I think the main reason it helps people reduce stress is they have to leave a situation to go outside or to another room in order to smoke and they're taking a deep breath. I found the feeling of breathing in the smoke (throat hit I believe it's called) and then breathing it out and seeing the smoke cloud very satisfying. Similar to chewing gum I suppose. Also, I rolled my own filter-less cigs so I had the added element of rolling it and picking out strands of tobacco hanging out of the end whilst smoking as a kind of fidget action. I prefer vaping now and don't think I'd go back to smoking cigarettes regularly but I have started smoking a cigar with a beer some weekends just in the last few months. As some have stated the actual feeling from the nicotine is similar to caffeine but more short lived.

It forces you into addiction. It alters the feel-good hormones in you brain. And every addict will tell you the same thing, their poison will give them relaxation and clears their mind. Same as alcoholic, watching frequent porn, frequent coffee drinker and drug addict. The difference is how strong/mild and how harmful it is to the human body. The more they do it, the more they built up tolerance, hence doing more of the same activity.

People usually start from peer pressure or when they face stressful conditions. And when they do it, it gave them the temporary relief from that stressful condition. But the fact is they're just too weak and their mind too maliable unable to face the stressful condition.

I never smoked for any length. What everyone says is pretty much correct. I did occasionally take a few puffs when I was younger. Did give you a bit of a short rush but also could make you feel bit gross after.

Nasty habit though and seriously hard to break.

Increases risk for periodontal disease.

Because it stops them from feeling like shit because of withdrawal.

I've been smoking a pack a day for the last 12 years or so. At first smoking felt great, these days it only gives me a "high" when I smoke after waking up. Been trying to switch to nicotine pouches instead to break my habits first and then quit nicotine cold turkey.

https://www.scienceabc.com/eyeopeners/how-does-nicotine-act-as-both-a-stimulant-and-a-depressant.html

Nicotine high is very heady and can be relaxing. However the body quickly develops a tolerance and nicotine is physically addictive, meaning that smoking turns from a relaxing voulentary experience to a entirely habitual one that does nothing for you but ruin your lungs really quickly. Most cigarette smokers start in very early teens, by adulthood they haven't had a true nicotine high in years and chainsmoke out of physical addiction. Smoking weed is much healthier by comparison as the high is much 'nicer feeling' to me and is not physically addictive. Smoke is still bad for your lungs but can be mitigated with edibles or dry herb vaporizers. source: parents and many friends were chainsmokers and I picked up the habit for a few months in late teens.

It's easy to get into conversations with strangers.

But the topic is always the same: Habits around smoking and the inability to stop.

Risks from smoking:

• Head or neck cancer
• Lung cancer
• Leukemia
• Stomach cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Pancreas cancer
• Colon cancer
• Bladder cancer
• Cervix cancer
• Stroke
• Blindness
• Gum infection
• Aortic rupture
• Heart disease
• Pneumonia
• Hardening of the arteries
• Chronic lung disease
• Asthma
• Reduced fertility
• Hip fracture

"[Smoking and oral] Tobacco use is the single greatest cause of preventable death globally."