Social Learning Theory On Smoking

Submitted By cricket1977
Words: 877
Pages: 4
Open Document
Smoking is a biological addiction, with nicotine as addictive as cocaine and heroin. However, there is more to being hooked on cigarettes than the physical addiction to nicotine. When people want to quit, they also have a psychological habit to break. Social learning theory describes how we learn by example from others. We are strongly influenced by our parents, and other people we look up to, such as peers, actors and pop stars. This can lead us to emulate their behavior and try smoking. There is an almost immediate effect on our brains with those first cigarettes, so we keep smoking to get this reward. Later we learn to associate smoking with other activities such as drinking coffee, going to the bar, etc. We can become conditioned so just the thought of the activity triggers the need for a cigarette, just like Pavlov's dogs learned to drool at the sound of a bell. These psychological associations remain when smokers try to quit. Finally, you learn to keep smoking, because if you try to quit you are punished by withdrawal symptoms - irritability, snappiness, lack of concentration. Having a cigarette gets rid of these symptoms, negatively reinforcing the desire to carry on smoking. Such conditioning keeps you hooked on smoking because the reward when you smoke is instant, whereas it takes years before you become aware of the damage in terms of your health. Similarly, when you try to quit, the 'punishment' of withdrawal symptoms comes quickly, whereas the benefits of better health take longer to realize.

Although smokers sometimes claim they are more productive than nonsmokers because smoking allows them time to reflect on their work goals, smokers overall are less productive. A 2007 Tobacco Journal study by Peter Lundborg of University of Amsterdam found that smokers took 11 more sick days than nonsmokers did -- eight days when you factor in variables like a smoker's tendency to take more risks and have poorer health. There are other indirect effects on productivity, such as an increased rate of early retirement in smokers. Allowing smoking in the workplace also forces nonsmokers to inhale toxic chemicals from cigarettes. Secondhand smoke increases the cost to insure nonsmokers, because it is a verified source of lung cancer for nonsmokers, according to the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General. Smoking costs employers $97 billion a year in lost productivity and secondhand smoke an additional $10 billion, according to the CDC. The average health insurance policy for smokers costs businesses an additional $300 per year in premiums in constant 1983 dollars. The typical employer incurs an extra $45 a year in injury and compensation costs per smoker. Smokers also do about $10 in damage per smoker per year in fire damage, according to Action on Smoking and Health. Some employers, such as Whirlpool and PepsiCo, charge workers several hundred extra dollars in insurance premiums because of their high-risk to the company.

Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) is an excellent resource for providing consultation and guidance for your supervisors and managers as well as professional assistance for your employees. EAP offers free, confidential assistance to stop tobacco use. Services include free face-to-face sessions for assessment, intervention and referral to community resources. Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the US, yet more than 46 million Americans still smoke. However, more than half of these smokers have attempted to quit for at least one day in the past year. Quitting smoking is hard, but you can increase your chances of success with help. Educating yourself, making a plan, using online resources, enlisting the help of family and friends, and talking to your
Show More

Related Documents: Social Learning Theory On Smoking

Substance Abuse Essay

one to argue that there is a biological and/ or genetic influence on substance abuse and addiction. I personally feel that by doing that we are providing abusers and addicts with a scapegoat and taking away from the belief that all behaviors are learned. I am a firm believer that all behaviors are learned and not just those that society does not agree with. However, I do agree that youths that grow up in homes where a substance is being abused is the norms are at a disadvantage. However that is…

Words 450 - Pages 2

Substance Abuse Essay

Substance Abuse Many people that drink alcohol or use drugs constantly don’t realize that they are a substance abuser. They don’t know what the effects the drugs and alcohol do to them. Some people do know but don’t seem to care. Substance abusers can cause a lot of danger in certain situations. Should people know if they are a substance abuser and the effects they get from using it? Yes, they need to understand that they are a substance abuser and what is at risk if they keep abusing a substance…

Words 946 - Pages 4

Substance Abuse In Canada

ecstasy” (Hammond et al., 2011, p. 7). The reason as to why I chose the topic of Substance Abuse Prevention for my site is because this is something that has affected many of my own family members and friends. I truly believe that almost everyone deals with excruciating circumstances while growing up, and these circumstances might heavily influence someone’s life who might be vulnerable to their experiences. Substance abuse is…

Words 536 - Pages 3

Substance Abuse Essay

Substance Abuse When you are talking about the different views on substance abuse you are talking about the sociocultural view, cognitive - behavioral view, psychodynamic view, and the biological. Each of these views believes that that something different causes individuals to have problems with substance abuse. Sociocultural view on substance abuse says that individuals have a substance abuse problem because of pressure from their peers, stress from everyday life, as well as economic problems…

Words 844 - Pages 4

Substance Abuse In The Elderly

and alcohol than most generations, and it has become more acceptable among us to use substances to cure things (www.parenting.com/elder-care/substance-abuse-in-the-elderly-a-growing-problem/). It scares me to know that I can be-come a statistic of being one of the 17 percent of the senior population who will be a substance abuser. In this paper I will discuss my research and give my reflection on substance abuse of the elderly and explain what and how it affects our adult population, the elderly…

Words 1320 - Pages 6

Controlled Substance Abuse

the various categories of controlled substances described by federal law? What is a dangerous drug? Controlled substances are defined as drugs that have the potential for abuse; the federal Controlled Substances Act regulates these drugs. Controlled substances are divide into five categories, which are called schedules, Schedule I, Schedule II, Schedule III, Schedule IV, Schedule V. Schedule I substances have no medical use and have a high potential for abuse like LSD, and ecstasy. Schedule II are…

Words 518 - Pages 3

Substance Abuse Essay

Substance Abuse It is a fact that most people who have an alcohol or drug addiction now, most likely were introduced to the substance as a teen or even younger. Substance abuse is the excessive use of potentially addictive drugs or alcohol, which can and will harm your bodily functions. Many people who begin abusing substances don’t realize how dangerous the substances are. Before they know it, they are abusing drugs and alcohol daily, and their abuse has become a problem. Substance abuse is…

Words 955 - Pages 4

Substance Abuse Essay

Overwhelmingly, the recipients of the violence are women and the perpetrators are men. It is clear that women do sometimes abuse men and that violence can occur in lesbian and gay relationships. But the overriding majority of domestic violence incidents consist of men abusing, intimidating and violating women whom they know intimately and often profess to love. Women have been…

Words 15086 - Pages 61

Substance Abuse In Prison

Treatment for substance abuse issues are over looked in the jail and prison system. This paper will consider how and why substance abuse treatments should be provided. It will also explore what types of treatment are effective in this setting and how people can change if treatment is addressed. A focus on rehabilitation will help prevent returning to the prison system repeatedly. Most often incarceration is the first time offenders have their substance abuse identified while they are incarcerated…

Words 576 - Pages 3

Substance Abuse Essay

Substance abuse is a growing problem that not only affects the person who is abusing alcohol or drugs but affects the lives of those who are close to the abuser. Substance abuse is the abuse of any substance. A drug is a substance that modifies one or more of the body’s functions when it is consumed. Everything from over-the-counter pain medication, to opiates, prescription drugs such as Oxycontin, alcohol, cocaine, heroin and even coffee can be abused in one way or another. The two main substances…

Words 1869 - Pages 8