Nicotine is a toxin found in the tobacco plant, and its main function would be to serve as deterrent in terms of insects attempting to eat the plant. Nicotine is said to be more lethal than arsenic, venoms of different snakes, strychnine, etc. Interestingly though, once nicotine reaches the reward pathways in the human brain, a surge of dopamine is released, leading to the much spoken about ‘aah’ factor.
The most common method of nicotine finding its way into our system is through cigarette smoke. It is owing to the nicotine present in the cigarette that the act of smoking seems pleasurable. And nicotine is undoubtedly the prevailing concern that that the cigarette industry is growing at a steady pace. However, smoking counts as a major preventable cause of death/disease, and in addition causes a significant amount of premature deaths every year.
Tobacco smoke contains a plethora of chemicals, and nicotine is amongst the primary ones. Do know that smokeless tobacco contains nicotine as well. Nicotine dependency is known as to be between the hardest to break, and also when a smoker witnesses the damage that nicotine can cause first-hand, smoking can still be quite difficult to give up. While it is the nicotine that keeps a smoker returning for more, the other constituents present in cigarettes result in a considerably higher level of cancer, strokes, and heart & lung diseases in smokers. Nicotine dependency can also result in infertility, complications during pregnancy as well as complications in a newborn baby’s health.
The Effects of Nicotine:
Not only does nicotine work in the body releasing dopamine, it also activates the pathways that release adrenaline and serotonin, thereby impacting impulsivity and mood. Over a period the physical changes build a new ‘neuro chemical’ system which revolves entirely round the presence of nicotine within the system. At this stage, the individual is actually addicted. Attempts to avoid using nicotine at this stage or later would almost definitely bring about withdrawal symptoms. The protective adjustments made by the brain would ensure that any attempt made to stop smoking would bring about discomfort as the brain’s circuitry senses the absence of nicotine as an underlying cause for concern.
Statistics:
More than fifteen thousand Australians die due to smoking each year, and may be the largest ‘preventable’ cause of early death and disease. The percentage of people aged over 14 who smoke everyday in Australia has gone down considerably, from 30.5% in 1988 down to 16.6% in 2007. Across the world, 10 % of the adult population smokes; and in america this figure stands at 20%. paras nikotiinipussi In america alone around 440,000 people die each year because of tobacco related illnesses. Now, there are around 1.3-1.4 billion smokers in the world, with a large chunk surviving in developing countries. And given the ongoing trends, by 2020 tobacco would take into account approximately 10 million deaths each year.
Factual statements about Nicotine Dependency:
Nicotine is poisonous, and the reason that reason a smoker will not immediately die is because of the minuscule quantities of nicotine present in each cigarette.
Nicotine is highly addictive, and nicotine dependency is frequently weighed against heroin and cocaine dependency regarding difficulty to quit.
Relapses are quite common in efforts to quit smoking.
Apart from nicotine, cigarettes have over 4,000 different chemicals; many of which are carcinogenic (cancer causing substances).
Smoking for about 15 years, at about 20 cigarettes each day, should result in about one kg of tar in a smoker’s lungs.
A regular smoker’s life span would decrease by around 7 to 8 years (at about 7 to 8 minutes per cigarette).
Every month, tobacco companies in Australia lose around 12,000 customers. While around 10,000 have the ability to quit, almost all of the others are ones who’ve passed away due to smoking related illnesses.
Data collected from the ‘Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’ demonstrates almost 80% of the smokers have tried quitting at least once, and within the last year a lot more than 30% have tried stopping.
The Alternatives – Quitting Help:
Nicotine Free Cigarettes:
Nicotine free cigarettes are ones that not contain any tobacco or nicotine. One will discover a variety of brands with regards to these nicotine free cigarettes, and these cigarettes use various herbs/plants as a base. These cigarettes are often used as substitutes to smoking conventional cigarettes, and numerous people use them as nicotine cessation aids. However, owing to the various compounds present in these cigarettes, smoking them isn’t entirely safe, with research showing that they too can be carcinogenic.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy:
Nicotine replacement therapy refers to a smoker quitting smoking but utilizing a different medium to obtain his/her quota of nicotine supply. Different NRT aids include nicotine gums, patches, lozenges, inhalers, and nasal sprays. The application of NRT aids is said to increase the likelihood of quitting by around 50%, however in order to succeed, additional support that’s provided to the average person by means of counselling, etc. also play a significant role. When a person stops smoking, these aids continue steadily to supply him/her with the nicotine that’s needed is to keep the withdrawal symptoms away, and the consumption of nicotine through this route is regulated and gradually reduced. The use of nicotine replacement therapy to give up smoking is generally is 8 to 12 week long exercise.
Even though a growing number of smokers continue to battle their nicotine dependency, increasing numbers of people continue steadily to smoke their first cigarette. The feeling of euphoria that is often associated with smoking is a result of the nicotine present therein, which is what keeps the smoker coming back for more. The good thing is that awareness in everyone is increasing, and help battle nicotine dependency is available in various forms. If you wish to fight nicotine dependency and believe that it is an uphill battle, at the very least take heart in knowing that there’s a lot of help that one could avail of.
