Edit: note, I haven’t smoked myself, so this is second hand info
Like seriously
Short term it
calms you
let’s you focus
feels good
can be used fairly consistently while leaving you capable to do work
is minimally intensive to use, just requiring cigarettes and a lighter/match/fire of some sort
Compare that to alcohol or drugs and such. The only thing comparable is tea/coffee.
Long term it
gets you seriously addicted
Gives you over a dozen different cancers and other diseases
massacres your lungs
And so on, not to mention what it does to underage smokers.
And I get why it happens medically, and I’m not denying it [obviously]. But it’s almost on par with those random creeks filled with brain eating amoebas. Like, if there is a god, why did they decide to design earth like that?
For most it’s a coping mechanism. The fact that it’s much lighter than weed makes it so it won’t completely stop your day for a couple hours, but it’s also easier to access and use than anxiety medication.
Most people under capitalism already don’t expect to live long fulfilling lives, so the health trade-offs seem “acceptable” in the moment. I would probably not smoke if I had a more relaxed life or had any hopes of retirement.
I’m definitely it’s no longer viewed as a glamorous thing, though. We should treat it like it is, palliative for a dying society.