Pressure

[Intoxicated]

My Friends are getting into Smoking, and they have 18 year old friends who can buy cigarettes for them. then we hang out under bridges, ( i dont smoke ) and chat. were only 13, although im not sure wether to join them or not. they keep begging me to try it, but i dont want to. they say it " Feels good for the soul " but i dont know. so im afraid if i try it id get hooked on it, and it could ruin my life. what should i do?

Don't post in red, it's reserved for staff members to post in (for edits like this). ~ Mike/ImCoolBeans

[Wooba]

Cigarettes aren't going to ruin your life..maybe just your lungs.
Getting into smoking is your option and your option only. However seeing that you're posting about people pressuring you into doing it, i'd advise against it.
Don't let other people make choices for you.

[Intoxicated]

Cigarettes aren't going to ruin your life..maybe just your lungs.
Getting into smoking is your option and your option only. However seeing that you're posting about people pressuring you into doing it, i'd advise against it.
Don't let other people make choices for you.

Wow, I never thought of it from that perspective. thanks!

[HEN_iP]

One thing that's scaring me off peer pressure to smoke is the long term effects of smoking. Cancers, strokes and just a general lowering of health is definitely off-putting. My grandparents died due to smoking and alcohol and I definitely do not want to end up like them.

Also, I don't really think your current/future boy/girl friend would really appreciate someone with smoker's breath. Unless he/she smokes of course.

[DerBear]

Other than that being the most painful thing to read in my life. You reallty should not do it. I mean it ain't get no benefits. People who smoke it is their own choice but its funny because a lot of smokers will tell you not to do it.

Overall it is your choice. However my personal recommendation would be no you shouldn't start smoking.

[Human]

You're just getting pressured into it, from another 13 year old boy to another 13 year old boy, I wouldn't smoke normal cigarettes.

[johngotti]

im gonna say dont do it, but if you want to give it a try to impress em or somthing, just do it and dont inhale. thats what i do when someone gives me a cig, i just swish the smoke in my mouth so it comes out then and looks realistic.

[Silver Fox]

My Friends are getting into Smoking, and they have 18 year old friends who can buy cigarettes for them. then we hang out under bridges, ( i dont smoke ) and chat. were only 13, although im not sure wether to join them or not. they keep begging me to try it, but i dont want to. they say it " Feels good for the soul " but i dont know. so im afraid if i try it id get hooked on it, and it could ruin my life. what should i do?

I'd severely recommend to not smoke, think of the consequences. You might never age to 70, see your kids if you want any, see man land on mars :P and think about the people who you will hurt if you die. All the pain that you will cause, for what? To fit in with someone you may not even know in a couple of years. And honestly, if they are pressuring you into doing something that they know will hurt you in the long run, are they really your friends? As I would never ask my friend to do that.
But if you want to smoke, then do it, just be aware of the consequences, and make sure your doing it for you, not so that you can 'fit in.'

[Thanatos]

As someone who was in the same position as you. I'll tell you about my friends and hopefully you can learn from our group.

I have always been the 'good boy' of the group. The good student, the rule follower, etc. So when my friends first got into cigarettes, ti was natural that I was the only one who didn't. I spent more then one trip to the mall with my friends sitting in the cold of the parking lot while they smoked. More then once they offered me and told me how fun it was, but I refused. Over and Over again. I had sworn to my parents, both of whom were addicted to cigarettes for years, that I would never try it. That was my 8th grade and freshman year.

Then came 10th grade, and weed. Suddenly they found a funner drug with "fewer health risks", etc. Still I refused, and again I spent time after time with them getting stoned and me having to remind them of where we were, etc. More then one trip to Wendy's to settle the munchies, and more then one time of my friends passing out on my bed.

Senior year rolls around and now my friends have come to accept that I don't smoke. Whenever we're out and someone else offers me a hit, they say I don't smoke before I even can. They respect me for sticking to my guns and not giving into the pressure, one of them even told me he wished he did what I did. Then comes that day in October.

After school me and my friends go to the pizza place down the street, the people who work there know us as the stoner group. My friends light up and we all eat. This day I get a text from my mom telling me to call her, which is usually limited to when I'm in serious trouble. She answers the phone in tears, and tells me that a very close family friend, and even closer personal friend for me, had lost his father to a heart attack. That was it for me, I broke down. After hanging up with my mom I begged my friend to give me a hit, anything to cheer me up or get my mind off this. He refused. In my moment of desperation, my constant refusal had built up such a respect for my wishes, that they realized I was acting in desperation and helped me to stick to my principles.

Now I'm not saying smoking is horrible and wrong, or something to look down upon. 3/4 of my best friends smoke weed and cigarettes. What I'm saying is, make your own choice on what you want to do and stick to it. If your friends are really your friends they will respect your choice, and respect you for not just being a follower. It may take a little while for them to see it, but they will understand.

[Hunterman711]

I can tell you from ex. That smoking sux, I burns your throat and can sometimes make u vomit. It's a bad idea to smoke I tried it once and I'll never do it again. And not only does it destroy your lungs it causes you to not be able to play sports because it reacts to the body in extremely harmful ways seriously don't smoke