2023-05-17 14:00:00
Do you occasionally have a cigarette or can’t you keep your hands off it at all? You may be aware of the dangers of smoking, but do you also know how addictive it actually is? Nicotine is the culprit of this. We are going to tell you what this substance is exactly and what it does to our body.
Nicotine
The substance nicotine occurs in the tobacco plant and is therefore in our cigarettes. This substance acts on our nervous system and is the main cause of addiction to smoking. The brain easily absorbs nicotine, because the substance resembles a substance that is present in our body in terms of composition. As soon as you continue to smoke, your brain will adapt to get as much nicotine in as quickly as possible. Nicotine passes through your body at lightning speed, namely in seven seconds. That’s how easily the substance moves from our lips to our brains. As a result, we become more and more accustomed to the substance and want more and more of it. Nicotine keeps us craving a cigarette.
Brain
Nicotine plays with our brains. When smoking, nicotine connects to receptors in our brains. A signal is sent to the reward system and dopamine is released. Dopamine provides extra impulses and that caused the kick we get while smoking. Nicotine often only works for a short time, in fact only a few minutes. As soon as the pleasant feeling has subsided, a smoker will have a craving for more nicotine.
Physical dependence
Nicotine gives you a good feeling for about 20 minutes, after which a smoker starts to feel increasingly restless. If you don’t smoke, your body will start to get restless. This is because your body has started breaking down the nicotine. The first withdrawal symptoms begin within an hour of smoking. You become tense, grumpy or you become less concentrated. These symptoms actually get stronger, until you start smoking again. Only then will you feel ‘good’ again. This is how the desire for that one box of cigarettes arises.
Mental dependence
In addition to the fact that smoking causes physical dependence, there is also psychological dependence. Smoking is actually an ingrained habit and has therefore often been given a function. Think of taking a break, giving yourself an attitude, dealing with an emotion or rewarding yourself. In addition to these functions, stress, bad news or boredom can also make you want to smoke. Breaking this habit just takes time. Quitting is not only difficult because of withdrawal symptoms, but also difficult because you need a new interpretation for your habits. You can break this habit by making the choice again and again to do something other than light a cigarette. You need new ways to deal with stress and emotions.
#nicotine #addictive