Smoking Is An Addiction
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What You May NOT Know ... |
| Normally endorphins and serotonin are the feel-good chemical in the brain which are released on regular basis throughout the day, but smoking sabotages this process, making smokers suffer. |
| After smoking ten, twenty, thirty or more cigarettes a day for any amount of time, the body no longer knows how to release these endorphins and energy on its own without the cigarettes. That's why smokers get trapped into an addiction, because when they try to quit their bodies typically feel lousy for a few days as it struggles to relearn this normal process all over again. |
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Smoking cigarettes,
particularly consuming nicotine in tobacco, has all of the
characteristics of addiction: pleasant feelings, withdrawal
symptoms, tolerance, and continued use despite the adverse
effects. That is why cigarettes are considered truly addictive.
In fact, scientific evidence suggests that cigarettes are
as addictive as illegal drugs such as cocaine.
Craving Cycle
Within just 7-10 seconds of inhaling cigarette smoke, nicotine
affects the “reward center” in your brain by releasing
chemicals that give feelings of pleasure and alertness - the
"hit" that your body comes to expect. These chemicals
are endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine.
The more nicotine the brain gets, the more it wants. However,
within 30 minutes your nicotine level drops and withdrawal
symptoms begin (feeling tired, jittery, depressed, over-eating,
anxiety, moody, etc). You begin to crave another cigarette,
and the cycle continues. Thus over time intensity and frequency
also increases.
