Why do people still smoke?

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Not me. But my younger sister.

I can remember the first I've caught her.
Can't recall when exactly, but she was still in elementary.

Unsure if she continued. Never had evidence when she start habitually started smoking.

But it became obvious just about 4 years ago. She's rather attached to vaping.
Does the label of her flavor/scent have nicotine? Undefined.


Is she stressed? Yes.
Is she addicted? Unsure.



But I can explain how addiction and habit works.
It doesn't matter what the flavor is or the negative reasoning like how unhealthy and how expensive it is. The brain craves it.

And then there's withdrawal.
On top of that, there's also habit and coping mechanisms.
Again, it mattered not what drawbacks -- just wander a little -- there's cue, craving, response, reward...

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Both of my parents are/were heavy cigarette smokers, my dad was up to three packs a day at one point, but he was also of the older generation having been born in the 1930s, so that wasn't unusual at the time. It's definitely an addiction for them, my dad tried to quit multiple times and never could make it stick, where as my mom manages to quit for years at a time, and then picks it up again when things get too stressful, and even a vape isn't giving her what she needs.

I smoke cigars myself, as does my brother, and it's purely for personal enjoyment, I liken it to collecting and enjoying whiskies from around the world, it's a hobby that lets me experience unique flavors, and I do like a little nicotine from time to time to sharpen my thoughts. I can go months without smoking though, given the rainy season in the PNW I don't have many good smoking opportunities for a good chunk of the year, as a cigar is usually a 60-90 minute commitment, and chain smoking them would be neither enjoyable nor affordable, as I don't bother with cheap cigars since it's all about the experience for me.

My father was a four-pack-a day smoker. He quit cold turkey in 1964, after the famous Surgeon General's report I'm not sure---but he might have suffered some ill effects of his past smoking when he developed respiratory problems just before he passed away in 2018.

My mother was a substantial smoker, a couple of packs per day, until the 1980s. She quit just before she got breast cancer in 1986. She's recently been diagnosed with lung cancer.

I never inhaled cigarette smoke. I "smoked" a cigarette butt when I was about 9; didn't like it. I inhaled marijuana once when I was 18.

I just don't like any sort of smoke in my system. I'm lucky that way.