from
The Psychology of Everyday Living
by
Ernest Dichter
1947
None of the much flaunted appeals of cigarette advertisers, such as superior
taste and mildness, induces us to become smokers or to choose one brand in
preference to another. Despite the emphasis put on such qualities by
advertisers, they are minor considerations. This is one of the first facts we
discovered when we asked several hundred people, from all walks of life, why
they liked to smoke cigarettes. Smoking is as much a psychological pleasure as
it is a physiological satisfaction. As one of our respondents explained: "It is
not the taste that counts. It's that sense of satisfaction you get from a
cigarette that you can't get from anything else."
Smoking is Fun
What is the nature of this psychological pleasure? It can be traced to the
universal desire for self-expression. None of us ever completely outgrows his
childhood. We are constantly hunting for the carefree enjoyment we knew as
children. As we grew older, we had to subordinate our pleasures to work and to
the necessity for unceasing effort. Smoking, for many of us, then, became a
substitute for our early habit of following the whims of the moment; it becomes
a legitimate excuse for interrupting work and snatching a moment of pleasure.
"You sometimes get tired of working intensely," said an accountant whom we
interviewed, "and if you sit back for the length of a cigarette, you feel much
fresher afterwards. It's a peculiar thing, but I wouldn't think of just sitting
back without a cigarette. I guess a cigarette somehow gives me a good excuse."
Smoking is a Reward
Most of us are hungry for rewards. We want to be patted on the back. A
cigarette is a reward that we can give ourselves as often as we wish. When we
have done anything well, for instance, we can congratulate ourselves with a
cigarette, which certifies, in effect, that we have been "good boys." We can
promise ourselves: "When I have finished this piece of work, when I have written
the last page of my report, I'll deserve a little fun. I'll have a cigarette."
The first and last cigarette in the day are especially significant rewards.
The first one, smoked right after breakfast, is a sort of anticipated
recompense. The smoker has work to do, and he eases himself into the day's
activities as pleasantly as possible. He gives himself a little consolation
prize in advance, and at the same time manages to postpone the evil hour when he
must begin his hard day's work. The last cigarette of the day is like "closing a
door." It is something quite definite. One smoker explained: "I nearly always
smoke a cigarette before going to bed. That finishes the day. I usually turn the
light out after I have smoked the last cigarette, and then turn over to sleep."
Smoking is often merely a conditioned reflex. Certain situations, such as
coming out of the subway, beginning and ending work, voluntary and involunatary
interruptions of work, feelings of hunger, and many others regulate the
timetable of smoking. Often a smoker may not even want a cigarette particularly,
but he will see someone else take one and then he feels that he must have one,
too.
While to many people smoking is fun, and a reward in itself, it more often
accompanies other pleasures. At meals, a cigarette is somewhat like another
course. In general, smoking introduces a holiday spirit into everyday living. It
rounds out other forms of enjoyment and makes them one hundred per cent
satisfactory.
Smoking is Oral Pleasure
As we have said, to explain the pleasure derived from smoking as taste
experience alone, is not sufficient. For one thing, such an explanation leaves
out the powerful erotic sensitivity of the oral zone. Oral pleasure is just as
fundamental as sexuality and hunger. It functions with full strength from
earliest childhood. There is a direct connection between thumbsucking and
smoking. "In school I always used to chew a pencil or a pen," said a journalist,
in reply to our questions. "You should have seen the collection I had. They used
to be chewed to bits. Whenever I try to stop smoking for a while, I get
something to chew on, either a pipe or a menthol cigarette. You just stick it in
your mouth and keep on sucking. And I also chew a lot of gum when I want to cut
down on smoking...."
The satisfied expression on a smoker's face when he inhales the smoke is
ample proof of his sensuous thrill. The immense power of the yearning for a
cigarette, especially after an enforced abstinence, is acknowledged by habitual
smokers. One of our respondents said: "When you don't get a cigarette for a long
time and you are kind of on pins, the first drag goes right down to your heels."
The Cigarette -- A Modern Hourglass
Frequently the burning down of a cigarette functions psychologically as a
time indicator. A smoker waiting for someone who is late says to himself, "Now
I'll smoke one more cigarette, and then I am off." One person explained, "It is
much easier to watch a cigarette get smaller and smaller than to keep watching a
clock and look at the hands dragging along."
In some countries, the farmers report distances in terms of the number of
pipes, as, for example, "It's about three pipes from here to Smithtown."
