Smoking Dependency


Tobacco has been used as a mood-altering substance for centuries. It has been chewed, sniffed, and smoked. Today it is most commonly used in the form of cigarettes. Tobacco comes from the plant nicotiana tabacum. The reason tobacco is used by so many people is because it contains a powerful drug known as nicotine which is not only addictive, but gives you a pleasureable sensation. The 'habit' itself is also addictive, most people who smoke DO like it.

Cigarette smoke contains thousands of chemicals, many are responsible for its powerful addictiveness. When tobacco is smoked, nicotine is absorbed by the lungs and quickly transported into the bloodstream, where it is circulated through the brain. This all happens very rapidly, so fast in fact that, nicotine reaches the brain within 8 seconds after someone inhales tobacco smoke. Nicotine can also enter the bloodstream through the mucous membranes that line the mouth (if tobacco is chewed) or nose (if snuff is used), and even through the skin. (That is why those nicotine patches are used by smokers to quit, kind of a strange way to get their fix of nicotine, but it sells those patches, does it work, I don't know, if you've used them successfully, let us know.) Anyway....

Nicotine acts as a stimulant on the central nervous system and also has many metabolic affects. It increases the metabolic rate, raises blood pressure, changes muscle tension and affects certain brain chemicals and hormones. These and other metabolic changes create a pleasurable sensation in the smoker that is felt as relaxation. This "pleasure-sensation" is one of the elements that makes tobacco so addictive. Another factor is that the 'tolerance' to the effects of nicotine develops very quickly. Tolerance is a word that kind of means the smoker wants to smoke more and needs to smoke more. You NEED to smoke more to get the same desired effects from the nicotine. Once you become addicted your body depends on the presence of nicotine. Some scientists have stated that the addiction to tobacco is harder to break than the addiction to heroin.

Once you try to stop smoking withdrawal symptoms occur. These include: anger, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, headache, rise in blood pressure, stomach pain, and most of all an intense craving for nicotine.

Nicotine is actually a deadly toxin. If a single pinhead-sized drop of liquid nicotine was put into your bloodstream, it would be fatal.

Smoking has a nasty effect on nutrition too. Smokers break down vitamin C twice as fast as nonsmokers. Vitamin C is believed to be one of the most powerful antioxidants for humans. Other vitamins and nutrients that the body needs are also depleted by smoking.

The good news is that this addiction can be overcome. The health benefits of stopping smoking begin almost immediately. In just twenty-four hours after you stop smoking your blood pressure and pulse return to normal. Within a week your risk of heart attack begins to decrease. Breathing becomes easier and your senses of smell and taste begin to return to normal. Oh, you didn't realize that these things had changed, if you are a smoker they did.

Smoking Stinks

Do you like to be taken advantage of?
Do you like to be lied to?

Of course not, but that's what's happening to many teens when it comes to the subject of smoking tobacco. The tobacco companies employ some of the best advertisers in the business to work their magic. And they have been very successful. They have taken a product that is unhealthy and expensive and made it look glamorous and attractive. Teenagers are one of these advertisers' big targets. Everyone knows that smoking is just plain BAD for you... and it's expensive too.

Cigarette smoking is promoted even though every cigarette contains thousands -- yes, thousands of chemicals, most of which are harmful. Do you really want to inhale cyanide, formaldehyde, methanol, acetylene, and ammonia? You should know these chemicals are deadly, ask your chemistry teacher if you are a student.

The tobacco companies show us only the "cool" part of cigarette smoking. We've all seen 'the beautiful people' or the attractive actors in magazines and billboards, all with cigarettes in their hands. But what these tobacco companies do not show us are smokers who are older, wrinkled, coughing or even on oxygen from years of smoking cigarettes. Most people would like to stop smoking but don't have the ability to kick this very addictive habit. Yes, smoking is more addictive than cocaine, crack, or heroin.

Do your parents smoke? How about your best friends -- are any of them smokers? That is still no reason you should take up this dangerous habit. Don't feel pressured to smoke simply because everyone else seems to be smoking. Everyone else is not doing it, not anymore... maybe 50 years ago they did before the dangers of nicotine were known.

Most teens never intend to become addicted, but it happens rather innocently. They may begin by smoking a cigarette offered to them by a friend. They may then buy a pack once in a while. Before long, they can't get by without smoking. They have become addicted, and will find it extremely difficult to break that addiction.

Smoking will affect your participation in sports too. Teen smokers find it hard to engage in physical activity when doing so results in a pounding heart and shortness of breath. They are also more apt to get colds and pneumonia, not to mention heart disease and cancer in later years. Teen guys who smoke two packs a day may experience impotence by the time they turn 30.

If you're already a smoker and you want to stop, you can. You must have a good incentive to quit--for instance, to compete in sports, or because it makes you hair and hands smell like smoke. Once you've determined this incentive, try to keep it before you all the time. Find a friend who will support you when you feel like you have to have a cigarette. Some teens choose to quit all at once, while others find it easier to level off slowly. Talk to your parents if you can. If you can't, talk to friends that have quit, or your health care provider who may have ways to help you stop smoking.

Facts on Youth Smoking, Health, and Performance
(From the CDC - Centers for Disease Contol and Prevention)

Among young people, the short-term health effects of smoking include damage to the respiratory system, addiction to nicotine, and the associated risk of other drug use. Long-term health consequences of youth smoking are reinforced by the fact that most young people who smoke regularly continue to smoke throughout adulthood. (CDC. Preventing tobacco use among young people --- A report of the Surgeon General. 1994, p. 15)

Smoking hurts young people's physical fitness in terms of both performance and endurance---even among young people trained in competitive running. (CDC. Preventing tobacco use among young people, p. 28)

Smoking among youth can hamper the rate of lung growth and the level of maximum lung function. (CDC. Preventing tobacco use among young people, p. 17)

The resting heart rates of young adult smokers are two to three beats per minute faster than those of nonsmokers. (CDC. Preventing tobacco use among young people, p. 28)

Among young people, regular smoking is responsible for cough and increased frequency and severity of respiratory illnesses. (CDC. Preventing tobacco use among young people, p. 9)

The younger people start smoking cigarettes, the more likely they are to become strongly addicted to nicotine. (CDC. Preventing tobacco use among young people, p. 9)

Teens who smoke are three times more likely than nonsmokers to use alcohol, eight times more likely to use marijuana, and 22 times more likely to use cocaine. Smoking is associated with a host of other risky behaviors, such as fighting and engaging in unprotected sex. (CDC. Preventing tobacco use among young people, p. 36,104)

Smoking is associated with poor overall health and a variety of short-term adverse health effects in young people and may also be a marker for underlying mental health problems, such as depression, among adolescents. High school seniors who are regular smokers and began smoking by grade nine are:

** Note **

Please remember that the information presented in this forum is for your education only, and is not intended to extend medical advice or diagnosis. If you have questions or feel that you may be experiencing symptoms similar to those presented, please call the Berkeley County Health Department at (304) 263-5131 or your primary care provider for formal medical attention.