Nicotine is really a toxin within the tobacco plant, and its own main function is to serve as deterrent in terms of insects wanting 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, leading to the much spoken about ‘aah’ factor.
The most common means of nicotine finding its way into our bodies 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 prevailing concern that that the cigarette industry continues to grow at a steady pace. However, smoking counts as a significant preventable reason behind death/disease, and also causes a significant number of premature deaths every year.
Tobacco smoke includes 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 amongst the hardest to break, and even 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 coming back for more, another constituents present in cigarettes result in a considerably higher rate 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 newborn baby’s health.
THE CONSEQUENCES of Nicotine:
Not merely 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 the physical changes build a new ‘neuro chemical’ system which revolves entirely round the presence of nicotine within the machine. At this stage, the average person is actually addicted. Attempts to avoid using nicotine at this stage or later would almost definitely result in withdrawal symptoms. The protective adjustments made by the brain would make sure that any attempt designed to stop smoking would bring about discomfort as the brain’s circuitry senses the lack 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’ cause of early death and disease. The percentage of individuals 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 america 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 on the planet, with a large chunk surviving in developing countries. 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 why that reason a smoker does not immediately die is due to the minuscule quantities of nicotine present in each cigarette.
Nicotine is highly addictive, and nicotine dependency is frequently compared with heroin and cocaine dependency regarding difficulty to quit.
Relapses are very common in efforts to give up 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 span would decrease 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. parhaat nikotiinipussit 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 once, 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 many brands with regards 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 a number of people utilize 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 could 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. 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 is provided to the individual by means of counselling, etc. also play a significant role. Whenever a person stops smoking, these aids continue to supply him/her with the nicotine that’s needed is to 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 quit smoking is normally is 8 to 12 week long exercise.
Even though an increasing number of smokers continue to battle their nicotine dependency, more and more people continue to smoke their first cigarette. The sensation of euphoria that is often associated with smoking is because the nicotine present therein, and this is what keeps the smoker coming back for more. The good thing is that awareness in the general public is on the rise, and help to battle nicotine dependency is available in various forms. If you desire to fight nicotine dependency and feel that it really is an uphill battle, at the very least take heart in knowing that there’s a lot of help that one could avail of.