I was against smoking (well, I sorta still am, in a way) my whole life, but I was also very desensitized to it. My parents smoked a couple packs a day, you could smoke in all restaurants, malls, airplanes (I remember when they made it illegal to smoke on planes. People were pissed, I knew it made sense). I often went to the store at the age of 8 to get my parents a pack of smokes. I was a sick kid too, lots of ear infections and stuff.

I started for no reason at all. Maybe you could say peer pressure, but it was more "might as well." I was away at camp. We were allowed to smoke if our parents signed a permission form. There was a specific smoking tent. All my friends smoked, but I said no thanks, for awhile.

Curiosity, indifference...that's why I started.