Nicotine is really a toxin within the tobacco plant, and its main function is to serve as deterrent with regards 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, leading to the much spoken about ‘aah’ factor.
The most common method 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 prevailing concern that that the cigarette industry is growing at a reliable 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 includes a plethora of chemicals, and nicotine is one of the primary ones. Can say for certain that smokeless tobacco contains nicotine as well. Nicotine dependency is considered to be amongst the hardest to break, and even when a smoker witnesses the damage that nicotine can cause first-hand, smoking can still be quite difficult to quit. While it is the nicotine that keeps a smoker returning for more, the other constituents within 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 in addition to complications in a new baby baby’s health.
The Effects 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 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 truly addicted. Attempts to avoid using nicotine at this time or later would almost definitely bring about withdrawal symptoms. www.puffandpouch.com The protective adjustments created by the brain would make sure that any attempt made to stop smoking would result in discomfort as the brain’s circuitry senses the absence of nicotine as a cause for concern.
Statistics:
A lot more than fifteen thousand Australians die due to 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 down to 16.6% in 2007. Around the world, 10 % of the adult population smokes; and in america this figure stands at 20%. In america 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 globe, 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.
Facts 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 within each cigarette.
Nicotine is highly addictive, and nicotine dependency is often compared with heroin and cocaine dependency when it comes to difficulty to quit.
Relapses are quite 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 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 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. While around 10,000 have the ability to quit, almost all of the others are ones who have passed away because of smoking related illnesses.
Data collected from the ‘Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’ implies that 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 do not contain any tobacco or nicotine. One can find a variety of brands with regards to 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 utilize them as nicotine cessation aids. However, owing to the various compounds within 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 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 usage of NRT aids is thought to increase the chances of quitting by around 50%, but in order to succeed, additional support that’s provided to the average person by means of counselling, etc. also play an important role. When a person stops smoking, these aids continue steadily to supply him/her with the nicotine that is required to help keep the withdrawal symptoms at bay, and the intake 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 an increasing number of smokers continue to battle their nicotine dependency, increasing numbers of people continue steadily to smoke their first cigarette. The sensation of euphoria that’s often linked to smoking is a result of the nicotine present therein, and this is what keeps the smoker returning for more. Fortunately that awareness in everyone is on the rise, and help battle nicotine dependency comes 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 realizing that there’s a lot of help you could avail of.