Smoking: How Brain and Body get Addicted ? :
“Smoking is injurious to health”, “Smoking seriously harms you and others around you” and “Smoking can cusses slow and painful death” we have heard, seen and read the quotation at many - many places especially on the packet of cigarette and other tobacco products. In fact all these quotations are hundred percents true. But do you know how our adolescent brain gets addicted of smoking and damage our brain and body ?
Before beginning to discuss about the smoking addiction and hazards let us see the different types of smokers We can classify smokers into three different types
1. Occasional/Beginner Smokers: They smoke only once in a while such as in parties, when with friends or during special occasions
2. Regular Smokers: They smoke on a daily basis, means may be from 5 to 15 cigarettes per day
3. Chain/Addicted Smokers: They consume an average about 20 to 50 cigarettes in a day
How People Become Beginners to Addicted Smokers? Common reasons and excuses for smoking all beginners gave - 1. Got attracted to see friends, family, and movie and television characters. 2. Just to try 3. for friend sake, time pass or just to please or satisfy the friends and give company to them
As you light first cigarette and start burring and smoking. You start inhaling more than 4000 different chemicals presents in cigarette smoke with the nicotine is a primary component. Nicotine is a natural occurring alkaloid present in tobacco plant.
Till a time period beginners would have consumed many cigarettes from lower range and would not have become an addict or they would be in a position to quit. But by the time they realize its consequences would have become an addiction of it. At this point of time his/her body would be in an addicted stage with nicotine. At addicted stage human’s body part like brain, lungs, heart, skin, hairs, mouth, tongue, lungs, nose and even whole body become slave of the nicotine tobacco and smoke of cigarettes. After addiction stage it’s hard but not impossible to quite temptation for nicotine, once you know the hazardous damage of smoking.
How Nicotine Affect Your Body and Brain and Hard to Stop Smoking?Effect of Nicotine on Adrenal Gland: As you smoke nicotine reaches from lungs to adrenal gland and it activate adrenal glands to secrete a chemical called epinephrine (also known as adrenalin). Adrenaline causes increase in blood pressure, respiration and heart rate.
Effect of Nicotine on Your Brain: When you smoke nicotine binds with certain receptors present on the brain (nerve) cells surface and based on scientific discoveries due to nicotine nerve cells produces higher level of a neurotransmitter chemical called dopamine in the parts of the brain that produce feelings of pleasure and reward. Dopamine, which is sometimes called the pleasure molecule, is the same neurotransmitter that is involved in addictions to other drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Researchers now believe that this change in dopamine level in the brain may play a key role in all addictions.
The above two major causes may help to explain why it is so hard for people to stop smoking.
Now let’s see the health problem due to smoking?
The major health problems occur from the smoke of cigarette, it contain many carcinogenic compounds, pesticides, other chemical and harmful gases which you inhale with the smoke of cigarette. And nicotine addicts you to keep smoking. The following major health problem occur to smokers -
1. Lungs Disease: The most critical thing smoking adversely affects your lungs. Leads to major risk of deadly diseases like Cancer and TB. Non smokers are very less vulnerable to lung cancer compared to smokers. This is the reason a major percentage of lung cancer patients are/were smokers.
2. Skin and Hair Problems: Smokers are more vulnerable for early ageing, wrinkles on the skin, their nails become pale and they loss natural smell of hairs.
3. Heart: Smoking is also a good cause for heart attack, coronary heart diseases and other heart diseases.
4. Blood pressure: Smoking negatively influences your blood pressure, heart beats etc which leads to many other life style related diseases.
5. Life style diseases patients would accelerate and are more susceptible to attract disease with smoking.
6. Passive smoking: Smokers passes all the above mention diseases to their family members, friends and others. Therefore, smoking is prohibited in public places and must be in banned in family too.
7. In longer term smoking reduces your body power, physical efficiency.eg smokers will easily get tired after a small amount of walking and light physical work.
8. Smoking can lead you to impotency
9. Smoking affects your nervous system
10. Smoking negatively influences your mental strength. Your rational thinking, increase unnecessary thoughts, make mind restless.
11. Smoking reduce your sleeping
12. Smoking can make you dull both in mind and looks.
13. Smoking could make problems in family life and your personal relationships
14. Nowadays society does not keep any sympathies for smokers. Non smokers and ladies stay away from smokers.
What are the tips and techniques available to reduce/quit smoking?
It is not possible for a regular smoker to quit smoking all a sudden. But it could be achieved only through patience and time process.
