Smoking is defined by the Oxford English dictionary as “the action or habit of inhaling and exhaling the smoke of tobacco or a drug." This habit, in the long run, can cause an addiction to smoking, a vice whose negative externalities on society are still very much the bone of contention in many policy makers’ debates. Addiction to smoking can occur in a cornucopia of ways. However, external social influences coupled with the built-up dependency on nicotine seem to be the major culprits. Smoking usually begins at the experimental stage of adolescence and is typically influenced by an individual’s social circle. Studies conducted by Oxford’s Health Education Research have shown that peer pressure is by far the strongest predictor of smoking progression. This can be attributed to the innate need to “fit in” which, in turn, compels the individual to mirror their peer’s actions. This establishes one’s position as a member of the group by epitomising and characterising the group’s beliefs and traits, in this case, smoking. In addition to peer pressure, parental influence plays a major role in smoking progression. Many studies have shown that there is a higher propensity for smokers’ offspring to pick up smoking as compared to those of non smokers. A study done by the Harvard School of Public Health embodies this point: it states that “the likelihood of offspring smoking initiation increased with the number of smoking parents and the duration of exposure to parental smoking." When offsprings see their parents smoke, they unwittingly deem the deed acceptable. Parental influence and behaviour may cause children to view smoking as appropriate or normative. Subsequently as the children get older, they tend to be attracted to smoking, thus predisposing them to the addiction. Now that we have established the social factor and its role in instigating or perhaps encouraging effects on an individual, we must now examine what mak