Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

 WHY PEOPLE SMOKE 
Why do people smoke despite all the evidence showing that it is bad for their 
health? It is not that they are somehow unaware of the link between smoking 
and disease; surveys show that most smokers agree with the statement, “Cigarette 
smoking frequently causes disease and death.” And almost three-quarters of the 
48 million smokers in the United States say they would like to quit. Still, 700,000 
people a year take up the habit (Wetter et al., 1998; Price, 2008). 
Heredity seems to determine, in part, whether people will become smokers, 
how much they will smoke, and how easily they can quit. Genetics also infl uences 
how susceptible people are to the harmful effects of smoking. For instance, there 
is an almost 50% higher rate of lung cancer in African-American smokers than in 
white smokers. This difference may be due to genetically produced variations in 
the effi ciency with which enzymes are able to reduce the effects of the cancer-
causing chemicals in tobacco smoke (Pomerlau, 1995; Li et al., 2003; Li et al., 2008). 
However, although genetics plays a role in smoking, most research suggests 
that environmental factors are the primary cause of the habit. Smoking at fi rst 
may be seen as “cool” or sophisticated, as a rebellious act, or as facilitating calm 
performance in stressful situations. Greater exposure to smoking in media such 
as fi lm also leads to a higher risk of becoming an established smoker. In addition, 
smoking a cigarette is sometimes viewed as a “rite of passage” for adolescents 
undertaken at the urging of friends and viewed as a sign of growing up (Sargent 
et al., 2007; Wills et al., 2008; Heatherton & Sargent, 2009). 
Although smoking is prohibited in an 
increasing number of places, it remains a 
substantial social problem.
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