Nicotine

Cigarette smoke is a complex mixture of chemical compounds which are created by the burning of tobacco leaves. Cigarette smoke includes tar and 4,000 other chemicals, including 43 substances that cause cancer. Others include gases, such as carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide interferes with the blood's ability to carry oxygen to the body's tissues. However, addiction to smoking is caused by another substance called nicotine.

Nicotine is a clear to pale yellow liquid that is naturally found in tobacco, tomato, and other plants in the Nightshade family. Just like cocaine and heroin, nicotine is an addicting drug. When taken in small amounts, as it is found in many tobacco products, it produces "pleasurable" feelings. Nicotine affects the chemistry of the brain. This affects the mood of the user.

How Nicotine Works

Research has found that the human brain reacts the same way to nicotine that it does to cocaine and heroin. Nicotine stimulates the release of a chemical messenger in the brain. This messenger is responsible for feelings of pleasure. This is why nicotine is put in the category of drugs called stimulants. A stimulant is a drug that produces a short-lived increase in the body's activity. Other drugs in this category include cocaine, morphine, and amphetamines.

Mild "nicotine highs" occur in beginning smokers, but tolerance to these effects develops rapidly. Tolerance means that a smoker will need more and more nicotine to reach the same high. Addiction may begin with someone's first experience with nicotine.

When someone "puffs" on a cigarette, a mixture of smoke and air enters their mouth. Inhaling moves this mixture to the lungs, where nicotine moves into the blood. The blood absorbs the nicotine extremely fast. This is because it only takes one minute for all of the blood in the body to cycle through the lungs. As the blood moves through the body, nicotine is brought to the brain. The nicotine reaches the brain about ten seconds from the time the smoker inhales.

Withdrawal

For this reason, smokers become dependent on the drug and suffer both physical and emotional withdrawal symptoms if they stop use.

Withdrawal is defined as the absence or lack of a particular drug. Anytime use of a drug is stopped or delayed, withdrawal may occur. Withdrawal is usually accompanied by various symptoms. These symptoms may be physical or mental. Symptoms may include tiredness, nervousness, and increased appetite. In addition,a smoker may experience an inability to focus and a loss of attentiveness when completing daily tasks.

Users of tobacco may undergo some or all of these symptoms when trying to quit. These feelings trigger the craving for another cigarette. This is the reason why many people have a hard time quitting. After some time, the withdrawal symptoms are reduced and eventually stop. At this point, it usually becomes easier for a person to not smoke or use tobacco.