Israeli Researchers Uncover Why Smokers Don’t Stop, Risk-Taking Not The Reason

Even though the ill-effects of smoking tobacco in the form of cigarettes is common knowledge, then why do smokers still continue to smoke, without even making an attempt to quit.

In an attempt to understand why smokers continue to persist with the habit, a team of researchers from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and Hebrew University of Jerusalem conducted a study and published their findings in PLoS One.

Based on the finding of their study, they rejected the accepted notion that the reason why smokers continue to smoke tobacco is because they are prone to take more risks compared to non-smokers. The authors of the study explained why this isn’t so, in saying, “Some evidence suggests that smokers do take more risks than nonsmokers. They are more often involved in traffic accidents, less likely to wear seat belts and more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior. Women who smoke even have mammograms less frequently than their nonsmoking counterparts. But we don’t believe that smokers have a greater tolerance for risk.”

Instead, they believe that why smokers do not quit is because they do not consider long-term outcomes and are unable to defer instant gratification, thanks to a lack of self-control.

In fact, the researchers went on to find the root cause by modifying a game called the “Iowa gambling task”. What was revealed was that smokers were not able to stay away from activities that were profitable but turned out to be a disaster in the long run.

These findings also indicate the pointlessness of emphasizing the long-term health risks of smoking but instead highlighting the immediate inconvenience of this habit. The researchers believe that smoking bans as well as high taxes can deter smokers from continuing this dangerous habit.