Nicotine is really a toxin found in the tobacco plant, and its main function would be 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 means of nicotine finding its way into our system is through cigarette smoke. It is due to the nicotine within the cigarette that the act of smoking seems pleasurable. And nicotine is without a doubt the biggest reason that the cigarette industry is growing at a reliable pace. However, smoking counts as a significant preventable reason behind death/disease, and also causes a significant number of premature deaths each year.
Tobacco smoke includes a plethora of chemicals, and nicotine is one of the primary ones. Do know that smokeless tobacco contains nicotine aswell. Nicotine dependency is considered to be amongst the hardest to break, and even when a smoker witnesses the damage that nicotine could cause first-hand, smoking can be quite difficult to quit. While it is the nicotine that keeps a smoker returning for more, the other constituents present in cigarettes lead to a considerably higher rate of cancer, strokes, and heart & lung diseases in smokers. Nicotine dependency can also lead to infertility, complications during pregnancy together with complications in a newborn baby’s health.
The Effects of Nicotine:
Not merely does nicotine work in the torso releasing dopamine, in addition, it activates the pathways that release adrenaline and serotonin, thereby impacting impulsivity and mood. Over a period the physical changes create a new ‘neuro chemical’ system which revolves entirely around the presence of nicotine within the system. At this stage, the average person is truly addicted. Attempts to stop using nicotine at this stage or later would almost definitely bring about withdrawal symptoms. The protective adjustments created by the brain would ensure that any attempt made to stop smoking would result in discomfort because 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 is the largest ‘preventable’ reason behind early death and disease. The percentage of individuals aged over 14 who smoke everyday in Australia went 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 america alone around 440,000 people die every year because of tobacco related illnesses. Now, there are around 1.3-1.4 billion smokers in the world, with a big chunk surviving in developing countries. And given the ongoing trends, by 2020 tobacco would account for approximately 10 million deaths each year.
Factual statements about Nicotine Dependency:
Nicotine is poisonous, and the reason why 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 with regards to difficulty to quit.
Relapses are quite common in efforts to give up smoking.
Apart from nicotine, cigarettes have over 4,000 different chemicals; a lot of which are carcinogenic (cancer causing substances).
Smoking for around 15 years, at about 20 cigarettes per day, should bring about 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).
Each 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 because of 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 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 will discover several brands when it comes to these nicotine free cigarettes, and these cigarettes use various herbs/plants as a base. These cigarettes tend to be used as substitutes to smoking conventional cigarettes, and numerous people utilize 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 using a different medium to get his/her quota of nicotine supply. Different NRT aids include nicotine gums, patches, lozenges, inhalers, and nasal sprays. The utilization of NRT aids is thought to increase the chances of quitting by around 50%, however in order to achieve success, additional support that’s provided to the individual in the form of counselling, etc. also play a significant role. Whenever a person stops smoking, these aids continue steadily to supply him/her with the nicotine that is required to keep the withdrawal symptoms away, and the consumption of nicotine through this route is regulated and gradually reduced. The application of nicotine replacement therapy to quit smoking is normally is 8 to 12 week long exercise.
Even though an increasing number of smokers continue to battle their nicotine dependency, increasing numbers of people continue to smoke their first cigarette. Nikotiinipussit The sensation of euphoria that is often linked to smoking is because the nicotine present therein, and this is what keeps the smoker coming back for more. Fortunately that awareness in the general public is on the rise, and help battle nicotine dependency comes in various forms. So if you wish to fight nicotine dependency and believe that it is an uphill battle, at the very least take heart in realizing that there’s plenty of help that you could avail of.