smoke"


In mythology and religion, smoke is full of meaning. Its floating intangibility and unreal character have made it possible for imaginative man to see therein mystery and magic. Even for us moderns, smoke has a strong fascination. To the cigarette smoker, the clouds he puffs out seem to represent a part of himself. Just as most people like to watch their own breath on cold winter days, so they like to watch cigarette smoke, which similarly makes one's breath visible. This explains the emotional attitudes of many toward smoke. "Smoke is fascinating," said one of the people we interviewed. "I like to watch the smoke. On a rainy day, I sort of lie in a haze in the middle of the room and let my thoughts wander while I smoke and wonder where the smoke goes."

The desire to make things is deep-rooted -- and smoke is manufactured by the smoker himself. Smoking provides satisfaction because it is a playful, creative activity. This fact was well stated by one cigarette devotee as follows: "It's a fascinating thing to watch the smoke take shape. The smoke, like clouds, can form different shapes.... You like to sit back and blow rings and then blow another rings through the first ones. You are perfectly relaxed."

I don't anymore!!

To make the ribs, brisket, chicken, and sausage taste better!