“I Can Quit Whenever I Want To…”: Nicotine Addiction
Addictive Nature
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Nicotine is highly addictive and is actually comparable to other hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin in its addictiveness.
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Due to nicotine’s ability to promote the release of dopamine, smokers become dependent on nicotine to help release dopamine, and must have increasingly more to produce the same effect.
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Nicotine takes effect in the limbic system of the brain which contains the brain’s natural “reward system” which alerts a person that something is good and that they should continue doing it
Withdraw
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Many smokers experience an increase in their stress level between each cigarette, which is relieved when they next smoke.
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Symptoms experienced by abstaining from smoking: increased anxiety, irritability, poor concentration, restlessness, and trouble sleeping
Introduction to Nicotine | A Brief History of Tobacco | Chemical Properties | Addiction | Toxicity | Tobacco and America | Tobacco and the Cinema | References