About 40 years ago, Russell was one of the first scientists to suggest that people "smoke for the nicotine, but die from the tar" - an idea that helped lay the ground for the NRT business of gums, patches, vaporizers and now e-cigarettes. Some scientists note Russell's insight has been misused by the tobacco industry. For decades, companies' false promises of "light" cigarettes helped lure more smokers, says Mike Daube, professor of health policy at Curtin University in Australia.
Smoking kills half of all those who do it - plus , people a year who don't, via second-hand smoke - making it the world's biggest preventable killer, with a predicted death toll of a billion by the end of the century, according to the World Health Organization. Few doubt that nicotine is addictive. How quickly it hooks people is closely linked to the speed at which it is delivered to the brain, says McNeill. The patch is very slow; gum is slightly quicker.
But there is no evidence as yet that significant numbers of people are addicted to either. Daniel, who works long hours in London's financial district, says he chews less on weekends when he's relaxing, doing sport and hanging out with his kids.
One reason smoking is so addictive is that it's a highly efficient nicotine delivery system, McNeill says. Pure nicotine can be lethal in sufficient quantities. There is some evidence it may lead to changes in adolescent brain development, especially to the part responsible for intelligence, language and memory. Stanton Glantz, a professor of tobacco at the University of California, San Francisco, says the younger kids are when they start using nicotine, the more heavily addicted they get.
Countering that, others say studies have focused on animals and that in any case, nicotine should not be available to unders. Michael Siegel, a tobacco control expert and professor at Boston University, says that in the few studies so far, such effects have been seen only in smokers, not smoke-free nicotine users. Elsewhere, studies have looked at nicotine's potential to prevent Alzheimer's disease, and to delay the onset of Parkinson's.
A study in the journal Brain and Cognition in found that "nicotinic stimulation may have promise for improving both cognitive and motor aspects of Parkinson's disease. In Sweden, many people get their nicotine from sucking smoke-free tobacco called "snus.
Marcus Munafo, a biological psychologist at Britain's Bristol University, says public health campaigns of the s and s bound nicotine, addiction and cigarettes tightly together to hammer home smoking's harms. Smoking leads to over , deaths in the country per year, and over 16 million people in the U.
More people die as a result of smoking than all deaths due to HIV , vehicle accidents, murder, suicide, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse combined. In recent years, liquid nicotine has been touted as a less risky replacement for smoking cigarettes. This can be delivered to the system in an electronic cigarette or vaporizer.
These are known as electronic nicotine delivery systems ENDS. Liquids are available in a range of strengths and flavors. Current evidence suggests that using liquid nicotine is a safer alternative to inhaling tobacco smoke, as nicotine in itself is not classified as carcinogenic , or cancer-causing, by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. It may also help people that are trying to quit smoking mimic some of the addictive behaviors of cigarette use, such as raising the hand to the mouth or seeing smoke inhaled, that other types of nicotine replacement therapy NRT cannot imitate.
Liquid nicotine can help replicate these behaviors without the harmful effects of tobacco use. Any form of nicotine is highly addictive, so e-cigarettes and vaporizers remain unsuitable for young people and those who do not already smoke.
Liquid nicotine can act as a gateway to cigarettes for those not already regularly taking in nicotine. The use of e-cigarettes rose from 1. There are also other chemicals present in e-cigarette and vaporizer liquid that could be harmful , and these chemicals will be different in various brands, products, devices, and uses. Some products that are available online may also contain dangerous concentrations of nicotine.
While nicotine does not itself cause cancer , some of the other substances in liquid nicotine may well contribute to it. These products have been regulated by the FDA since and, as of , must bear the nicotine addictiveness warning on packaging and marketing materials.
However, as a relatively new technology, the full effects of liquid nicotine are not known, and caution is advised. The treatment of nicotine dependency is known as smoking cessation therapy. It aims to reduce the urges to consume nicotine as well as the associated risks and health problems. Drug treatment options for nicotine dependency include :. Nicotine replacement therapy NRT : This is available in skin patches, nasal sprays, inhalers, and solutions that can be rubbed into the gums.
These replace part of the nicotine normally supplemented by smoking cigarettes and reduce the severity of urges and cravings.
While NRT does not completely prevent withdrawal symptoms, a review advises that it can double the chances of quitting smoking long-term. A range of NRT products are available for purchase online, including skin patches , lozenges , and gum. Bupropion: This was used in the first instance as anti-depressant medication.
However, it was then found to be useful in reducing nicotine cravings. It has a similar rate of effectiveness to NRT. The way it works is not yet understood. It can cause insomnia as a side effect in 30 to 40 percent of patients. Varenicline, sold as Chantix: This medication partially triggers a certain receptor in the brain that usually responds only to nicotine.
It then blocks the receptor, preventing nicotine from doing the same. This reduces the urges a person experiences while quitting smoking. It may also reduce the satisfaction an individual gets from smoking, which in turn decreases the risk of a relapse. It can cause mostly mild nausea in around 30 percent of people who pursue this course of treatment, but varenicline is normally well tolerated.
It has also demonstrated a stronger effect on nicotine dependency than bupropion. Treatments that are used when these first-line treatments are not successful, as they are more likely to cause severe side effects, include:.
Reviews have indicated that NRT and other medications are most effective when supported by counselling and psychiatric care. This can range from counseling as simple as advice from a primary care physician to stop smoking to individual, telephone, and group therapy.
These interventions can help people with nicotine dependency overcome the psychological aspects of withdrawal, such as low mood and irritability, while the medications help tackle the chemical side of dependency. Research is ongoing into the best ways to manage nicotine dependency, and news regularly comes to light about treatments and tobacco industry regulations.
Both e-cigarettes and regular cigarettes contain nicotine, which research suggests may be as addictive as heroin and cocaine. Vaping and e-cigarettes are sometimes promoted as ways to help cigarette smokers quit. But what about the reverse? Can vaping lead to regular cigarette smoking later on? A recent study found that most people who intended to use e-cigarettes to kick the nicotine habit ended up continuing to smoke both traditional and e-cigarettes.
Among youth, e-cigarettes are more popular than any traditional tobacco product. In , the U. According to Blaha, there are three reasons e-cigarettes may be particularly enticing to young people. First, many teens believe that vaping is less harmful than smoking. Second, e-cigarettes have a lower per-use cost than traditional cigarettes.
Finally, vape cartridges are often formulated with flavorings such as apple pie and watermelon that appeal to younger users. Both youths and adults find the lack of smoke appealing. With no smell, e-cigarettes reduce the stigma of smoking. And, it often leads to using traditional tobacco products down the road. But the sooner you quit, the quicker your body can rebound and repair itself.
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