What Makes a Teen Interest in Smoking?

Cigarettes are a rolled tobacco that has been coated with paper, leaves, or corn husks and are full of compounds like nicotine.

Our immediate surroundings are currently filled with many smokers. In close proximity to schools, public buildings, and even while driving their vehicle, they smoke.

Many other people, particularly teenagers, are drawn to cigarettes as a result of similar circumstances. What motivates this teen's interest in smoking, then?

1. Environmental Aspects 

Teens' conduct and character can be significantly influenced by the world around them. Teenagers are quite accustomed to the phrase "smoking."

According to figures from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), 28.96% of Indonesians aged 15 and over would smoke in 2021. But how do they start smoking?

One example of these is adults. Smokers frequently fail to realize that they are smoking in front of several individuals, including babies, young children, teenagers, pregnant women, and even the elderly. Despite the fact that smoking is unhealthy, it can set a terrible example for the seers. Parents are frequently the primary role models for teen smoking.

2.  Own Condition

In addition to the world around us, there are other factors, such as our own condition. Teenagers are in the process of growing up and becoming adults. Teenagers' minds become immature as a result, and they have a propensity to become unstable and believe that what is truly wrong turns out to be right. Teenagers frequently observe their parents, siblings, or friends smoking. They concluded that doing this was both the right and the normal thing to do as a result. Considering that he believed the elder's figure to be exactly correct.

3. Friendship

It can cause teenagers to start smoking by starting with friendship. The teenager initially declines the invitation to try it, but eventually agrees to smoke since he doesn't want his mates to feel bad. Teenagers require approval or acknowledgment from their surroundings. He will feel appreciated and liked by his mates when smoking. Another reason could be because kids think smoking is cool, that it makes them appear older, and that they desire lots of friends.

4. Stress Reliever

"Smoking can be meaningful to promote focus, eliminate tiredness, familiarize the environment, so that a sense of brotherhood grows," said Sarafino (Nasution, 2007). Habits, good emotional responses, responses to emotional decline, social factors, addiction or addiction, sadness, and stress can all lead to this. These characteristics start to show themselves when they are teenagers, and stress might result from some of these causes. Teenagers are too young to know whether or not what they are doing is right. Due to their inability to develop the necessary problem-solving abilities and ethical decision-making, stressed out teenagers are far more prone to start smoking as a coping mechanism (Santrock, 2002).

5. Addicted

In cigarettes there is a chemical in the form of nicotine that comes from tobacco. Nicotine has a temporary pleasurable effect. This effect not only makes a feeling of comfort but also dependence.

When people smoke nicotine will be absorbed by the body. In the brain nicotine will release dopamine, which is a chemical that can improve mood and cause feelings of satisfaction.

In fact, nicotine can only leave our bodies after 72 hours of quitting smoking.  Therefore, it will take roughly 2-3 months after quitting smoking for you to become free of your nicotine addiction.