Nicotine and addiction

See also What makes tobacco addictive?

Alcohol, caffeine, tranquilizers, and even chocolate can produce small changes in our mood, so what's different about nicotine? First, nicotine provides a bigger boost than chocolate or a cup of coffee. Perhaps most important, nicotine passes into our brains much quicker than most other substances. Nicotine enters your brain within 10 seconds of taking a puff on a cigarette. The nicotine in chewing tobacco and snuff is quickly absorbed because your mouth is filled with tiny blood vessels near the surface of your inner cheek and gums.

This rapid delivery of nicotine means that we develop a strong association between using tobacco products and the feelings it brings. Nicotine is also highly addictive because it causes changes in your brain. Fortunately, most of these changes will be reversed once you quit smoking. However, some changes may last for long periods of time and may explain why a few people get cravings to smoke many months or years after quitting.

Is the addiction purely chemical?

No. While changes in brain and body chemistry are a big part of addiction, they don't tell the whole story. Smoking is also a learned behaviour. For example, over a one-year period a one-pack a day smoker will take a puff more than 70,000 times. We begin to learn or associate things such as the way we hold or light a cigarette or take it out of the package with the pleasant feelings or sense of relief that it brings us.

We also learn to associate having a cigarette with other things we do immediately before or after smoking such as drinking coffee, alcohol, or eating a good meal. Because smoking often requires us to take a break from our daily duties, we may also learn to associate smoking with the temporary relief of worry, tension, boredom or fatigue. We may also associate smoking with having a good time with friends.

The good news is, with practice and preparation we can break old behavioural habits and learn new ways of getting the benefits we associate with smoking.

How long does it take to become addicted?

Scientists don't really know how long it takes to become addicted. Some say the process begins after only a few cigarettes while others believe it may take a few months or even years after starting to smoke. It probably varies from person to person and depends on how much you smoke or use other forms of tobacco. For example, some people have certain genes that make them more susceptible to nicotine addiction. It may also depend upon whether your mother smoked during pregnancy.

Does everyone who uses tobacco become addicted?

No, not everyone who smokes will develop what doctors call "nicotine dependency". The most recent estimates from the United States suggest that about half of daily smokers have a nicotine dependency. The rate of dependency among occasional smokers is very low.

How do I know if I'm addicted to nicotine?

Different people have different levels of addiction. However, the more you smoke, the more likely you are to be addicted. Persons who smoke less than 10 cigarettes a day are less likely to be addicted. Smoking an average of more than 25 cigarettes a day is a strong indication of addiction.

The sooner you have to smoke after getting out of bed, the more likely you are addicted. People with moderate to high levels of addiction smoke within 30 minutes of getting up. You may be addicted if going without a cigarette for more than a few hours causes you to experience moderate to severe withdrawal symptoms.

Finally, you may be addicted if you have made several serious attempts to quit but have been unable to stay smokefree for more than a couple of days. The more of these situations that are true of you, the more likely it is that you are dependent on nicotine.

Can the addiction be overcome?

Yes. More than half of all people who have ever smoked in Canada have already quit smoking. This includes men and women of all ages and all levels of addiction. For smokers with low levels of addiction quitting may be relatively easy. However, for others, quitting for good or even reducing the amount you smoke may require some careful planning and learning some new skills. It may even require a few practice attempts before you succeed for good.

There are a variety of effective treatments and programs available to help you. A variety of medications have also proven to be helpful for persons addicted to nicotine. However, remember this, every time you try to quit and learn something about yourself, you are further ahead than you were before.