Nicotine is really a toxin found in the tobacco plant, and its own main function is to serve as deterrent in terms of insects wanting 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 tobacco smoke. It is due 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 significant preventable cause of death/disease, and also causes a significant amount of premature deaths each 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 considered to be amongst the hardest to break, and even whenever a smoker witnesses the damage that nicotine could cause first-hand, smoking can still be quite difficult to give up. nikotiini pussit While it may be the nicotine that keeps a smoker coming back for more, another constituents present in cigarettes lead to a considerably higher level of cancer, strokes, and heart & lung diseases in smokers. Nicotine dependency can also result in infertility, complications during pregnancy and complications in a newborn baby’s health.
THE CONSEQUENCES of Nicotine:
Not only does nicotine work in the body releasing dopamine, in addition, it 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 around the presence of nicotine within the machine. At this stage, the average person is truly addicted. Attempts to stop using nicotine at this time or later would almost definitely bring about withdrawal symptoms. The protective adjustments made by the brain would make sure that any attempt designed to stop smoking would result in discomfort as the brain’s circuitry senses the lack of nicotine as an underlying cause for concern.
Statistics:
A lot more than fifteen thousand Australians die because of smoking every year, and may be the largest ‘preventable’ reason behind 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. Around the world, 10 % of the adult population smokes; and in america this figure stands at 20%. In the US alone around 440,000 people die each year due to tobacco related illnesses. Now, you can find around 1.3-1.4 billion smokers on the globe, with a large chunk surviving in developing countries. And given the ongoing trends, by 2020 tobacco would take into account approximately 10 million deaths every year.
Factual statements about Nicotine Dependency:
Nicotine is poisonous, and the reason why that reason that a smoker does not immediately die is due to the minuscule levels of nicotine present in each cigarette.
Nicotine is highly addictive, and nicotine dependency is often compared with heroin and cocaine dependency regarding difficulty to quit.
Relapses are quite common in efforts to quit smoking.
Aside from nicotine, cigarettes have over 4,000 different chemicals; a lot 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 go down 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, the majority of the others are ones who’ve passed away due to smoking related illnesses.
Data collected from the ‘Australian Institute of Health insurance and Welfare’ demonstrates almost 80% of the smokers have tried quitting at least once, and in the last year more than 30% have tried stopping.
The Alternatives – Quitting Help:
Nicotine Free Cigarettes:
Nicotine free cigarettes are ones that do not contain any tobacco or nicotine. One can find several 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, due to the various compounds present in these cigarettes, smoking them isn’t entirely safe, with research showing that they too could be carcinogenic.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy:
Nicotine replacement therapy refers to a smoker quitting smoking but utilizing a different medium to get his/her quota of nicotine supply. Different NRT aids include nicotine gums, patches, lozenges, inhalers, and nasal sprays. The use of NRT aids is said to increase the chances of quitting by around 50%, however in order to succeed, additional support that’s provided to the average person in the form of counselling, etc. also play an important role. Whenever a person stops smoking, these aids continue to supply him/her with the nicotine that is required to help keep the withdrawal symptoms away, and the intake of nicotine through this route is regulated and gradually reduced. The utilization of nicotine replacement therapy to quit smoking is normally is 8 to 12 week long exercise.
Even though a growing number of smokers continue to battle their nicotine dependency, more and more people continue to smoke their first cigarette. The feeling of euphoria that’s often linked to smoking is a result of the nicotine present therein, which is what keeps the smoker returning for more. Fortunately that awareness in the general public is increasing, and help battle nicotine dependency is available in various forms. If you wish to fight nicotine dependency and believe that it really is an uphill battle, at least take heart in knowing that there’s a lot of help that you can avail of.
