Would you start something that could lead to a bad habit, such as drinking or smoking, if every one of your family or friends do it?

Everyone in my family smoked where I grew up: grandmother, grandfather, great aunts and uncles, cousins, etc. Saturday night was card night. They would all sit around the diningroom table puffing away. The smoke was so think you could see it just hanging there in the air.

We found it annoying as children but now when I think about it - I find the thought of it makes me sick. Of course back then - second hand smoke was not a common household term.So who knew. But what I did know was that growing up around that made me never want to do it.

We had only a few relatives with drinking problems. These people would be talked about quietly when they weren't around. So, I didn't really have any role models there but again not something I wanted to do, even when friends started in high school.

I'm not sure why really I was not easily influenced by these bad behaviors. I guess some people are and some aren't. I'm glad I didn't get involved in any of that.

My one addiction is probably sugar. That's about all the vice I want.

No you should only start bad habits if you want to. The best thing to think about before you start is will this kill me. Everyone who wants to start smoking should walk through a cancer ward.

Look at the shape of the people and look at the shape of the people standing in the hallway crying who loved the smokers. For drinkers take a walk through the Bowery(or whatever it is in your town) and stop and talk to the people. You'd be surprised to find some of the bumbs once had real lives.

After that realize they could be you.

I did start drinking, and I did start smoking -- precisely because all my friends did it. If I had it to do over, then I would not have started. Thankfully, I quit both years ago.

Smoking is disgusting. My mouth tasted like an ash tray all day, and especially in the morning when I woke up. Not to mention it is expensive, and it takes up all your time.

You spend about 20% of the time you are awake on smoking. Drinking gets expensive, too, if you do it to excess.

I never had much sympathy for people who whined that they were addicted to nicotine, drugs or whatever. They knew it was addictive when they did it the first time, and are there really any people left who don't know what smoking and doing drugs can do to you? Alcohol is a little bit more of a slippery slope in my mind, because unlike cigarettes, small doses are actually good for you, and most people don't get addicted.

Anyway, I think as human beings we need to be responsible for ourselves and make good choices. If those around us are starting to influence us in another way, it's our obligation to find a different group of people. If it's your family, obviously you're not just going to cut all ties, but you can create a community around you that will support your good choices.

If your friends are dirt bags, the solution is new friends, not to become a dirt bag.

I did start smoking when I was younger because my friends did. After watching my mother die of lung cancer I quit. Now that I'm older there is no way I would!

Sorry for using an old cliché but that's like watching your friends jump off a bridge and then you doing it too.

I most certainly would not start up any habit that I know would likely be hazardous to my health at some point in the future. I come from a family in which both my parents smoked and growing up, I witnessed most of my friends in high school revert to smoking as well. I am proud to say that I was probably the only one in my circle of close friends who did not light up (but was apparently still considered cool enough to keep hanging out with this crowd).LOL.

When I was of age, my mother even offered me a cigarette “just to try� Every now and then, and I thankfully declined, because I could not stand the smell of tobacco. To this day, I am very sensitive to second-hand smoke and feel very irritated when somebody smokes close to me.

Drinking is a similar story. I just don’t think you should jump of the cliff just because the rest of your family has done so. Sure, growing up in such a family would likely predispose you to some level of cigarette or alcohol exposure, which could then result in your engaging in the habit as well, since witnessing your family members smoking all their lives could lead you to believe that smoking or drinking are normal activities that all families engage in.

However, I think in my case observing my mother and father smoke deterred me from ever starting up the habit myself. I think the same would be true in a circle of friends. Just because all your friends are drinking or having a cigarette does not mean you have to automatically follow along blindly.

Actually, not participating makes you stand out and help make an important point. You may just influence one of the followers to not light up or have a drink the next time he/she doesn’t really feel like it but feels obligated to oblige the offers of his/her friends.

I wouldn't do something just because my friends do it. In fact, I choose my friends by looking for people who share my ideals to start with. Of course, enjoying certain things like alcohol in moderation doesn't have to lead to a bad habit, but I wouldn't even try something once if I wasn't sure I was doing it for my own reasons.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.