Nicotine Addiction Research Paper

827 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The dangers of smoking cigarettes

Coping with nicotine withdrawal is extremely challenging because of the strong addiction individuals have to cigarettes. Nicotine has been proven scientifically to be as addictive as cocaine and heroin. But, even though there are treatment programs available to help people stop using cocaine and heroin, smokers are generally left to their own devices in order to stop smoking.

When you decide to take the leap and stop smoking, the first 72 hours (three days) are the worst because of the struggle with serious physical nicotine withdrawal symptoms. After that, even though the physical withdrawal symptoms are still present, but somewhat diminished, a bigger challenge comes from the psychological barriers to quitting.

You will be more successful …show more content…

For example, make your own “quit smoking kit” which includes a heavy-duty rubber band, toothpicks, cinnamon-flavored candies (they taste bad with cigarette smoke), chewing gum, silly putty, sunflower seeds, and drinking straws. These items offer a different kind of replacement therapy – they give you something to do with your hands and your mouth, which are critical components of smoking.

You could also take up a new hobby – one that keeps your hands busy when you are relaxing, such as crocheting, sewing, knitting, drawing, or painting.

A solid support system can truly be a life saver when you are going through the stop-smoking process. Having people in your corner that you can call when you want to smoke; or having someone who will walk or run with you when you are feeling stressed can be a great distraction when you need it the most.
Change to a Non-Smoker Lifestyle

In order to stop smoking for good, you must start thinking like a non-smoker and living the lifestyle of a non-smoker. Start by removing all smoking paraphernalia from you home, car and office (ashtrays, lighters, matches, etc.)
Change Your

Show More
Related

  • Nicotine Addiction

    1719 Words  | 4 Pages

    Cigarette addiction is responsible for over four million deaths every year. The question most people ask is why don’t people just put down their cigarettes? Well, the answer to that often asked question is nicotine. Nicotine is a neurotransmitter that targets certain receptors in the brain. It is a chemical messenger that induces feelings of pleasure. When someone takes a hit off of a cigarette, they ingest the harmful chemicals that can cause cancer and other serious health threats. They only inhale these chemicals to get one thing and one thing only, nicotine.

    Read More

  • Stages Of Change Model Of Health Behaviours

    825 Words  | 2 Pages

    The stages of change can be applied to a range of other behaviours that people want to change, but have difficulty doing so, but it is most well-recognized for its success in treating people with addictions. www.verywell.com (accessed 1/11/2016). The Stages of change model consists of five concepts these are known as, pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance. The Stages of change model can be applied to smoking successfully. In the beginning, the pre-contemplation stage a service user may be unsure about giving up smoking, this could be because of several reasons, they receive enjoyment or relaxation from smoking or they do not believe that any of the well known health risks will happen to them, this could be because of their age as a lot of young people do not believe they will develop health conditions as they see it as something just older people get. When a service user begins to think briefly about quitting smoking this is known as the contemplation stage, they will not usually take any steps towards actually giving up smoking at this stage however. A common procedure that service users go through is setting themselves a certain date that they are going to quit smoking on, this is part of the presentation stage, a service user may begin to tell themselves why they want to quit, the benefits on their health, they will feel much better in themselves, smell better etc. When a person has physically quit smoking this is the action stage, this will most likely be the toughest stage for the service user as their body will be going through nicotine withdrawal. Not all service users will successfully quit the first time they try. Maintenance is a very important stage in giving up smoking as a service user is not going to have health benefits if they only give up smoking for one month before they start again, it is very

    Read More

  • Behavior Modification (smoking Cessation)

    1472 Words  | 3 Pages

    The health consequences of smoking have become evident since early 1960s and numerous techniques to help smokers to become nonsmokers have started to develop. "The Behavioral Aspects of Smoking", a report of the Surgeon General first published in 1979 talks in detail about methods aided to assist smokers in the process of cessation. Sometimes it is very hard to decide which intervention strategy is the best and most useful because they vary from gimmicks to formal programs and clinics.