A cigarette not only measures time, but also seems to make time pass more
rapidly. That is why waiting periods almost autuomatically stimulate the desire
to smoke. But a deeper explanation of this function of smoking is based on the
fact that smoking is ersatz activity. Impatience is a common feature of
our times, but there are many situations which compel us to be patient.
When we are in a hurry, and yet have to wait, a cigarette gives us something to
do during that trying interval. The experience of wanting to act, but being
unable to do so, is very unpleasant and may even, in extreme cases, cause
attacks of nervous anxiety. Cigarettes may then have a psychotherapeutic effect.
This helps to explain why soldiers, waiting for the signal to attack, sometimes
value a cigarette more than food.
"With a Cigarette I Am Not Alone"
Frequently, our respondents remarked that smoking cigaretees is like being
with a friend. Said one, "When I lean back and light my cigarette and see the
glow in the dark, I am not alone any more...." In one sense, a cigarette seems
to be something alive. When it is lighted it appears to be awakened, brought to
life. In a French moving picture (Daybreak) the hunted criminal, played
by Jean Gabin, holds out as long as he has his cigarettes. He barricades himself
against the police and stands siege courageously for some time -- until his last
cigarette is gone. Then he gives up.
The companionable character of cigarettes is also reflected in the fact that
they help us make friends. In many ways, smoking has the same effect drinking
has. It helps to break down social barriers. Two smokers out on a date light up
a cigarette as soon as they get into their car. "It's just the right start for
an evening," they say. Immediately they feel at ease, for they have found an
interest they both share.
We could report many true anecdotes to illustrate how cigarettes bring
people together. One such story was related by a middle-aged lady: "A long time
ago, on a steamer, there was a boy I was quite eager to meet... but there was no
one to introduce us.... The second day out, he was siting at a table right next
to me, and I was puffing away at my cigarette. The ashes on my cigarette were
getting longer and longer, and I had no ash tray. Suddenly he jumped up and
brought me one. That's how the whole thing started. We are still happily
married."
"I Like to Watch the Smoke"
In mythology and religion, smoke is full of meaning. Its floating
intangibility and unreal character have made it possible for imaginative man to
see therein mystery and magic. Even for us moderns, smoke has a strong
fascination. To the cigarette smoker, the clouds he puffs out seem to represent
a part of himself. Just as most people like to watch their own breath on cold
winter days, so they like to watch cigarette smoke, which similarly makes one's
breath visible. This explains the emotional attitudes of many toward smoke.
"Smoke is fascinating," said one of the people we interviewed. "I like to watch
the smoke. On a rainy day, I sort of lie in a haze in the middle of the room and
let my thoughts wander while I smoke and wonder where the smoke goes."
The desire to make things is deep-rooted -- and smoke is manufactured by the
smoker himself. Smoking provides satisfaction because it is a playful, creative
activity. This fact was well stated by one cigarette devotee as follows: "It's a
fascinating thing to watch the smoke take shape. The smoke, like clouds, can
form different shapes.... You like to sit back and blow rings and then blow
another rings through the first ones. You are perfectly relaxed."
"Got a Match?"
Some of the appeals of a lighted cigarette derive from the appeals of fire
in general. Fire is the symbol of life, and the idea of fire is surrounded by
much superstition. In this connection, it is interesting to note that traces of
superstition can be seen in the smoking habits of modern man. For instance some
people never will light three cigarettes on one match. It is said that this
superstition is based on experiences during World War I. As three soldiers were
lighting up the third man was hit when the light of a match flared up for the
last time. Our custom of lighting another smoker's cigarette for him may
sometimes have an erotic significance, or it may serve as a friendly gesture.
Match and cigarette are contact points.
Smoking Memories
Certain moments in our lives are closely linked with cigarettes. These
situations often leave on people's memories an important imprint never to be
forgotten. Here is such an occasion, described by an office clerk of twenty-one.
"...I can remember the moments when I returned home - no matter how late - after
having been out with a girl on a Saturday night. Before going to bed, I'd sit on
the fire escape for a while and enjoy a smoke. I'd turn around so that I could
see all the smoke going up. At the same time, the windows would be bright with
lights on the other side of the courtyard. I would watch what the people were
doing. I would sit, and watch, and think about what my girl and I had talked
about and what a nice time we had had together. Then I'd throw the cigarette
away and go to bed. I feel these were really the most contented moments in my
life...."
"I remember one time we were in North Africa on a trip and it was evening,"
said one of our respondents, a nurse about twenty=seven years of age. "During
the day, I had noticed there was a lovely spot to sit, across the way from the
hotel where we were staying. I went there at night, and sat looking at the stars
and the tall cypresses illuminated against the night sky. I was far away in my
thoughts. I was thinking of God and the beautiful world he had made. The smoke
from my cigarette rose slowly into the sky. I was alone, and at the time I was a
part of all the world around me...."
