Nicotine is a toxin within the tobacco plant, and its own main function would be to serve as deterrent in terms of 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 human brain, a surge of dopamine is released, resulting in the much spoken about ‘aah’ factor.

The most common means of nicotine finding its way into our system is through tobacco smoke. It is due to the nicotine within the cigarette that the act of smoking seems pleasurable. And nicotine is without a doubt the prevailing concern that that the cigarette industry is growing at a steady 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 contains a plethora of chemicals, and nicotine is one of the primary ones. Do know that smokeless tobacco contains nicotine aswell. Nicotine dependency is known as to be amongst the hardest to break, and also whenever a smoker witnesses the damage that nicotine can cause first-hand, smoking can be quite difficult to give up. While it may be the nicotine that keeps a smoker returning for more, another constituents present in cigarettes result in a considerably higher level of cancer, strokes, and heart & lung diseases in smokers. Nicotine dependency can also lead to infertility, complications during pregnancy as well as complications in a newborn baby’s health.

THE CONSEQUENCES of Nicotine:

Not merely does nicotine work in the torso releasing dopamine, it also 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 actually 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 make sure that any attempt designed 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 every year, and may be 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 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 america alone around 440,000 people die each year due to tobacco related illnesses. Now, there are around 1.3-1.4 billion smokers on the planet, with a large chunk living 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 frequently weighed against heroin and cocaine dependency with regard to difficulty to quit.
Relapses are quite common in efforts to give up 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 each 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).
Each month, tobacco companies in Australia lose around 12,000 customers. While around 10,000 manage to quit, most of the others are ones who have passed away due to 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 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 in terms of 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 a number of people use them as nicotine cessation aids. However, owing 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 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 use 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 individual 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 at bay, and the consumption of nicotine through this route is regulated and gradually reduced. The usage 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 sensation of euphoria that is often associated with smoking is because the nicotine present therein, which is what keeps the smoker coming back for more. Fortunately that awareness in the general public is increasing, and help battle nicotine dependency is available in various forms. So if you desire to fight nicotine dependency and feel that it is an uphill battle, at the very least take heart in understanding that there’s a lot of help that one could avail of. nikotiini pussit