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Nicotine – An Addictive Agent Present In Cigarettes

The term addiction means a condition in which an individual believes that he requires an ingredient or a material so that he can function properly. Such a condition starts manifesting itself in an individual’s brain and thus asking him to intake these drugs telling him that they would aid him in feeling better. However, this condition of addiction to drugs also starts manifesting itself physically whenever the consumer discontinues its usage.As a result of this the individual undergoes physical symptoms of withdrawal and thus it makes him believe that more consumption of these drugs will aid him in stopping such symptoms.

Addiction is of various types such as alcoholic, drugs, gambling etc. Then there are cases of computer addictions, food addictions and shopping addictions. But the most dangerous among them all is the drug addiction wherein individuals become addicted to drugs such as nicotine, heroin and cocaine. Nicotine is assumed to be a very dreadful addiction producing drug; nicotine provides the support for the smoking of cigarette.

The addiction generated by nicotine is highly durable and can be seen through the difficulty caused to the cigarette smokers when it comes to the quitting of the drug. Based on the latest report of the World Health Organization only 7 % of cigarette smokers are victorious in quitting smoking without any external aid. The drug nicotine is easily absorbed by the human lungs, mucous membranes and skin. The human pulmonary route generates visible CNS effects which take very less time as small as 5 seconds.

Therefore each puff of cigarette generates some distinct support. With 12 puffs for each cigarette, a person smoking one cigarette pack per day supports the habit approximately 250 times daily. The drug nicotine reveals both stimulant and depressant actions; as a result of this the smokers are able to feel muscle relaxation and alert. This drug addiction results in the activation of the nucleus accumbency reward system which is present in the brain. This is accompanied by the liberation of endogenous glucocorticoids and opioids

There are various withdrawal symptoms seen in the smokers whenever the amount of nicotine decreases in the blood. As a result they are tempted to smoke more cigarettes. As the level of nicotine decreases in the blood there are problems faced by smokers while getting proper sleep. The most common nicotine dependent symptoms are stomach upset, restlessness, drowsiness, problem in concentrating, irritability, anxiety and desire for tobacco, thus nicotine addiction is unsafe to the human body.