Smoking Mannerisms
Usually the way we smoke is characteristic of our whole personality. The
mannerisms of smokers are innumerable. Some people always have cigarettes
drooping from their mouths. Others let the cigarette jump up and down in their
mouths while they are talking. Men sometimes complain about the way women smoke:
"A lot of women blow out the smoke with a gust of wind, right into your face.
They just puff it at you." Some men, when they want to appear to be aggressive,
hold their cigarettes with thumb and forefinger so that the glowing end shows
toward the palm of the hand.
Often smokers will assume a pose, because they have found that it fits their
personality best, or at least they think so. A not too modest glamor girl
revealed to us some of her "smoking secrets": "I think it looks so much better
to smoke with a holder. I studied that very carefully. Don't you think I'm
somewhat of a Latin type? It all really depends on what type you are.... I
always have holders that are long and dark. I think a long holder is somewhat
like a big hat: it's alluring and 'don't dare come close' at the same time."
While every smoker has to go through the motions of lighting and inhaling
the smoke, the way in which these acts are carried out varies according to his
mood. The nervous smoker has a faster smoking tempo than the relaxed one. The
angry smoker blows the smoke in an aggressive way, almost as if he were trying
to blow somebody down. A smoker who is about to ask for a raise in salary will
press his lips tightly around the cigarette as if to gain courage by holding it
that way.
"Smoking Helps Me Think"
The mind can concentrate best when all outside stimuli have been excluded.
Smoking literally provides a sort of "smoke screen" that helps to shut out
distractions. This explains why many people who were interviewed reported that
they cannot think or write without a cigarette. They argued that moderate
smoking may even stimulate mental alertness. It gives us a focal point for our
attention. It also gives our hands something to do; otherwise they might make us
self-conscious and interfere with mental activity. On the other hand, our
respondents admit that smoking too much may reduce their efficiency.
Cigarettes Help Us to Relax
One shortcoming of our modern culture is the universal lack of adequate
relaxation. Many of us not only do not know how to relax, but do not take time
to learn. Smoking helps us to relax because, like music, it is rhythmic. Smoking
gives us a legitimate excuse to linger a little longer after meals, to stop work
for a few minutes, to sit at home without doing anything that requires effort.
Here is a nostalgic comment contributed by a strong defender of smoking: "After
a long day's work, to get home and sit in a chair and stretch my legs 'way out,
and then to sit back and just smoke a cigarette and think of nothing, just blow
the smoke in the air - that's what I like to do when I've had a pretty tough
day." The restful effect of moderate smoking explains why people working under
great stress use more tobacco.
"I Blow My Troubles Away"
In times of high tension, cigarettes provide relief, as indicated by the
following typical comments of one of our respondents: "When I have a problem,
and it comes back and back, warningly saying, 'Well, what are you going to do
about this?' a cigarette almost acts like a consolation. Somehow it relieves the
pressure on my chest. The feeling of relief is almost like what you feel in your
chest after you have cried because something has hurt you very much. Relaxing is
not the right kind of word for that feeling. It is like having been in a stuffy
room for a long time and at last getting out for a deep breath of air." That
man's explanation comes very close to stating the scientific reason why smoking
brings relief. Worry, anxiety, depress us not only psychologically but also
physiologically. When a person feels depressed, the rhythm of his breathing
becomes upset. A short and shallow breath creates a heavy feeling in the chest.
Smoking may relieve mental depression by forcing a rhythmic expansion of the
breast and thus restoring the normal pace of breathing. The "weight on the
chest" is removed.
This connection between smoking and respiration accounts for the common
expression, "Smoking helps us to let off steam." When we are enraged, we breathe
heavily. Smoking makes us breath more steadily, and thus calms us down.
Cigarette Taste Has to Be Acquired
Most people like the smell of tobacco but dislike the taste of a cigarette.
Frequently we were reminded that "a cigarette never tastes as good as it smells.
One usually very much dislikes his first cigarette. Taste for cigarettes must be
acquired slowly. And whenever a smoker tries out a new brand, with a lightly
different taste, he finds that he has to repeat this process of becoming
accustomed to the taste. Often smokers who say they do not like the taste of
certain brands really mean that they are not accustomed to it. Few advertisers
of cigarettes realize that it takes time for a smoker to change his taste
habits. No matter how pleasant the taste qualities of a brand may seem to be, at
first the unaccustomed taste will be disliked. One of our respondents made the
following interesting comment on this point: "I went to Bulgaria once and was
forced to smoke Bulgarian cigarettes. I tried one brand after another till I had
gone through five brands. Finally, the sixth brand seemed to be perfect. I
discovered much later that any of the other brands might have become my
preferred brand if only I had tried it in the sixth place. It just took me that
long to learn to appreciate Bulgarian tobacco."
