Nicotine Limitation

A Tobacco plant is made up of approximately 5 percent of nicotine by weight. There are two categories of tobacco products cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. Nicotine has many effects on the body but the effect it has on the brain is responsible for the so called “good feeling” that is behind the addiction. Nicotine is considered to be addictive because of the psychological and physiological effects on a person. The Center for the Advancement of Health published the results of a study on teenager smokers:

     In the world today, Nicotine is one of the most frequently used addictive drugs. The impact it has on society is like no other. It is one of more than 4,000 chemicals found in the smoke of tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. This addictive drug is the primary component in tobacco that acts on the brain.

In 1988, the Ministry of Health in the United States defined the nicotine as an addictive substance. Cigarettes and other derivatives substances generate tobacco dependence. The addictive mechanisms are similar to the addiction mechanisms to drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Cigarettes are highly efficient at delivering nicotine and other addictive substances. The average smoker takes in 1 to 2 mg of nicotine per cigarette each time they inhale. Nicotine reaches the brain within 10 seconds which contributes to its great power of addiction.

Nicotine replacements and patches are always in advertisements and pushed in stores. While the ads may make it seem easy to quit with a nicotine replacement, they are not actually effective. Recent studies show that smoking cessation drugs like patches and gums do not effectively stop nicotine cravings.

So, it is perfectly rational to call smoking an “addiction” in my policy above. The main topic of 1988 US Surgeon General’s Report was if tobacco was addictive. It stated three main conclusions. First, it said that cigarettes and other forms of tobacco are addictive. Second, it stated that the reason they are addictive is because of the nicotine found in them. Thirdly, it stated that this addictiveness is much like heroin or cocaine. Prior to this report and since then there have been other studies and experiments stating the addictiveness of tobacco and the effects of nicotine on the body. It is known that nicotine increases the levels of dopamine in the brain and causes a burst of adrenaline. This burst of adrenaline is pleasurable and is what is known as the “rush” or “kick” from smoking. DeNoble and Mele figured out that rats would rather have nicotine than food and water once they were addicted. Phillip Morris stopped them from publishing their findings in 1983. In 1995, Stoleman and Jarvis did a study on nicotine’s addictiveness and found that there are many different withdrawal symptoms people go through when they are deprived of nicotine. They also found that this withdrawal is only relieved by a nicotine and not a smoking placebo. This again furthers the fact that smoking is addictive. Once a person starts smoking it quickly becomes an

As reported by Heather’s, Nicotine contains a large amount of toxic substance which can lead to several causes and effects to health. The substances in nicotine effects on the brain and its addicted. When a person smokes, the nicotine substance travels to the brain within 10 seconds and changes the function of the brain. “Blood that enters the lungs to picks up oxygen also pickup something else – the nicotine”. It also rises the blood pressure by five to ten points and heart rate by ten to twenty beats per minute. However, nicotine also performs as a sense of feeling of pleasure. Nicotine reaches to brain within a speedy rate and disperses soon conversely, its increases use of cigarettes.

Smoking is the single highest cause of preventable death in America and puts users at significantly greater risk for disease compared to the rest of the population. Tobacco use costs the U.S. more than 289 billion dollars annually in medical expenses and lost productivity (Surgeon General, 2014). The problems associated with smoking are due in part to its addictiveness. Nicotine is the addictive substance found in tobacco and its chemical dependence is as strong as heroin, cocaine, or alcohol (CDC, 2014). Getting all smokers to quit entirely is not realistic due to nicotine’s addictive characteristics.

According to the lecture and corroborating literature, nicotine addiction is one of the strongest addictions. Nicotine has

When an individual stops taking the drug, the individual goes through withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, frustration or anger, anxiety, dysphonic or depressed mood, restlessness, difficulty concentrating, insomnia, decreased heart rate, and increased appetite. The short and long term effects of this drug have no difference because Gardner (2009) explains, "A youth who was able to keep withdrawal in check by smoking one cigarette every few days finds that, over time, he or she must smoke at more and more frequent intervals to keep withdrawal in check" (Gardner, 2009 ). So, the individual just needs to smoke enough nicotine and will gradually become addicted to the repeated exposure to nicotine. In fact, Gardner also mentioned "It can vary from many days in length in novice smokers, to just a few minutes in smokers with advanced dependence." (Gardner, 2009 ). Gardner brings in a very important point that with enough exposure to nicotine there isn't a difference between the short and long term effects of taking nicotine because just a certain amount can have an individual addicted to

Throughout life, a person is faced with large and small obstacles. Some don't require a minimum effort; however others demand the strength of will and a maximum effort. One obstacle is nicotine addiction. Some consider it as a disease, a bad habit or a little weakness. Much has been said about smoking, but it is still a major problem in the United States. This habit has joined men and women and has received widespread popularity among children and adolescents. Nicotine addiction has a negative impact on society as a whole, as well as, on the life of an individual's health.

Why do people get addicted to nicotine so easily? There’s an abundant amount of reasons as to why people can get addicted to nicotine-based products. Nicotine is a stimulant that is very addictive and consumed through tobacco products (Brands, 1998). It is under as a schedule II drug, which contains other drugs for example: cocaine, various opioids, and other addictive products. It contains drugs with a very high potential for abuse and dependence (Ginzel, 2008). This stimulant, nicotine, is said to be more addictive than heroine itself; a drug that is illegal and administered by needles (Brands, 1998).

Nicotine has a powerful addicting effect because it is absorbed rapidly into the pulmonary circulation following inhalation from which it passes through the left side of the heart and into the cerebral circulation. It rapidly crosses the blood-brain barrier and binds to specific receptors in various parts of the brain. Stimulation of receptors by nicotine results in the activation of a number of neurohumoral pathways leading to release of acetylcholine, norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, vasopressin and various hormones. Nicotine causes the release of the substance b-endorphin, an endogenous peptide that also binds to opiate receptors. This indicates a link between addiction to opiates, such as morphine and heroin, and addiction to nicotine.

Because it takes approximately eight seconds for nicotine to reach the brain and each cigarette contains over 4,000 chemicals, tobacco is one of the most addictive drugs in the United States. ("TIPS" 8). Dependency is defined as reliance for a substance that you can't live without. Smokers have a physical and physiological reliance

Smoking is not just a bad habit, but also a complex addiction. Experts believe that nicotine exerts its powerful addictive effects by

Although many claim the opposite smoking tobacco has been proved scientifically to be addictive. Addiction is when a person is physically and mentally dependent on a particular substance and is unable to stop taking it without incurring unpleasant effects. Once the body tastes nicotine the addictive chemical found in cigarettes it craves for more. Nicotine creates a pleasurable feeling that appeals to the smoker. However, since nicotine is the only addictive drug in tobacco if extracted from tobacco then tobacco won't be addictive.