In my case, and this the US, I had friends who smoked.

I was curious, bummed one, and once I got past the coughing I really enjoyed the effects, that said by the time you no longer get the "high" (for lack of a better word) you're addicted.

Fast forward 20 years and I'm still trying to quit.

Quit for 5 years cold turkey, but... Shit went down in almost every facet of my life, and I went back.

But I'm down to about a pack a week.

One in the morning, one on the road to work, and one or two during my shift if time allows.

Just need to kick it for good.

Edit: To correct typos

It's not necessarily that smoking is a larger percentage of the population. It varies, but stats show a similar percentage more or less... it is a bit higher in Europe on average than in the US on average — but both places are large with varied amounts of smokers. It's more that people are outside near each other more in Europe.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/smoking-rates-by-country

In Europe they're walking down the street, sitting outdoors at cafes, hanging out in the city center, etc. Whereas in the US, people are often driving from place to place to go to a destination, so you don't notice the smoking as much. Plus, smoking sections are a concept that exists in the US (even outside), whereas they don't in Europe. Thankfully, in much of the US and EU, most places are finally non-smoking indoors now.

This is a gross overgeneralization. It's different in different parts of the US and different parts of Europe, of course.

(FWIW: I totally agree with you that it's gross. And it's far too common to run into in Europe.)

Why smoking remains so prevalent. I’m sure it’s not a majority that smokes, but it is massively more common anywhere I’ve been in Europe than here in the US. I live in a fairly large city and I will go many days in a row without seeing a single person smoking.

I just don’t really get it. It’s gross, it smells, it ruins your teeth and your lungs, and it’s expensive. Why do it?

this is the same in asia. sometimes people don't even smoke, they just smoke because their boss does it and they do it to fit in at work. it's really awful.

Not the case in northern Europe by the way. I'm just as shocked when visiting countries in mid/south Europe

It really depends on the area, in some places smoking isnt really normalized anymore, in some places its the norm

In the USA less than 9% of the population smokes now. It's probably around ~7% at this point. It's crazy that we keep putting out laws like it's a massive issue. The reality is alcoholism is way worse than it's ever been yet it's still allowed to advertise on the TV and they can sell fruity flavors...but think of the children when it comes to tobacco...

There are laws against smoking in public places and cigarettes are expensive. Those who smoke are in it for themselves, not a European thing.

I'm not at a level of expertise where I can say for sure how much of an effect they've had, but part of the resolution of that lawsuit in the US where it was determined that the tobacco industry knew tobacco was addictive and caused cancer was that the industry had to establish a fund that was earmarked for anti-smoking advertisements. Those commercials by the Truth Initiative warning kids about the dangers of nicotine? At least partially funded by big tobacco.