How Many a Day?
Despite all the millions spent on comparing the potentially harmful effects
of different brands of cigarettes, our respondents seemed very little concerned
about this matter. But all of them, even those who do not smoke excessively,
worry abbout the quantities they smoke. Scientific and medical studies on the
physiological effects of smoking provide a confused picture: Some conclude that
smoking is harmful; others deny it. This same confusion prevails among smokers
themselves. Nevertheless, all of them worry about smoking too many cigarettes,
as shown by the fact that nearly everyone has tried, at one time or another, to
"cut down on" smoking. "I'll tell you something I do," one smoker confided. "I
give up smoking cigarettes every year for one month, and I say to myself that
I'll prove to myself I can still do without them." Periodic abstemiousness of
this kind indicates an underlying feeling of guilt. Such individuals really
think that constant smoking is not only harmful, but also a bit immoral. Efforts
to reduce the amount of smoking signify a willingness to sacrifice pleasure in
order to assuage their feeling of guilt.
The mind has a powerful influence on the body, and may produce symptoms of
physical illness. Guilt feelings may cause harmful physical effects not at all
caused by the cigarettes used, which may be extremely mild. Such guilt feelings
alone may be the real cause of the injurious consequences.
The First Cigarette
Much of this guilt feeling can be traed directly to one's first cigarette,
which the older generation remember as a forbidden and sinful thing. Their
fathers considered the habit an educational problem, whereas many parents
nowadays have adopted a "modern" attitude toward smoking. Here is what one such
father said: "I told my son I thought he was a little young... He is seventeen.
It might not do him any harm to wait another year or two. Then I remembered my
own first cigarette and what awful stuff I had to smoke in secret. In a way, my
son is lucky to be able to start with a good cigarette without running the
danger of ruining his health. I gave him a pack of the brand I smoke."
Most of us remember vividly the first cigarette we smoked. "I certainly
remember my first cigarette," said one of our respondents. "We were a bunch of
boys on our way to a football game. I had trouble lighting my cigarette, and at
that moment a man passed by and yelled at me: 'Throw that cigarette away, you
rascal!' I was so shocked and frightened that I obeyed his command without
hesitation. But only a few minutes later, I lighted another one just to
demonstrate to myself that I was not afraid.
"No, Thanks, I'll Smoke My Own"
This is the reply of most smokers when they are offered a brand different
from their own. Brand loyalty among smokers is strong and persistent.
Individuals smoke one brand consistently, so that they become identified with
it. A guest who discovers that his host smokes the same brand considers this a
personal flattery. If a young lady changes to the brand of an admirer, he
understands that he has surely made an impression. Here is the experience of one
young man, and his interpretation of it: "I was very fond of a girl. She was
giving a farewell party before leaving the country. I didn't have any idea how I
stood in her affection. The only clue was that at her party she had my brand of
cigarettes. I always felt that that was in deference to me." "My brand" has a
special significance, as if it were a part of the smoker's credo and
personality.
A Package of Pleasure
A new pack of cigarettes gives one a pleasant feeling. A full, firm pack in
the hand signifies that one is provided for, and gives satisfaction, whereas an
almost empty pack creates a feeling of want and gives a decidely unpleasant
impression. The empty pack gives us a feeling of real frustration and
deprivation.
During the seventeenth century, religious leaders and statesmen in many
countries condemned the use of tobacco. Smokers were excommunicated by the
Church and some of them were actually condemned to death and executed. But the
habit of smoking spread rapidly all over the world. The psychological pleasures
derived proved much more powerful than religous, moral, and legal persuasions.
As in the case of the prohibition experiment in the United States, repressive
measures seem to have aroused a spirit of popular rebellion and helped to
increase the use of tobacco.
If we consider all the pleasure and advatnages provided, in a most
democratic and international fashion, by this little white paper roll, we shall
understand why it is difficult to destroy its power by means of warnings,
threats, or preachings. This pleasure miracle has so much to offer that we can
safely predict the cigarette is here to stay. Our psychological analysis is not
intended as a eulogy of the habit of smoking, but rather as an objective report
on why people smoke cigarettes. Perhaps this will seem more convincing if we
reveal a personal secret: We ourselves do not smoke at all. We may be missing a
great deal.