Important Facts About Smoking

The Surgeon General added cautions and warnings to tobacco products decades ago, but the general public still has a relatively limited knowledge about what smoking does to their bodies. Beyond the fact that smoking causes lung cancer and various breathing problems, it causes chemical reactions in the brain and other life altering changes along with being extremely addictive and difficult to stop.

• Smoking causes many internal reactions with every puff.

History

• As early as 470 A.D., the Mayans used tobacco in rituals and celebrations on the American continent. In 1492 Columbus discovered tobacco and brought it with him on his travels between various continents, thereby spreading its use.

Effects

• When inhaled, nicotine duplicates several neurochemical triggers in the brain, including the one that fits a key in the brain that releases dopamine. To adjust to the new level of "pleasure" drug in the system, the brain shuts down its reaction to dopamine. At the same time, nicotine prevents the brain from reabsorbing dopamine so that the "high" lasts longer than natural pleasure responses.

Misconceptions

• Withdrawal begins in as little as 30 minutes after smoking a cigarette. The dissipation of nicotine in the system causes a stress reaction. Smoking relieves that stress so the smoker believes smoking makes them feel good and relieves stress when it actually causes the stress in the first place.

Types

• All forms of tobacco have the same chemical affect on the body. Chew, snuff, cigarettes and cigars are all equal in their addicting qualities and chemical conditioning of the body. Only cigarettes and cigars are likely to cause smoking related cancers, however.

Theories/Speculation

• Researchers at the University of Mississippi have found a connection between depression and individuals who start smoking to self-medicate. They have identified another chemical reaction in the brain caused by nicotine that acts as an antidepressant.