Wednesday, January 05, 2005
About Smoking Dependency - Shaklee
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Source: Prescription for Nutritional Healing by Phyllis A. Balch, CNC and James F. Balch, M.D.
Every time a person smokes, he or she inhales over 4,000 different chemicals, including nicotine. Nicotine, which is extremely addictive, increases levels of the pleasure-inducing brain chemicals serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Tobacco has been used as a mood-altering substance for centuries. It has been ingested by various means, including chewing, sniffing, and smoking. Today it is most commonly consumed by smoking cigarettes.
Nicotine acts as a stimulant on the central nervous system; when nicotine is ingested, adrenaline production increases, raising the blood pressure and heart rate. Nicotine also affects the overall metabolic rate, the regulation of body temperature, the degree of tension in the muscles, and the levels of certain hormones. These and other metabolic changes create a pleasurable sensation in the user that often - and paradoxically - is experienced as a feeling of relaxation. This pleasurable sensation is one of the factors that makes tobacco so addictive. Another is the fact that tolerance to the effects of nicotine develops quite rapidly. That is, the dose needed to achieve the desired effect begins to rise almost immediately, encouraging you to increase the amount you smoke - which in turn increases the likelihood of addiction. Once you become addicted, your body depends on the presence of nicotine. If you then refrain from smoking, withdrawal symptoms occur. These include irritability, frustration, anger, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, restlessness, increased appetite, headache, stomach cramps, a slowed heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, and most of all, an intense craving for nicotine.
Once the smoking habit has been acquired. . .
Every time a person smokes, he or she inhales over 4,000 different chemicals, including nicotine. Nicotine, which is extremely addictive, increases levels of the pleasure-inducing brain chemicals serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. Tobacco has been used as a mood-altering substance for centuries. It has been ingested by various means, including chewing, sniffing, and smoking. Today it is most commonly consumed by smoking cigarettes.
Nicotine acts as a stimulant on the central nervous system; when nicotine is ingested, adrenaline production increases, raising the blood pressure and heart rate. Nicotine also affects the overall metabolic rate, the regulation of body temperature, the degree of tension in the muscles, and the levels of certain hormones. These and other metabolic changes create a pleasurable sensation in the user that often - and paradoxically - is experienced as a feeling of relaxation. This pleasurable sensation is one of the factors that makes tobacco so addictive. Another is the fact that tolerance to the effects of nicotine develops quite rapidly. That is, the dose needed to achieve the desired effect begins to rise almost immediately, encouraging you to increase the amount you smoke - which in turn increases the likelihood of addiction. Once you become addicted, your body depends on the presence of nicotine. If you then refrain from smoking, withdrawal symptoms occur. These include irritability, frustration, anger, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, restlessness, increased appetite, headache, stomach cramps, a slowed heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, and most of all, an intense craving for nicotine.
Once the smoking habit has been acquired. . .
(click the above link to read more)
Posted by:
Chris & Lea Cockrell
Independent Shaklee Distributors
¶ 2:22 PM 1 comments
