The Basics on Nicotine Addiction: Is nicotine worth it?
Cigarette smoking is still the number one most preventable cause of death (438,000 yearly!) in the United States today. Centers for Disease Control estimates for 2007 tell us that 20.8% of the U.S. adult population, or 45.3 million people, currently smoke cigarettes.The nicotine in inhaled by tobacco smokers stays in the brain for 7 to 10 seconds. A number of chemical reactions then create temporary feelings of pleasure for the smoker, thus causing the nicotine addiction. As the nicotine level drops in the blood, smokers that need more nicotine feel edgy and agitated. So we light up another cigarette...and then another..and another. And so it goes -- the vicious cycle of nicotine addiction.
In order to quit smoking successfully for the long term, a better understanding of the nature of nicotine addiction should prove helpful in order for us to break free of it. In fact, smokers are often surprised to learn that they are addicted to a substance, simply believing that smoking was just a habit that could be easily stopped by will power when the time came.
Here are some of the substances that are involved in your nicotine addiction:
- Adrenaline - When a person inhales cigarette smoke, the nicotine in the smoke is rapidly absorbed into the blood and starts affecting the brain within 10 seconds. Adrenaline is then released, the "fight or flight" hormone. Physically, adrenaline increases a person's heart rate, blood pressure and restricts blood flow to the heart muscle.These feelings become second nature to long term nicotine users.
- Insulin - Nicotine also inhibits the release of insulin from the pancreas, a hormone that is responsible for removing excess sugar from a person's blood. This leaves the smoker in a slightly hyperglycemic condition, meaning he has more sugar in his blood than is normal.
- Dopamine - Nicotine activates the same reward pathways in the brain that other drugs of abuse such as cocaine or amphetamines do, although to a lesser degree. Research has shown that nicotine increases the level of dopamine in the brain, a neurotransmitter that is responsible for feelings of pleasure and well-being. However, the acute effects of nicotine wear off within minutes, thus the urge for nicotine replenishment.
Statistics show that only a small percentage (approximately 7%) of people hooked in nicotine addiction try to quit smoking without support are still smoke-free a year later.
Recovery from nicotine addiction is a process of gradual release over time. But it sure is worth it: The problem with traditional smoking methods, is that of habit. To attempt to loose your addiction, and your habitual love of smoking at the same time is hugely overwhelming. Electronic cigarettes are now making one possible without the other, and more, the harm we do to ourselves in using traditional tobacco is curbed instantly upon making the switch.
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