What is a smoking addiction?
A smoking addiction means a person has formed an uncontrollable dependence on cigarettes to the point where stopping smoking would cause severe emotional, mental, or physical reactions.
Chances are that about one in three smokers who do not stop will eventually die because of their smoking. Some will die in their 40s, others will die later. On average, they will die 10 to 15 years earlier than they would have died from other causes.
Most smokers want to stop and do indeed try, but only one in three succeeds in stopping permanently before age 60. By this time, much harm may have been done to the body – some of it irreversible.
Why is smoking an addiction?
Nicotine is an addictive drug. It causes changes in the brain that make people want to use it more and more. In addition, addictive drugs cause unpleasant withdrawal symptoms.
The good feelings that result when an addictive drug is present – and the bad feelings when it’s absent – make breaking any addiction very difficult. Nicotine addiction has historically been one of the hardest addictions to break.
The 1988 Surgeon General’s Report, “Nicotine Addiction,” concluded that
- Cigarettes and other forms of tobacco are addicting.
- Nicotine is the drug that causes addiction.
- Pharmacologic and behavioral characteristics that determine tobacco addiction are similar to those that determine addiction to drugs such as heroin and cocaine.
When a person smokes a cigarette, the body responds immediately to the chemical nicotine in the smoke. Nicotine causes a short-term increase in blood pressure, heart rate and the flow of blood from the heart. It also causes the arteries to narrow.
What are the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal?
- irritability
- impatience
- hostility
- anxiety
- depressed mood
- difficulty concentrating
- restlessness
- decreased heart rate
- increased appetite or weight gain
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