Nicotine is really a toxin found in the tobacco plant, and its own main function would be to serve as deterrent with regards to insects attempting 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 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 continues to grow at a steady pace. However, smoking counts as a significant preventable cause of death/disease, and in addition causes a significant amount of premature deaths every year.
Tobacco smoke includes a plethora of chemicals, and nicotine is one of the primary ones. Can say for certain that smokeless tobacco contains nicotine aswell. Nicotine dependency is known as to be amongst the hardest to break, and even 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 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 may also lead to infertility, complications during pregnancy and also complications in a newborn baby’s health.
The Effects of Nicotine:
Not only 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 build a new ‘neuro chemical’ system which revolves entirely round the presence of nicotine within the machine. At this stage, the individual is truly addicted. Attempts to avoid using nicotine at this stage or later would almost definitely bring about withdrawal symptoms. The protective adjustments made by the brain would make sure that any attempt made to stop smoking would result in discomfort because the brain’s circuitry senses the absence of nicotine as an underlying 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 people aged over 14 who smoke everyday in Australia went down considerably, from 30.5% in 1988 right down to 16.6% in 2007. Across the world, ten percent of the adult population smokes; and in the US this figure stands at 20%. In the US alone around 440,000 people die every year due to tobacco related illnesses. Now, you can find around 1.3-1.4 billion smokers on the planet, with a big chunk surviving in developing countries. And given the ongoing trends, by 2020 tobacco would account for approximately 10 million deaths every year.
Factual statements about Nicotine Dependency:
Nicotine is poisonous, and the reason that reason a smoker does 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 regarding difficulty to quit.
Relapses are quite common in efforts to quit smoking.
Apart from nicotine, cigarettes have over 4,000 different chemicals; many 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, 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’ 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 not contain any tobacco or nicotine. One can find many brands with regards to these nicotine free cigarettes, and these cigarettes use various herbs/plants as a base. nikotiinipussit netistä 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 can 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 usage of NRT aids is said to increase the chances of quitting by around 50%, however in order to succeed, additional support that is provided to the individual by means 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 help keep the withdrawal symptoms away, and the intake 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 an increasing number of smokers continue to battle their nicotine dependency, increasing numbers of people continue steadily 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 coming back for more. The good thing is that awareness in everyone is on the rise, and help battle nicotine dependency is available in various forms. If you wish to fight nicotine dependency and feel that it is an uphill battle, at the very least take heart in realizing that there’s a lot of help that one could avail of.