    Read More

  • Carcinogens In Cigarettes Essay

    1341 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...rough something known as a withdrawal; which can be very unpleasant and discouraging. A withdrawal is the event experienced when a person who has been regularly using a substance, suddenly stops. Withdrawing from nicotine has multiple symptoms that can be characterized as irritability, impatience, hostility, depression, and even a decreased heart rate. Within 3-4 hours a smoker can began to withdraw from lack of nicotine use. Almost all smokers ----want---- and probably try to stop smoking, but in most cases the craving for nicotine overcomes their will to quit. Truth is, it is so difficult for smokers to quit smoking, because they are addicted. If there was a ban on cigarettes or even a stricter regulation, it could discourage people from even trying a single cigarette. It could alleviate the inevitability of addiction and the dependence on cigarettes in general.

    Read More

  • Tobacco Cessation Proposal And Summary

    1992 Words  | 4 Pages

    This objective is important because there is evidence in the literature that PCPs offering smoking cessation interventions in primary care can have a significant positive impact on a smoker’s likelihood of attempting to quit (Ong, Zhou and Sung, 2011). Receiving advice from a primary care provider (PCP) to quit smoking increased the likelihood that a smoker will quit by a factor of 1.3. Even more interesting is that receiving physician treatment for smoking, such a medication, counseling or referral, boosts the odds that that smoker will quit by 2.2 (Fiore, Jaen, Baker et al, 2008). Evidence also suggests that such brief interventions are cost effective (Fiore et al, 2008).

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Electronic Cigarettes

    1356 Words  | 3 Pages

    The symptoms of a person who decides to stop using e-cigs are similar to those trying to quit smoking actual cigarettes. According to an article “Handling Withdrawal Symptoms & Triggers When You Decide to Quit”, the symptoms of a person who quits smoking actual cigarettes which contain tobacco and nicotine, are weight gain, nicotine cravings, depression, anxiety, anger, frustration, and irritability (National Cancer Institute). In “E-Cigarettes: Health and Safety Issue,” the symptoms of a person who quits smoking the electronic cigarette, which contains nicotine, are “When you stop using it, you can get withdrawal symptoms including feeling irritable, depressed, restless and anxious. It can be dangerous for people with heart problems. It may also harm your arteries over time” (Griffin). Like cigarette advertisements trying to sell their products, the e-cig ads convince smokers that their item is a better

    Read More

  • Public Health Issue: Smoking

    2016 Words  | 5 Pages

    Encyclopaedia of Children’s (2013) stated that smoking is a form of inhalation of smoking from different forms of tobacco which include cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. Cancer Research (2012) and the World Health Organisation (2013) have confirmed that most tobacco products contain very high level of nicotine which can have additive effect and are made from tobacco leaf which are s...

    Read More

  • Why You Should Quit Smoking

    1154 Words  | 3 Pages

    dont smoke. There is although a person of my circle who smokes a lot everyday and that is my unlce. All my life I can remember him smoking and trying to quit but never being able to. The only moment in his life when it seemed completely necessary and possible for him to quit was the day he found out he had cancer, but even by then time was running out. He died in March of 2003; At some point in your life, you will know someone who smokes or someone who deals with health problems associated with it or maybe even you may already have some issues from smoking or being around those that smoke.

    Read More

  • Have you ever Wondered what your Bad Habits are Doing to your Body?

    625 Words  | 2 Pages

    Quitting smoking can be very challenging and it is never easy to quit, but if you use a calm persuasion and not demanding or criticising yourself, slowly you will get rid of smoking. About 100,000 people in the UK die from smoking each year. Addiction to smoking leads to many diseases such as: lung cancer, heart disease, kidney problems, pulmonary diseases and it also increases the risk of miscarriage.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: Why Cigarettes Should Not Be Legal

    1542 Words  | 4 Pages

    These facts alone should be enough to convince a person to stop smoking in my opinion. One cigarette contains over 4,000 toxic chemicals which then enters your body as poisons. Second-hand smoke kills approximately eight adults a day from lung cancer and about 35,000 deaths per year from heart disease. Cigarette smoking is also tied to 300,000 cases of bronchitis and pneumonia each year. If that isn’t enough to change your mind, just to produce 300 cigarettes one tree is being wasted so that people can smoke and cigarettes take 25-26 years to decompose. Cigarettes are so harmful that they kill about 6 million people each year. Cigarettes are also defective because they are engineered to produce an inhalable smoke that can cause major health concerns to smokers, and all the people around them. Last but not least, there is a financial burden from the cost of treating illnesses due to

