Now ask yourself, "If smoking cigarettes is that bad, why do so many people do it?" Some smokers may not have known the dangers involved in cigarette smoking until after they started, but by then it's too late: they are already hooked, because cigarettes are extremely addictive. Another reason is peer pressure. Some kids' friends pressure them when they say it's cool to smoke. Sometimes, too, this same type of influence is found in advertising. Make-believe people like "the Marlboro Man," "Joe the Camel," and others do cool things and act important while smoking, just to get you to think that if you smoke this brand, you can do these things too. This isn't true. These people are not real and the things they do are made up.