One Word: Nicotine Pouches
Nicotine is really a toxin within the tobacco plant, and its own main function would be to serve as deterrent when it comes to insects attempting to eat the plant. Nicotine is reported to be more lethal than arsenic, venoms of different snakes, strychnine, etc. Interestingly though, once nicotine reaches the reward pathways in the mind, a surge of dopamine is released, resulting in the much discussed ‘aah’ factor.
The most common method of nicotine finding its way into our bodies is through cigarette smoke. It is due to the nicotine within the cigarette that the act of smoking seems pleasurable. And nicotine is without a doubt the biggest reason that the cigarette industry is growing at a reliable pace. However, smoking counts as a significant preventable reason behind death/disease, and in addition causes a significant amount of premature deaths every year.
Tobacco smoke includes a plethora of chemicals, and nicotine is one of the primary ones. Can say for certain that smokeless tobacco contains nicotine aswell. Nicotine dependency is considered to be amongst the hardest to break, and also whenever a smoker witnesses the damage that nicotine can cause first-hand, smoking can still be quite difficult to quit. While it is the nicotine that keeps a smoker returning for more, the other constituents present in cigarettes lead to a considerably higher level of cancer, strokes, and heart & lung diseases in smokers. Nicotine dependency can also result in infertility, complications during pregnancy in addition to complications in a newborn baby’s health.
THE CONSEQUENCES of Nicotine:
Not only does nicotine work in the body releasing dopamine, it also activates the pathways that release adrenaline and serotonin, thereby impacting impulsivity and mood. Over a period the physical changes create a new ‘neuro chemical’ system which revolves entirely around the presence of nicotine within the system. At this stage, the individual is truly addicted. Attempts to avoid using nicotine at this stage or later would almost definitely bring about withdrawal symptoms. The protective adjustments created by the brain would make sure that any attempt designed to stop smoking would bring about discomfort as the brain’s circuitry senses the absence of nicotine as a cause for concern.
Statistics:
More than fifteen thousand Australians die due to smoking every year, and may be the largest ‘preventable’ reason behind early death and disease. The percentage of individuals aged over 14 who smoke everyday in Australia has gone down considerably, from 30.5% in 1988 right down to 16.6% in 2007. Across the world, 10 % of the adult population smokes; and in the US this figure stands at 20%. In the US alone around 440,000 people die each year because of tobacco related illnesses. Now, there are around 1.3-1.4 billion smokers on the globe, with a big chunk surviving in developing countries. And given the ongoing trends, by 2020 tobacco would account for approximately 10 million deaths every year.
Factual statements about Nicotine Dependency:
Nicotine is poisonous, and the reason why that reason a smoker does not immediately die is because of the minuscule levels of nicotine within each cigarette.
Nicotine is highly addictive, and nicotine dependency is often compared with heroin and cocaine dependency when it comes to difficulty to quit.
Relapses are quite common in efforts to give up smoking.
Aside from nicotine, cigarettes have over 4,000 different chemicals; a lot of which are carcinogenic (cancer causing substances).
Smoking for about 15 years, at about 20 cigarettes per day, should result in about one kg of tar in a smoker’s lungs.
A regular smoker’s life expectancy would go down by around 7 to 8 years (at about 7 to 8 minutes per cigarette).
Each month, tobacco companies in Australia lose around 12,000 customers. While around 10,000 manage to quit, most of the others are ones who’ve passed away due to smoking related illnesses.
Data collected from the ‘Australian Institute of Health insurance and Welfare’ shows that almost 80% of the smokers have tried quitting at least one time, and in the last year a lot more than 30% have tried stopping.
The Alternatives – Quitting Help:
Nicotine Free Cigarettes:
Nicotine free cigarettes are ones that do not contain any tobacco or nicotine. One can find several brands in terms of these nicotine free cigarettes, and these cigarettes use various herbs/plants as a base. These cigarettes are often used as substitutes to smoking conventional cigarettes, and numerous people use them as nicotine cessation aids. However, due to the various compounds present in these cigarettes, smoking them isn’t entirely safe, with research showing that they too could be carcinogenic.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy:
Nicotine replacement therapy refers to a smoker quitting smoking but using a different medium to get his/her quota of nicotine supply. Different NRT aids include nicotine gums, patches, lozenges, inhalers, and nasal sprays. The utilization of NRT aids is said to increase the chances of quitting by around 50%, but in order to succeed, additional support that’s provided to the average person by means of counselling, etc. also play a significant role. When a person stops smoking, these aids continue to supply him/her with the nicotine that is required to help keep the withdrawal symptoms away, and the intake of nicotine through this route is regulated and gradually reduced. The application of nicotine replacement therapy to give up smoking is normally is 8 to 12 week long exercise.
Even though a growing number of smokers continue steadily to battle their nicotine dependency, increasing numbers of people continue steadily to smoke their first cigarette. The sensation of euphoria that’s often linked to smoking is because the nicotine present therein, which is what keeps the smoker returning for more. Fortunately that awareness in the general public is on the rise, and help to battle nicotine dependency comes in various forms. If you desire to fight nicotine dependency and feel that it really is an uphill battle, at the very least take heart in knowing that there’s plenty of help that you could avail of. paras nikotiinipussi