1. Reduce the number of cigarettes one by one. To exactly make this happen extend the gap between the next cigarette for smoking and daily increase the gap for example after one cigarette take a gap of 2 hours if you are a person who smokes after an hour, if you keep more time then increase the gap accordingly. Same way increase the gap the next day. It should be three hours gap after a cigarette for next cigarette.
2. Chewing gums: Try to replace a chewing for a cigarette in between. Meaning instead of cigarette two or three times a day try chewing gum, so it will reduce that much cigarettes and keep on increasing the number.
3. Nicotine chewing gums are also available but the nicotine content is there so you cannot get relieved from it. If you will consume nicotine chewing gum with smoking both will accelerates the problem. Completely switching over to nicotine chewing gum can relieve you from the smoke problems but do not eat full chewing gum as it may contain more nicotine than the cigarette
4. Nicotine patches: This is another options to satisfy your nicotine addiction without consuming carcinogenic smoke.
5. Electronic Cigarette: Electronic cigarette known as e-cigarette, is another option of consumption of nicotine. It can satisfy your nicotine desire without carcinogenic smoke
6. Recreational activities: Try to engage in some activity which can divert your concentration or relaxation like doing some creative thinking like writing, drawing, computer works, reading or spending some enjoyable time with family or in beach rides etc.
7. Meditation or Yoga: Try to adopt some meditation yoga techniques which make your mind to control your habits. There are short crash course (2 days, 1 week) for yoga, meditation run by different reputed institutes which will help you in this. Accordingly you can practice it regularly and control yourself.
8. Time with family: Try to spend more time with family and with your children to divert your attention from nicotine
9. Loneliness and unhappy social/family life also accelerates smoking so try to spend some time in social activities, recreation, music, clubs et.
10. For the beginners: Never - never start smoking and if you started leave it now otherwise it would be more difficult if you will be addicted of smoking. Do all the things mentioned above. Also don’t smoke for friend sake or company sake, they will not come to help you once you have become addicted.
I hope this article would help you in some extent. Further the following www.youtube.com videos are very informative to watch - .
Author Beena SC Nair: - Hi I am female 28 India dedicating my working time for online jobs so that I can do my domestic jobs well, and can be a better home maker. I have written only few articles online as a freelancer but do contribute by giving comments as well as threads on different online plat forms.
“Smoking is injurious to health”, “Smoking seriously harms you and others around you” and “Smoking can cusses slow and painful death” we have heard, seen and read the quotation at many - many places especially on the packet of cigarette and other tobacco products. In fact all these quotations are hundred percents true. But do you know how our adolescent brain gets addicted of smoking and damage our brain and body ?
Before beginning to discuss about the smoking addiction and hazards let us see the different types of smokers We can classify smokers into three different types
1. Occasional/Beginner Smokers: They smoke only once in a while such as in parties, when with friends or during special occasions
2. Regular Smokers: They smoke on a daily basis, means may be from 5 to 15 cigarettes per day
3. Chain/Addicted Smokers: They consume an average about 20 to 50 cigarettes in a day
How People Become Beginners to Addicted Smokers? Common reasons and excuses for smoking all beginners gave - 1. Got attracted to see friends, family, and movie and television characters. 2. Just to try 3. for friend sake, time pass or just to please or satisfy the friends and give company to them
As you light first cigarette and start burring and smoking. You start inhaling more than 4000 different chemicals presents in cigarette smoke with the nicotine is a primary component. Nicotine is a natural occurring alkaloid present in tobacco plant.
Till a time period beginners would have consumed many cigarettes from lower range and would not have become an addict or they would be in a position to quit. But by the time they realize its consequences would have become an addiction of it. At this point of time his/her body would be in an addicted stage with nicotine. At addicted stage human’s body part like brain, lungs, heart, skin, hairs, mouth, tongue, lungs, nose and even whole body become slave of the nicotine tobacco and smoke of cigarettes. After addiction stage it’s hard but not impossible to quite temptation for nicotine, once you know the hazardous damage of smoking.
How Nicotine Affect Your Body and Brain and Hard to Stop Smoking?Effect of Nicotine on Adrenal Gland: As you smoke nicotine reaches from lungs to adrenal gland and it activate adrenal glands to secrete a chemical called epinephrine (also known as adrenalin). Adrenaline causes increase in blood pressure, respiration and heart rate.
