Nicotine Addiction: The Effects On The Body

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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:

Almost two-thirds of the smokers had one or more symptoms of nicotine dependence, and of these, almost two-thirds said that they had their first symptom before they began smoking every day or that the symptoms had made them start smoking every day. Feeling addicted was the most common initial symptom, while cravings, irritability, nervousness, and anxiety when unable to smoke were the most commonly reported symptoms overall. (1)

When a person continues to use something compulsively knowing the negative effects on his or her body, the person is considered psychologically addicted. The physiological effect of nicotine turns on the reward pathway of the brain. The continued use of tobacco products as the result of nicotine addiction has many short and long term effects on a person’s body. There are many methods available to tobacco users to help break the nicotine addiction and stop the effects of nicotine before the effects to their body becomes permanent.

Nicotine has several short term effects on the body. Nicotine is absorbed into a person’s body faster through the use of a cigarette than any other source of nicotine. Nicotine is absorbed into your blood stream faster when it is inhaled. The lungs have tiny air sa...

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Nicotine has an effect on the body whether a person only used nicotine once or is addicted to nicotine. There are many options available to people suffering from nicotine addiction. Nicotine has many short and long term effects on the body. The body will repair most of the short term effects but many of the long term effects are not reversible. Nicotine use is the highest preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States.

Works Cited

Meeker-O’Connell, Ann. "How Nicotine Works." HowStuffWorks.com. 02 January 2001. Web. 09 October 2011.

Center For The Advancement Of Health. "Nicotine Addiction Can Start Within A Few Days And After Just A Few Cigarettes." ScienceDaily, 13 Sep. 2000. Web. 09 Oct. 2011.

Lande, Gregory, DO, FACN. “Nicotine Addiction Treatment & Management.” Medscape Reference. 02 Aug. 2011. Web. 09 October 2011.

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