Smoking cigarettes are one such addiction that people fall a prey to and find it very difficult to get rid of the habitual addiction. There are many harmful chemicals that are present in cigarettes and one most important ingredient is Nicotine. In fact, nicotine is regarded as one of the toughest stimulants ever identified. So, nicotine is one of the most common factors that lead to smoking addiction.

Basically the nicotine level is directly infused into the brain, when a person smokes. This helps the smokers to have some relief from tension. The problem is that the anxiety sets back in with greater intensity after several tension-free minutes, and demands for more doses of stress-relievers i.e. nicotine.

Nicotine is the drug in tobacco that causes addiction. It is absorbed and enters the bloodstream, through the lungs when smoke is inhaled. Nicotine is a psychoactive drug with stimulant effects on the electrical activity of the brain. It also has calming effects, especially at times of stress, as well as effects on hormonal and other systems throughout the body.

The satisfaction a person gets whenever they inhale nicotine is totally rewarding for the smoker. This is because the discharge of the dopamine, which is the “pleasure hormone”. Dopamine is very abrupt and immediate. For this reason people get immediate relief from tension whenever they smoke.

Studies even revealed how nicotine is even more powerful than the other drugs. They said that when a person injects heroin into his or her body, they may only burst up four times a day and may experience unstable conditions.

In this way the smoking addiction starts. People who smoke as a way to release tension are already addicted to smoking. They slowly increase the number of cigarettes. This shows the person’s dependency on the cigarette already.

Smokers develop tolerance to nicotine and can take higher doses without feeling sick than when they first started smoking. Many of the unpleasant effects of cigarette withdrawal are due to lack of nicotine and are reversed or alleviated by nicotine replacement (for example, nicotine chewing gum or the nicotine patch).

As with other addictions, it is difficult to give up smoking, and without help most smokers fail despite trying many times. Even after stopping successfully for a while, most relapse within 2 to 3 months. More alarming perhaps than the strength of the addiction is the ease with which it develops.

Smoking addiction is a point of concern, since it is a cause for many cancers, heart diseases and other health ailments. It is important for people to give immediate priority to smoking addiction and quit as early as possible for a healthy today, tomorrow!