The first cigarette smoked usually occurs in early adolescence. Among boys and girls aged 14-16, every second smokes. Adolescents are the most vulnerable part of society subject to this addiction.
Instructions
Step 1
Despite an active anti-smoking campaign, promotion of a healthy lifestyle and a number of bans, adolescents continue to be the most active group of smokers. Moreover, not only young men, but also girls smoke. All of them are well aware of the dangers of smoking, of the irreparable damage that a cigarette causes health and beauty, but they still continue to smoke. There are several reasons why this happens.
Step 2
Reason one: riot. Teens love to protest. It doesn't matter what their protest is against. At a young age, a person begins to defend his personality, to know himself, to compare himself and others. But what if there are no special achievements, and the young man feels that there is still nothing to respect him for? Rebellion and protest is the easiest way to assert yourself. Are parents and teachers banning smoking? Is the government fighting smoking? Excellent. Violating the ban, a teenager feels like a hero, asserts his “I”: after all, he goes against parents, teachers and even the state!
Step 3
Reason two: fear of being "not like everyone else." Adolescents are highly suggestible and highly dependent on the opinions of their peers. If everyone is smoking, and a cigarette is an integral part of a friendly meeting or a date, the teenager will inevitably imitate others. After all, he is afraid to be ridiculed, "black sheep". And with the help of a cigarette it is so easy to become "your own" in any company!
Step 4
The third reason: the desire to seem more masculine or more feminine. The false standards of masculinity and femininity that adolescents draw from books, films and advertisements make the cigarette synonymous with masculinity in boys and attractiveness in girls. Lighting a cigarette, the boy begins to feel like a man; the girl is a femme fatale. After all, many literary and cinematic characters, from which teenagers take an example, smoke!
Step 5
The fourth reason: smoking parents. Often, teenagers smoke simply because it is the custom in their family. If mom and dad smoke, why not smoke a child? If the parents allow themselves something, then the child will all the more copy the parental behavior.
Step 6
And finally, the fifth and main reason: self-doubt. Teenagers just get to know the world, they are no longer children, but they are not adults either, so adult life is frightening and at the same time beckoning. The teenager is still very vulnerable, fragile, not sure of himself. A cigarette gives you confidence, both physically and mentally. This is an easy and affordable and, as it seems to a teenager, a safe way to relax, feel like an adult, self-sufficient and worthy of respect.
