From the beginning of nicotine addiction to the bitter end of a person’s life because of it, mountains of information about quitting smoking and smokeless tobacco reveal findings that may surprise you. Instead of beating the “quit smoking” drum forever with little results, the information in these pages will help the reader begin to understand the absolute truth about nicotine. Becoming addicted is only part of the problem. Learning how to prevent addiction in the first place is a powerful first step. Prevention is easy compared to the ensuing battles of kicking nicotine addiction. Up-to-date information that makes the reader understand precisely what to expect with addiction and its aftermath will end up confused and disheartened without it. We must disseminate this information among all people, young and old.
Table of Contents
Why is nicotine addictive?
Often we hear nicotine addiction discussed in one of two contexts. The first is that of physical dependence on it. In its most basic form, physical addiction suggests the body cannot function normally without nicotine. Without it, the body begins to compensate but not before it begins to resist the loss of the substance. The physical withdrawal from nicotine is not as violent as with drugs or alcohol but is uncomfortable at best. Some well-known symptoms include the inability to sleep through the night, tiredness during waking hours, migraine-like headaches, insatiable appetite, and overall irritability. Fortunately, these are relatively short-lived on the physical side, but the lingering physiological effects of nicotine addiction last for months, years or even a lifetime.
Once the withdrawal symptoms subside and the body begins to adjust to its new addiction-free existence, the cravings for nicotine begin to rule the day. They are the main reason people relapse into nicotine addiction. Most people who relapse blame the unending desires as the number one cause and feel powerless to stop them.
Nicotine is a substance occurring naturally in a family of plants known as “Solanaceae.” Nicotine acts on the central nervous system and binds to nicotinic receptors (NCRs) in the body, which in turn causes the release of neurotransmitters, such as dopamine.
The smoke from tobacco contains substances known as MAOs or monoamine oxidase inhibitors. The enzymes within these MAOs are responsible for the “feel-good” neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Tobacco smoke causes an increase in the movement of the neurotransmitters, which in turn causes the NCRs to produce more dopamine, leading to more cravings for nicotine. Inside the adrenal medulla (adrenal gland), nicotine binds to the NCRs and causes an increase in the amount of calcium that is infused into cells. The result is the release of adrenaline, which causes an increase in blood pressure, heart rate and blood sugar.
How addictive is nicotine?
To understand nicotine’s stronghold on the body, let’s consider what happens inside the body when nicotine is present. It’s not generally well-known that one of the natural protections from insects that plants have is nicotine, and it has been used extensively as an insecticide that is so toxic it’s blamed for the large-scale killing of honey bees. Equal amounts of nicotine and strychnine have proven to be as deadly as strychnine. A remarkable chance finding is that nicotine’s chemical signature is very similar to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine and is capable of “unlocking” locks inside the brain and permitting direct and indirect control of a host of neuro-chemicals, one of which is dopamine.
Dopamine Pathways
To understand nicotine addiction is one of the brain’s main motivators to entice the craving sensation and insatiable desire to satisfy the craving. This motivator is dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain associated with creating the appetite and is what keeps sending signals to satisfy the desire. Dopamine is what makes us feel satisfied after completing a task. It’s that sense of relief when a big project is done or we feel accepted by our peers, for example.
Speaking of dopamine, it’s responsible for making us want food and cranks up our desire in anticipation of getting food. As you may already know, starving ourselves in this way only leads to more hunger, eventually becoming a craving for food. The craving subsides once we’re eating and the stomach’s reaction to the food finally tells the brain the stomach is full. This event of satisfying a passion for food is recorded in the brain, and it teaches you to be more attentive the next time it occurs. The brain’s technique of permanently committing to our conscious memory dopamine pathway neuro-transmissions is responsible for this.
Nicotine Gum Addiction
As we all know by now, smoking is bad and terrible. But, trying to quit and to “stay quit” is another story altogether. The nicotine-addicted smoker knows how offensive secondhand smoke is, but too often, the craving for nicotine is too strong and usually wins out even in uncomfortable social situations. Who created an entire industry several years ago to combat the addiction to nicotine and smoking. The industry is centred on nicotine-laced gum.
