Is Nicotine Addictive?

Many people from professionals on down to the average citizen commonly refer to smoking and chewing tobacco as a habit. While the rituals associated with nicotine use may well be a habit, the addiction is far more than that. The only habits with smoking or dipping is the behaviors leading up to ingesting, lighting, purchasing, holding…get the point? When cravings are a part of the equation and the individual experiences any type of craving or discomfort while longing for the next nicotine fix, they are addicted. And, while there are no hard or fast rules as far as time lines, most people become addicted to nicotine products within a few months, not years like some claim. If the person’s heart is beating and they are breathing air on their own, they can give up nicotine. It takes education, support and a few days to rid of the changes that the nicotine has made within the brain, but it is possible. In fact, nicotine has left the bloodstream within 72 hours of the last ingestion. Withdrawals may be harsh for the first two to three days, but after that point the blood has returned and the body slows the desire for nicotine greatly. This is not to say that some will not experience the urge or craving because that can drag on for weeks, however with each day it diminishes. In order to quit, most people need an intervention. Either a family member or other loved one to stand by their side, supporting their desire to quit. There are many treatment options that individuals can try to help ease the cravings and withdrawals during this initial period. However, research has show that the most effective way to end nicotine addiction is to make a commitment within that it is a thing of the past and off limits.

Nicotine is made available, following an elaborate pro-cuss of harvesting and manufacturing, in a very convenient and effective delivery system-the tobacco cigarette. Nice-tine reaches the brain even more efficiently when inhaled in tobacco smoke than when given intravenously. It is well absorbed through the thin membranes of the mouth and nose and is, therefore, well absorbed when taken in the form of chewing tobacco or snuff.

Developing patterns of the behavior of tobacco or drogues are also similar. With tobacco, alcohol, heroin, and many other drugs, initial use (experimentation) is usually with the support or even encouragement of friends or relatives. One of the best predictors of smoking, in fact, is that both parents are cigarette smokers. Similarly, a common finding among people who have recently stopped smoking is that either their friends or relatives have also stopped. These patterns of peer and social pressure are shared with most drugs of abuse.

Several critical findings were made in this study. Firstly, nicotine produced similar effects whether given intravenously or in the form of cigarette smoke. This proved that nicotine is responsible for many of the physiological and psychological effects of tobacco. Secondly, nicotine pro-diced effects in the brain that allowed volunteers to accurately report when they had been given nicotine and when they had been given a "blank" (placebo). They were also able to rate accurately the strength of the dose. This showed that nicotine was psychoactive. Thirdly, nicotine produced psychological effects of euphoria that were similar to those produced by the standard drugs of abuse. This indicated that nicotine itself was an abusable drug that could produce compulsive behavior. Fourthly, subjects with a wide range of experience with drugs of abuse reported that certain effects of nicotine were similar to the effects of cocaine or amphetamine.

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