Know Your Enemy – Nicotine

Nicotine creates a biochemical reaction in your body that has an immediate effect on your mood, your ability to reason, and your metabolism.   Even if you only smoke a few cigarettes a day, you will feel bad when you try to quit?   The more that you smoke, the higher level of chemical dependency will be reached. Light smokers can also become just as dependent on cigarettes because of nicotine”s psychological impact. Nicotine even affects moods and feelings.

It is only a matter of seconds after that first puff that nicotine starts to have an effect on your central nervous system, and the rest of your body. Certain areas of the brain, when stimulated by nicotine, help you think more clearly.   Other areas of the brain lie in a pleasure center which when stimulated can make you feel more relaxed and less anxious.

Nicotine also affects the hormones produced by the body, which creates a chemical dependency to nicotine and the accompanying craving. Heavy smokers have become dependent on heightened levels of hormones, stimulated by nicotine, which can have an addictive quality. They need a cigarette at certain intervals of time. After the stimulation of the hormones starts to fall, they need another cigarette to bring them back into the comfort zone. If they do not get that cigarette, the craving begins.

The Risks  of Smoking

According to health care experts, if you smoke, you will be twelve times more likely to die from lung cancer.   Now let”s just think for one short moment: wouldn”t it be very important for you to increase your chances of living from two to twelve times longer, gain many extra years of happy, healthy existence, and save thousands of dollars in increased medical costs?

  • 10 times more likely to die from Cancers of the mouth, throat, and esophagus risks.
  • 12 times more likely to die from lung cancer or some form of lung diseases.
  • 10 times more likely to die from cancer of the larynx.
  • 6 times more likely to die of heart disease.
  • And you will be twice as likely to die of a stroke.

Enough is enough!

Another overlooked benefit is the amount of money saved by not buying cigarettes in the first place.   For example; if you smoke one pack of cigarettes a day at $2.00 per pack, you spend $730 per year. If your habit has continued for a period of 15 years you will have spent an incredible $10,950! If you smoke two packs for that same period of time, you will spend $21,900!

Share

HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our blood alcohol, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years. Our team of health professionals, and researchers use peer reviewed studies as source elements in our articles. Our high quality content has been featured in a number of leading websites, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, Live Strong, GQ, and many more.

User Reviews

Reply

Your email address will not be published

one + fifteen =

Written by HealthStatus Team
Medical Writer & Editor

HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our blood alcohol, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years. Our team of health professionals, and researchers use peer reviewed studies as source elements in our articles. Our high quality content has been featured in a number of leading websites, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, Live Strong, GQ, and many more.

View all post by HealthStatus Team