Effect of Nicotine on Your Brain: When you smoke nicotine binds with certain receptors present on the brain (nerve) cells surface and based on scientific discoveries due to nicotine nerve cells produces higher level of a neurotransmitter chemical called dopamine in the parts of the brain that produce feelings of pleasure and reward. Dopamine, which is sometimes called the pleasure molecule, is the same neurotransmitter that is involved in addictions to other drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Researchers now believe that this change in dopamine level in the brain may play a key role in all addictions.
The above two major causes may help to explain why it is so hard for people to stop smoking.
Now let’s see the health problem due to smoking?
The major health problems occur from the smoke of cigarette, it contain many carcinogenic compounds, pesticides, other chemical and harmful gases which you inhale with the smoke of cigarette. And nicotine addicts you to keep smoking. The following major health problem occur to smokers -
1. Lungs Disease: The most critical thing smoking adversely affects your lungs. Leads to major risk of deadly diseases like Cancer and TB. Non smokers are very less vulnerable to lung cancer compared to smokers. This is the reason a major percentage of lung cancer patients are/were smokers.
2. Skin and Hair Problems: Smokers are more vulnerable for early ageing, wrinkles on the skin, their nails become pale and they loss natural smell of hairs.
3. Heart: Smoking is also a good cause for heart attack, coronary heart diseases and other heart diseases.
4. Blood pressure: Smoking negatively influences your blood pressure, heart beats etc which leads to many other life style related diseases.
5. Life style diseases patients would accelerate and are more susceptible to attract disease with smoking.
6. Passive smoking: Smokers passes all the above mention diseases to their family members, friends and others. Therefore, smoking is prohibited in public places and must be in banned in family too.
7. In longer term smoking reduces your body power, physical efficiency.eg smokers will easily get tired after a small amount of walking and light physical work.
8. Smoking can lead you to impotency
9. Smoking affects your nervous system
10. Smoking negatively influences your mental strength. Your rational thinking, increase unnecessary thoughts, make mind restless.
11. Smoking reduce your sleeping
12. Smoking can make you dull both in mind and looks.
13. Smoking could make problems in family life and your personal relationships
14. Nowadays society does not keep any sympathies for smokers. Non smokers and ladies stay away from smokers.
What are the tips and techniques available to reduce/quit smoking?
It is not possible for a regular smoker to quit smoking all a sudden. But it could be achieved only through patience and time process.
1. Reduce the number of cigarettes one by one. To exactly make this happen extend the gap between the next cigarette for smoking and daily increase the gap for example after one cigarette take a gap of 2 hours if you are a person who smokes after an hour, if you keep more time then increase the gap accordingly. Same way increase the gap the next day. It should be three hours gap after a cigarette for next cigarette.
2. Chewing gums: Try to replace a chewing for a cigarette in between. Meaning instead of cigarette two or three times a day try chewing gum, so it will reduce that much cigarettes and keep on increasing the number.
3. Nicotine chewing gums are also available but the nicotine content is there so you cannot get relieved from it. If you will consume nicotine chewing gum with smoking both will accelerates the problem. Completely switching over to nicotine chewing gum can relieve you from the smoke problems but do not eat full chewing gum as it may contain more nicotine than the cigarette
4. Nicotine patches: This is another options to satisfy your nicotine addiction without consuming carcinogenic smoke.
5. Electronic Cigarette: Electronic cigarette known as e-cigarette, is another option of consumption of nicotine. It can satisfy your nicotine desire without carcinogenic smoke
6. Recreational activities: Try to engage in some activity which can divert your concentration or relaxation like doing some creative thinking like writing, drawing, computer works, reading or spending some enjoyable time with family or in beach rides etc.
7. Meditation or Yoga: Try to adopt some meditation yoga techniques which make your mind to control your habits. There are short crash course (2 days, 1 week) for yoga, meditation run by different reputed institutes which will help you in this. Accordingly you can practice it regularly and control yourself.
8. Time with family: Try to spend more time with family and with your children to divert your attention from nicotine
9. Loneliness and unhappy social/family life also accelerates smoking so try to spend some time in social activities, recreation, music, clubs et.
10. For the beginners: Never - never start smoking and if you started leave it now otherwise it would be more difficult if you will be addicted of smoking. Do all the things mentioned above. Also don’t smoke for friend sake or company sake, they will not come to help you once you have become addicted.
I hope this article would help you in some extent. Further the following www.youtube.com videos are very informative to watch - .
Author Beena SC Nair: - Hi I am female 28 India dedicating my working time for online jobs so that I can do my domestic jobs well, and can be a better home maker. I have written only few articles online as a freelancer but do contribute by giving comments as well as threads on different online plat forms.
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