    Read More

  • Essay On Tobacco Abuse

    1548 Words  | 4 Pages

    People take drugs, tobacco and alcohol for different reasons and some is a result of their background, for leisure and so forth. These uses pose a threat to the health and well-being of adolescents. Adolescents and young adults in their 20s are at the highest risk for illicit drug use. For some drug users, use that begins in adolescence continues well into adulthood. “Addiction is a developmental disease; the earlier an adolescent begins drug use, the more likely their use will progress to become serious abuse or addiction (Johnston, 2012)”. There for earlier exposure is the major impact in addiction and dependence to some extent.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Smoking Cigarettes

    1146 Words  | 3 Pages

    The reason why tobacco companies use nicotine in their products is so they have reliable customers who literally need their product, this is a very interesting business strategy because there are not many industries where such a thing is legal. They also make their products cheap enough where lower class, less educated people can afford to buy a lot of cigarettes. And after 2 hours your blood pressure will decrease to almost normal levels. 3 weeks after you quit you will be able to exercise “without feeling winded and sick” (healthline.com).

    Read More

  • The Negative Effects of Smoking Cigarettes

    1520 Words  | 4 Pages

    It’s not that easy to quit smoking cigarettes, it can be very hard especially for many people who have been smoking for years. Many people are addicted to this drug because of the nicotine that’s in the tobacco, which is very addictive. Nicotine is the most common word that most smokers use and is there excuse why they can’t stop saying “it’s so addicting”. Like heroin or other addictive drugs, the body and mind quickly become so used to the nicotine in cigarettes that a person needs to have it just to feel normal (Smoking). Nicotine is the main addictive ingredient in a cigarette that activates synthesis of a chemical called dopamine in the brain (Naturstopp). This is just one of the chemicals that are in a cigarette, there are over 599 more chemicals that are in a cigarette. To name a few there is acetone, ammonia, tar, benzene, cadmium, hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides etc (Naturstopp). Some of these chemicals might not seem harmful, but it’s the burning of these chemicals that produce toxic and carcinogenic compounds more than 4000 of them (Naturstopp). Smoking cigarettes can be devastating; especially with each inhale you exhale.

    Read More

  • Tobacco and Cigarette Smoking

    1044 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cigarette makers know that nicotine addiction helps sell their products. Nicotine is the main ingredient in tobacco that causes addiction. Nicotine activates the parts of the brain that control feelings and pleasure. It only takes minutes for the effects of nicotine to disappear causing the smoker to take another puff to keep feeling good. (Junior Scholastic, 2006) When you utilize tobacco products, nicotine is expeditiously absorbed into your bloodstream. Within 10 seconds of entering your body, the nicotine reaches your brain. It causes the brain to relinquish adrenaline, engendering a buzz of pleasure and energy. The buzz fades expeditiously though, and leaves you feeling tired, a little down, and wanting the buzz again. This will result in lighting up another cigarette. Since your body is able to build up a high tolerance to nicotine, you’ll need to smoke more and more cigarettes to receive nicotine’s pleasurable effects and obviate withdrawal symptoms. This cycle will only continue to repeat resulting in addiction. Although for many once they’ve reached this point it seems almost impossible to quit smoking even when they want to. ("Nicotine and Tobacco Add...

    Read More

  • Effects Of Smoking Essay

    645 Words  | 2 Pages

    When I ask my dad why he started smoking he would say to be cool. Millions of people started smoking not knowing what would happen to them in years later. Most smokers like my dad have tried to stop but have failed. There are lots of side effects besides smelling bad. If you have children there is a potential to pass second hand smoking that may lead to the same diseases has the smoker can contracted. Most smokers don’t even know the makeup of a cigarette and what those chemical can do to you. Nicotine is an insecticide and interferes with the nervous systems. When a smoker smokes the nicotine, it reaches the brain faster about 7 seconds. This stimulates cells in the brain and blocks the nerve impulses. This is where the addiction happens not with tobacco with nicotine. “Nicotine also causes accelerated heart rate, but at the same time it leads to contracting and hardening of the arteries.”(Tabaco Stop Center)

    Read More

More about Nicotine Addiction Research Paper

Open Document