I've been smoking cigarettes for about four years, maybe a little less.
People have told me time and time again that it helps them when they're stressed, and that is the main reason that they have started smoking, and I've seen many people on here say that it helps them with stress, on multiple occasions. All of the things that are in cigarettes, I am sure have never been proven to really help stress.
What does help, is the way that you're breathing when you smoke a cigarette.
Many time when I have been stressed out to an extreme point, out of anger, depression, or both combined I have had a cigarette. I can remember one time when I was coming down off of ecstasy the very first time I tried it, I was extremely depressed and my entire family was disappointed in me because I went out that night to a concert and stayed at my girlfriend at the time's house to do drugs. They didn't know I was there to do drugs, but they did know I should have been at home.
When I was at home, I went outside for a smoke because the stress of it all and coming down off of the drugs was really stressing me out, I smoked one king sized cigarette, and right after I lit another one. I was crying the entire time I was coming down, and that also meant when I was smoking these cigarettes. I'd say it's safe to say I smoked them very fast because of how stressed out I was, so one cigarette just wasn't enough - I was still stressed out, still angry, still depressed. The second cigarette didn't do anything either, I smoked that just as fast as the first one. I wasn't slowing down my breathing whatsoever when I was smoking these two cigarettes. I wanted a third one, but knew that it would be stupid to do that, it was stupid enough smoking one after the other.
Now, lots of people disagree with this, but when I am mad now because of fighting with family or a friend, I will have a cigarette and smoke it at a rate that I will enjoy the cigarette, I can spend up to five minutes smoking one regular cigarette, because I am allowing myself to breathe fresh air while smoking. THIS is what helps with stress. I've never been helped with stress from smoking fast, but when I breath at a slow rate - The stress is gone. Breathing helps with stress, cigarettes don't and never will. There is nothing in them that helps you with stress whatsoever.
Even if it's been reported that there is, which I doubt it, the ultimate thing is how you breathe when you smoke.
So, if any of you are stressed out and somebody around you is smoking and offers you one, or a drag, say no. Just breathe. If you're stressed out and are around a package of cigarettes where you could take one without the smoker's permission and not get caught, don't do it. There is no point. Not only will it not help with stress, but it's the worst addiction you'll ever have, if you do get addicted. It becomes habit, whenever you're stressed you'll want a smoke.
I have never quit smoking since I started, I've tried many times but because of stress I never do. Now that may seem to sort of defeat my message I'm trying to get to you, but it's because of the breathing you do when you smoke a cigarette, that I smoke when I'm stressed.
The cigarette does NOT help you, the breathing you do does. So, just breathe, don't smoke. Anybody who says the cigarette helps them is wrong, if anything they are HALF right, the only thing really helping their stress is themselves.
