They started smoking when working at the mines, on boats, or when they worked hospitality, or when they hang out with a certain friendship group. Saying yes that first time, allows it to begin and develop. Because you're often in that context due to work/life you will come up against that decision point again and again, quickly becoming addicted through repetition. But what keeps you there for life is the craving for nicotine.
So abstinence is a worthwhile goal still, and especially if the opportunity to smoke comes up at somewhere you'll be regularly.
When you leave that context, all you've got left is a costly habit that's a pain to quit.
But, not saying yes at that point might have cost you some chances to socialize and create some bonds with other smokers.
And you can still find places where being a smoker will help you socialize. Ex: in places where smoking is banned in bars, going out for a smoke is a pretty good way to start up a conversation with a perfect stranger.
Some coworkers at my old work quit smoking and also had to give up coffee. The connection was so strong they couldn't have one without the other. And the socializing out back in the smoking area was also a big part of it.
It also can cause friction at work. I've worked with smokers who are practically bouncing with energy. But they were crabby and combative when their nicotine levels were low. Then ten minutes later back to bouncy and cheery, it was exhausting to be around. I also estimated the 10 or 15 minute smoke breaks meant that my coworker made $5/hour more than me when were actually paid the same rate. He was adamant they were not breaks it was just a "quick smoke" but he was gone for 10 or 15 minutes every hour.
That doesn't sound right; the pattern I've generally seen for pack(s)-a-day people is they take similar smoke breaks as pack-a-week people -- something like once every few hours. But they'll smoke multiple cigarettes in that break. This would also make sense if you imagine nicotine decrease rate as constant, but number of cigarettes required to hit "satisfied" as steadily-increasing, though I don't know if that's the case.
Additionally, IME, smoking or not, I've noticed that most people follow the pattern of
1. Do a decent chunk of work for a few hours 2. Dick around for 20 minutes, especially if they just finished something notable
where that 20 minutes get spent on coffee breaks, smoke breaks, chatting around, etc.
Most of the "hard workers" spend more total hours, not more continuous hours, as far as I've seen. Of course, intentional abuse of the break is another matter, but that's independent of smoking
By comparison 3 heavily medicated days in the hospital plus 1 week on heavy Opiods and 2 weeks light Opiods and that’s a vastly lesser craving. So, no addiction is not really just about long term exposure.
PS: Addiction is also not simply a habit, though habits make addiction harder to deal with.
Nicotine can be just as harmless as caffeine. Personally I don't find nicotine very addictive at all, but even if it were super addictive it's all about how you consume it. [1] Nobody cares about how many people are addicted to caffeine, because the main consumption method of caffeine is pretty safe (coffee).
Caffeine is actually mixed with meth in ya ba (popular in Thailand) [2], but that doesn't mean that caffeine ruins lives. When you say that nicotine is deadly you're conflating the drug with something completely separate. It's sort of like saying that air is deadly, because it could kill you if you inject a lot of it into your veins.
At this point I'm just happy I can breathe properly.
I can smoke a cigarette or cigar socially, periodically, have done so for years, and never experience a craving. However, alcohol calls to me like Odysseus's sirens.
I have friends who are precisely the opposite: hopelessly jonesing for cigarettes, but have no problem grabbing a few beers a month with friends.
This is not merely anecdata - individual susceptibility has been documented in the literature, as well.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171010124112.h...
my friend is trying to quit and i hope he does , his health is sub-par.
In that context, certain things that may seem benign to try can easily progress into a stronger habit, then a dependency and pave the way to a real addiction.
I was taught this growing up, but I don't really believe it anymore. Nobody is addicted to drugs or alcohol or cigarettes just from one use. The people who become addicted are the ones who are using it to escape their lives, and continue to use the drug for the same reason they used it in the first place. After a while of this continued use, then they might become addicted. But the significant factor is their environment and mental state, not that they decided to try something once.