Nicotine is really a toxin within the tobacco plant, and its own main function is to serve as deterrent when it comes to 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 mind, a surge of dopamine is released, resulting in the much discussed ‘aah’ factor.
The most common means of nicotine finding its way into our system is through tobacco smoke. It is owing 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 major preventable cause of death/disease, and also causes a significant amount of premature deaths every 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 also when a smoker witnesses the damage that nicotine could cause first-hand, smoking can still be quite difficult to give up. 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 may also lead to infertility, complications during pregnancy in addition to complications in a new baby baby’s health.
THE CONSEQUENCES 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 of time the physical changes create a new ‘neuro chemical’ system which revolves entirely round the presence of nicotine within the system. At this stage, the average person is actually addicted. Attempts to avoid using nicotine at this time or later would almost definitely result in withdrawal symptoms. The protective adjustments created by the brain would ensure that any attempt designed to stop smoking would bring about discomfort as the brain’s circuitry senses the lack of nicotine as a 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 individuals aged over 14 who smoke everyday in Australia has gone down considerably, from 30.5% in 1988 right down to 16.6% in 2007. Across the world, 10 % of the adult population smokes; and in the US this figure stands at 20%. In the US alone around 440,000 people die each year due to tobacco related illnesses. Now, there are around 1.3-1.4 billion smokers in the world, with a big chunk surviving in developing countries. Nikotiinipussit 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 that reason a smoker will not immediately die is due to the minuscule levels of nicotine present in each cigarette.
Nicotine is highly addictive, and nicotine dependency is often weighed against heroin and cocaine dependency with regards to 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 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 expectancy 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, most of the others are ones who’ve passed away because of smoking related illnesses.
Data collected from the ‘Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’ shows that almost 80% of the smokers have tried quitting at least one time, 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 do not contain any tobacco or nicotine. One will discover many brands when it comes 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 they too can be carcinogenic.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy:
Nicotine replacement therapy identifies 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 said to increase the likelihood of quitting by around 50%, but in order to achieve success, additional support that’s provided to the average person in the form of counselling, etc. also play a significant 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 consumption of nicotine through this route is regulated and gradually reduced. The application of nicotine replacement therapy to quit smoking is generally 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 is often associated with smoking is because the nicotine present therein, and this is what keeps the smoker returning for more. The good thing is that awareness in the general public is on the rise, and help to battle nicotine dependency comes in various forms. So if you desire to fight nicotine dependency and feel that it is an uphill battle, at least take heart in understanding that there’s plenty of help that you may avail of.
