Nicotine is a highly addictive chemical that occurs naturally in tobacco. Nicotine causes severe withdrawal symptoms when an individual attempts to stop smoking, which is the reason this is so difficult to accomplish. Nicotine addiction results in people continuing to smoke, which can lead to other medical conditions such as lung cancer, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema.
Travel through the body
Nicotine goes deep into a smoker's lungs when they inhale as they are smoking. Once in the lungs it is rapidly absorbed into the blood and then carried to all parts of the body. This enables nicotine to affect the brain, blood vessels, hormone system, and metabolism. Nicotine has the ability to get into a mother's breast milk and it can cross through a pregnant woman's placenta and affect her unborn child. The American Cancer Society states that a normal smoker will still have nicotine in his or her system even after they have stopped smoking for three or four days.
In the brain
Nicotine can travel to the brain in as little as eight seconds after it has been absorbed into the bloodstream. Once it is in the brain it can enhance alertness. Nicotine resembles a chemical found in the brain known as acetylcholine which is responsible for communication between brain cells. This gives it the ability to change how the brain actually works, with a raised heart rate and breathing rate the result. Nicotine will precipitate more blood sugar to be released, which in turn gives the individual a feeling of being more aware.
Nicotine and dopamine
When it is in the brain nicotine will attach itself to brain cells that are responsible for releasing dopamine, a compound that stimulates the brain. Nicotine causes these brain cells to discharge larger amounts of dopamine than normal. Dopamine affects what is called the brain's reward and pleasure circuit, a number of structures within the organ which are involved with learning, appetite, memory function, and pleasurable feelings. As the excess dopamine overwhelms this area of the brain it triggers feelings of pleasure. After a period of time, about 40 minutes in most smokers, the effects of nicotine are beginning to erode. This gives a smoker the urge to have another cigarette.
Addiction
As the effects of nicotine begin to fade and cause a person to smoke again the brain eventually begins to change. The brain will downsize the manufacturing of dopamine as it makes the adjustment to the excess levels. This will result in the individual needing to smoke simply to create a normal level of the substance in their brain. Without dopamine the smoker becomes depressed and can be very irritable, so he or she will crave the effects of nicotine to relieve these feelings, creating an addiction to tobacco.
Withdrawal
If a smoker attempts to smoke less or quit they will be subject to a variety of nicotine withdrawal symptoms as the body has a reaction to less nicotine. Even someone who has smoked for just a few weeks will have these symptoms, which can last for days or weeks. A day or two after a smoker has quit they can feel dizzy. Depression, anger, impatience with any situation, and a sense of anxiousness are all nicotine withdrawal signs. The individual may have difficulty concentrating, have trouble sleeping, experience headaches, and become restless as well.
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