
Nicotine effects
Nicotine is an addictive substance found in cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, and smokeless tobacco.
When a smoker inhales the smoke from a cigarette, the nicotine speeds to the brain within about 10 seconds, causing it to release epinephrine (also known as adrenaline). This epinephrine release creates a rush type of feeling in the user. Although the effect is nearly immediate, the nicotine continues to act on the body for as long as 30 minutes. The nicotine also causes the release of dopamine from the brain, a neurochemical that has effect of pleasure. On average, a person who smokes 40 cigarettes a day will receive 400 hits of nicotine to the brain.
The addiction effect of nicotine is also the reason why it is so difficult for many smokers to stop smoking. When the body is used to receiving nicotine on a regular basis, and it is not provided, for whatever reason, then the individual will experience withdrawal symptoms, such as irritability, insomnia, and difficulty in paying attention to anything else.
Other effects of nicotine, such as headaches and stomach pain, may also occur. The withdrawing smoker may also experience some psychiatric symptoms, such as depression or anxiety. Some individuals who stop smoking will also experience an increased appetite, which is a key reason why many people, especially women, fear giving up smoking; they think they will gain a great deal of weight. Some people do gain about five pounds or so, and a few people gain a significant amount of weight. An additional consideration is that nicotine may boost the basal metabolic rate, leading to a slowing of the metabolism during an unknown period following nicotine cessation.
Stress or anxiety also affects the action of nicotine on the body, causing the tobacco user to need greater quantities of nicotine to achieve the same effect. Thus the smoker who is under stress and says that he or she has a need to smoke more is reporting a common reaction. Unfortunately, a sustained increased level of smoking will create a greater need for nicotine, even when the person is no longer in a stressful environment or situation.
Because of the intense hold that nicotine has on many smokers, one therapy that works for some individuals is NICOTINE REPLACEMENT THERAPY. This provides decreasing effects of nicotine and enables a withdrawal from smoking. Smokers, however, must keep in mind that using a nicotine replacement therapy—such as a skin patch, gum, or another form of nicotine replacement—while also continuing to smoke is very dangerous. Even among people who have smoked for years, the combination of cigarettes and the nicotine replacement therapy can has effect of nicotine poisoning.
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