Surely, if you think about the components of tobacco, nicotine would be the first name that comes to mind, but do you know what it is? What effects does it have for your health? If you still don’t know how to answer these questions, don’t miss this article about nicotine.
WHE DO WE CRAVE NICOTINE?
Did you know that another effect of nicotine is that it increases anxiety? Researchers at King’s College London suggest that nicotine does not actually reduce stress and tension, as many smokers believe, but may slightly increase anxiety in the long term.
In fact, between one cigarette and another, most smokers experience symptoms of anxiety due to nicotine addiction. It is a state of tension, restlessness and agitation accompanied by an increase in heart rate and blood pressure. Smokers are easily distracted and have difficulty solving problems or making decisions because they experience a type of mental fog that prevents them from thinking clearly.
This anxiety is due to the desire to smoke and is very similar to that which occurs in other addictions. When you consume nicotine, your brain releases substances called neurotransmitters such as dopamine and norepinephrine that generate pleasant sensations and a state of alertness. When you stop smoking, the levels of these neurotransmitters plummet, which is related to stress situations, difficulty concentrating and emotional response.
Your brain, which has lost the ability to naturally produce enough dopamine, sends an alarm signal so that you consume more nicotine and return to your normal levels. It is a vicious cycle in which the more nicotine you consume, the greater your dependence and anxiety you will experience when you do not smoke. The good news is that when you stop smoking and overcome the withdrawal period, anxiety begins to decrease because your brain regains its natural balance.
EFFECTS OF NICOTINE
As we have seen, nicotine is a natural substance and there are different ways to incorporate it into our body to obtain its effects: cigarettes, chewing tobacco leaves, water pipes or electronic cigarettes.
When we inhale tobacco smoke, nicotine, being a fat-soluble substance, is quickly absorbed and there is no turning back!
Inhaled nicotine is distributed throughout the body in less than 20 seconds. Furthermore, when nicotine reaches the brain it binds to specific receptors and generates a sensation of pleasure for the smoker.
Among the effects that smoking nicotine cigarettes has on the body we can highlight:
-Increased blood pressure.
-Increased beats per minute (heart rate).
-Increased blood sugar (hyperglycemia).
-Increased intestinal movement.
-Ulcers in the stomach.
-The immune system is weakened.
We must clarify that, although many people believe that nicotine is the only one responsible for causing different diseases associated with tobacco, such as cancer or respiratory diseases, it has been proven that this is not true, and that they are mainly caused by the other components of tobacco smoke.
NICOTINE REPLACEMENT THERAPY
Nicotine replacement therapy ( NRT) involves giving nicotine through a route other than cigarettes to help people quit smoking.
You will wonder what difference there is between incorporating nicotine from tobacco into our body or incorporating it with NRT, very simple, in NRT the amount of nicotine administered is sufficient to avoid the unpleasant symptoms of withdrawal syndrome, but not enough to generate dependence, everything studied so you can stop smoking!
In addition, we will be avoiding incorporating into our body the other harmful components of tobacco, such as irritating substances (hydrogen cyanide, ammonia or acetone) or carcinogenic agents (tar, arsenic or cadmium).
We hope this article has helped you know what nicotine is, what health effects it has and how nicotine replacement therapy can help you quit smoking. Also, nicotine-free heat sticks can help quit smokingNow you just have to make the decision to do something incredible, quitting smoking is within everyone’s reach!
HOW DOES NICOTINE ACT IN THE BODY?
Nicotine is known to be addictive. This substance stimulates the production of dopamine in the brain, which not only causes a feeling of well-being, but also generates the need to continue consuming. However, you may not know that nicotine also affects cognitive functions such as memory, attention and thinking as it reduces the thickness of the cerebral cortex.
It also exerts a stimulating action. Nicotine stimulates the adrenal glands, which, in turn, generate adrenaline, a hormone that in high concentrations increases heart rate, blood pressure and respiratory rate . Likewise, it alters the function of the pancreas and causes it to produce less insulin.
In fact, another of the effects of nicotine on the body is an increase in the level of glucose or blood sugar, so smokers have a higher risk of developing diabetes.
WHAT IS NICOTINE?
Nicotine is an alkaloid substance with stimulant priorities with which pleasurable effects can be obtained. Nicotine is present in the tobacco plant, although it can also be found in some vegetables such as tomato, eggplant, pepper and potato, although in insignificant quantities.
HOW MUCH NICOTINE DOES A CIGARETTE HAVE?
The amount of nicotine per cigarette varies depending on the manufacturer and type of tobacco, although on average a smoker ingests between 1 and 2 mg of nicotine per cigarette, in addition to all the other harmful components of the cigarette!
