17 Sep Smoking addiction: how it starts…
DID YOU KNOW? In 2015, a survey on teen smoking found that about 7% of teens have smoked in the past month. The good news? That percentage is down from 28% in the ‘90s.
(Source: https://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/adolescent-development/substance-use/drugs/tobacco/trends/index.html)
Here is how the addiction process gets started with smoking, including vaping:
Nicotine is the primary reason someone becomes addicted to smoking and/or vaping.
Nicotine stimulates the adrenal glands to release epinephrine (adrenaline).
This rush of epinephrine causes an increase in blood pressure, respiration and heart rate. It provides the user with a RUSH.
Nicotine also activates the part of the brain that releases dopamine, a chemical in the brain that makes you feel pleasure.
People keep smoking because they like the rush they feel from the epinephrine (adrenaline) coupled with the pleasure they feel from the dopamine.
Adrenaline RUSH
+
Dopamine pleasure
_________________
ADDICTION
Furthermore, the teen brain is far more susceptible to addiction because it is still developing. The teen brain can become tolerant to nicotine, and it is this tolerance that then drives teens to smoke more often.
(Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2928221/?wptouch_preview_theme=enabled)
In other words, the neurons/cells in your brain are saying, “Yippee, ya-ha, this feels great. Let’s change our structure to trick the mind to want more and more of this stuff. Who cares if it has irreversible damage! It feels so great!!” And the addictive quality of nicotine and the other harmful chemicals in cigarettes have taken hold of your brain and your mind.
The question remains, Will You Let It?
(Can you hear the daunting, cliff-hanger music in the background? We sure can.)
DID YOU KNOW? Tolerance is when you need more and more of a substance to get the desired effect. You may hear some people say, “I have a high tolerance for alcohol.” This means that they need more and more alcohol for them to feel tipsy.
To read more about tolerance click here.
In sum, nicotine is a highly addictive substance. It is found in BOTH traditional cigarettes products and in vaping products. This is why vaping is as addictive as smoking cigarettes. Yes. Read that again: Vaping is as addictive. To read about vaping, see the next sub-post.
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