When chewed, nicotine gum releases a small amount of nicotine that is absorbed into the bloodstream via the tissues inside the mouth. Often, just one piece of gum releases nearly the same amount of nicotine as one or two cigarettes. Gum is hugely popular for those addicted to nicotine, either from smoking or using smokeless tobacco. While the reason for using nicotine gum to quit these behaviors is clear, it doesn’t come without its own set of possible negative side effects.
Nicotine addiction all over again!
Fortunately for millions of tobacco users, the advent of nicotine gum presented an effective means to end their tobacco use once and for all finally. Unfortunately, the regular use of the gum eventually led to another form of nicotine addiction. The gum removed the effects of smoking or chewing tobacco, but the nicotine addiction took hold in another form and presented yet another uphill battle to overcome.
Nicotine has harmful effects, already discussed in this article. The physical effects of excessive use of nicotine gum include incessant hiccups, constricted throat muscles and gum disease due to reduced blood flow to the gums. However, quitting the gum is known to be easier than quitting smoking, and Who can use the same techniques with success? As always, it’s imperative that setting and sticking to a goal of quitting nicotine is treated with the same determination as quitting smoking.
What makes nicotine so addictive?
To answer this question, consider a scenario where a chemical foreign to the body is introduced into the bloodstream but is small enough to make its way through the brain’s filters, capable of triggering dopamine pathways. This is precisely what happens with nicotine addiction over time. The continued use of nicotine eventually creates an insatiable need for nicotine in the individual and can trick the mind into believing nicotine is more important than eating. The dopamine produced by the brain provides that calming feeling when the craving is satisfied, as short-lived as this might be until another cigarette is needed. The trick is to understand what is happening and take steps to stop it. As with drug addiction, nicotine addiction treats the body the same way when the satisfied feeling starts to fade. The need for more only gets stronger if the body detects a shortage of nicotine, all thanks to dopamine. However, Who can cure the urges and addiction? It isn’t easy. The easy part is deciding to quit; the most challenging part, according to many former smokers, is choosing to keep stopping. This means always being in the mindset of the smoker trying to quit. From here, it’s much easier to fight the urges as hard as ever to solidify your success at quitting going forward.
Nicotine addiction is now tied to mental illness.
“Nicotine dependency, like alcoholism, is a real mental illness and disease” (Polito, 2010). This may seem surprising to some people, but based on the facts of nicotine addiction, the dependency is permanent, much like alcoholism and other highly addictive drugs. However, Who can beat it? Breaking a nicotine addiction is tough, but Who can do it? It’s not as hard as one may initially think. According to Polito, beating the addiction is not about how much willpower a person has but how the brain’s priorities have taught the body to respond to nicotine or the lack of it. The lack of nicotine causes our brains to react based on the brain’s priorities and leads us straight back into relapse.
Why, then, are some people just social smokers who smoke only on weekends when out with friends or during some stressful time? Also, how can most of us get hooked after only a few cigarettes? Immunity to addiction has long been considered partly related to genetics, albeit only a tiny percentage of the total. To put this into perspective, think about what it’s like to be in the 90% of nicotine-addicted individuals who are powerless to stop their addictive behavior but see the other 10% walk away with no apparent signs of addiction. However, before the first few cigarettes, smokers were once part of the “immune” crowd. It was the continued use that got them hooked.
Also Read: Tips to Help You Stop Smoking
For the most part, nicotine addiction rearranges the brain into believing that nicotine is a good thing. So much so that it makes the user think it’s good for them, with the confirmation from the dopamine release into the brain making it so. However, the reality is quite the opposite. Without treatment directed at ending nicotine use forever, the symptoms of addiction continue and gradually kill the body, all the while telling the brain everything is fine.
Quitting for good
Among the popular programs and products designed to end nicotine dependency, nicotine patches have enjoyed success. The initial patches contain a high amount of nicotine at first while the first few phases of quitting are underway. This is for help getting used to stopping the behavior first, such as smoking, then gradually decreasing the nicotine in subsequent patches. Eventually, the plan is designed to wean the person off nicotine slowly, making it easier to stop completely.
Of course, the best solution is counselling individually or in a group setting, where goals, rewards and recognition are given for achieving set levels of improvement until one day, the addiction no longer has its death grip on the individual.
