Nicotine is a toxin within the tobacco plant, and its own main function is to serve as deterrent when it comes to insects wanting to eat the plant. Nicotine is reported to be more lethal than arsenic, venoms of different snakes, strychnine, etc. Interestingly though, once nicotine reaches the reward pathways in the mind, a surge of dopamine is released, leading to the much discussed ‘aah’ factor.
The most common method of nicotine finding its way into our system is through tobacco 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 continues to grow at a reliable pace. However, smoking counts as a significant preventable reason behind death/disease, and also 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 aswell. Nicotine dependency is known as to be between 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 may be the nicotine that keeps a smoker coming back for more, another constituents present in cigarettes lead to a considerably higher rate of cancer, strokes, and heart & lung diseases in smokers. Nicotine dependency may also result in infertility, complications during pregnancy as well as complications in a new baby baby’s health.
THE CONSEQUENCES 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 of time the physical changes build a new ‘neuro chemical’ system which revolves entirely round the presence of nicotine within the machine. At this stage, the individual is actually addicted. Attempts to avoid using nicotine at this time or later would almost definitely result in withdrawal symptoms. The protective adjustments made by the brain would ensure that any attempt designed to stop smoking would bring about discomfort as the brain’s circuitry senses the absence of nicotine as a cause for concern.
Statistics:
More than fifteen thousand Australians die because of smoking each year, and is the largest ‘preventable’ reason behind early death and disease. The percentage of individuals aged over 14 who smoke everyday in Australia has gone down considerably, from 30.5% in 1988 down to 16.6% in 2007. Nikotiinipussit 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 each year due to tobacco related illnesses. Now, you can find around 1.3-1.4 billion smokers on the planet, with a big chunk living in developing countries. And given the ongoing trends, by 2020 tobacco would account for approximately 10 million deaths every year.
Facts about Nicotine Dependency:
Nicotine is poisonous, and the reason why that reason that a smoker will not immediately die is due to the minuscule levels of nicotine within each cigarette.
Nicotine is highly addictive, and nicotine dependency is often compared with heroin and cocaine dependency in terms of difficulty to quit.
Relapses are very 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 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 manage to quit, a lot of the others are ones who’ve passed away because of smoking related illnesses.
Data collected from the ‘Australian Institute of Health insurance and Welfare’ implies that almost 80% of the smokers have tried quitting at least one time, and in the last year 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 several brands in terms of 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 a number of people use them as nicotine cessation aids. However, due to the various compounds within these cigarettes, smoking them isn’t entirely safe, with research showing they too can be carcinogenic.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy:
Nicotine replacement therapy identifies a smoker quitting smoking but using a different medium to obtain his/her quota of nicotine supply. Different NRT aids include nicotine gums, patches, lozenges, inhalers, and nasal sprays. Using NRT aids is said to increase the likelihood of quitting by around 50%, but in order to succeed, additional support that’s provided to the individual by means of counselling, etc. also play an important role. When a person stops smoking, these aids continue steadily to supply him/her with the nicotine that’s needed is to help keep the withdrawal symptoms at bay, and the consumption of nicotine through this route is regulated and gradually reduced. The application of nicotine replacement therapy to give up smoking is normally 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 to smoke their first cigarette. The feeling of euphoria that is 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 everyone is increasing, and help battle nicotine dependency is available in various forms. If you desire 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.
