James Doohan, an actor from Star Trek, was shot at numerous times, and the only fatal one was dodged by a silver cigarette case sitting in his shirt pocket, which reflected the bullet that could’ve killed him. Sadly however, in most cases being a smoker doesn’t save your life. Studies show that it undeniably does the opposite. However, instead of looking into cigarettes, e-cigarettes, or hookah, I became increasingly interested with Nicotine. Nicotine is a “natural substance produced by a family of plants known as Solanaceae or Nightshade.”However, the addictive effects of cigarettes come from the nicotine inside the tobacco, which is reported to only be between.6-3%. This is why the claims that nicotine is actually poison are true, but there is so little present in cigarettes you can’t really jump to the conclusion that cigarettes are poison. It says here that there’s also little amounts of nicotine present in tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, and even cocoa plants!
So…. why is nicotine so addictive?
It releases neurotransmitters in your brain that instantaneously make you feel good. Code word: Instant. In most other things, for example alcohol, you have to wait to feel the effects and they last much longer. When smoking a cigarette, you instantly get the so-called “high” which makes the brain associate cigarettes with all things good. Also unlike most other drugs, nicotine is both physically addictive and physiologically addictive. It’s physically addictive due to the cravings and the awful
withdrawl symptoms associated with smokers going without a cigarette. But i find the physiologically addictive aspect to smoking much more intriguing.
This article outlines a few of the social aspects of smoking. Many smokers simply like to “watch the smoke.” Therefore, no amount of nicotine patches could help their addiction. This is a large claim in hookah smokers, who tend to do tricks, due to the thicker smoke that hookah produces. Other claims are that smokers feel less alone when smoking, feeling almost a close enough attachment with a cigarette that it can take place of a person. The highly social aspect is why cigarettes became popular in the first place because it looked “cool,” you were showing that you can afford things you don’t need, and you could easily start conversations with other smokers saying things like “what brand do you like” or “can I borrow a lighter?”
No matter the excuse, physical or emotional,
take a look at
this to help you out.