It is TIME to QUIT smoking NOW! Part 6

Frequently Asked Question

Is cigarette smoking really addictive?

Yes. The nicotine in cigarette smoke causes an addiction to smoking. Nicotine is an addictive drug just like heroin and cocaine:

When taken in small amounts, nicotine creates pleasant feelings that make the smoker want to smoke more. It acts on the chemistry of the brain and central nervous system, affecting the smoker's mood.

Nicotine works very much like other addicting drugs, by flooding the brain's reward circuits with dopamine (a chemical messenger). Nicotine also gives you a little bit of adrenaline -- not enough to notice, but enough to speed up your heart and raise your blood pressure.

Nicotine reaches the brain within seconds after taking a puff, but its effects start to wear off within a few minutes. This often leads the smoker to get another cigarette. If the smoker doesn't smoke again soon, withdrawal symptoms kick in and get worse over time.

Smokers usually become dependent on nicotine and suffer physical and emotional (psychological) withdrawal symptoms when they stop smoking. These symptoms include irritability, nervousness, headaches, and trouble sleeping. The true marker for addiction, though, is that people still smoke even though they know smoking is bad for them -- affecting their lives, their health, and their families in unhealthy ways. Most people who smoke want to quit.

My advice

So, don’t risk yourself. It is very easy to kick start but extremely difficult to quit. You will be very much regretted if you ignore this advice.