Why Are We Addicted to Tobacco?

Tobacco is used by millions around the world and is one the top preventable causes of disease and death, with approximately 7 million deaths per year as a direct result of tobacco use. Once people pick up the habit of smoking, it is typically extremely hard to quit due to the addictive nature of nicotine which is found in tobacco.

What Is A Tobacco Addiction?

When you're addicted to tobacco, you have a compulsive need to seek out and use the substance of your choice, even when you understand the harm it could cause you. All tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, and pipes are addictive, and while everyone who smokes knows it is bad for them, it can be challenging to quit. It is well known that humans have used tobacco products for centuries, and recent discoveries have found that tobacco products have, in fact, been used for over 12,000 years, and you can learn more onAlarabiyanews.

Is Nicotine Addictive?

The short answer is yes, nicotine is addictive. For instance, every cigarette you consume contains approximately ten milligrams of nicotine, and because you inhale only some of the smoke from a cigarette, you typically only get one to two milligrams of nicotine per cigarette. While this may seem like a small amount, it is more than enough to cause someone to develop an addiction to the drug.

What Is Harmful In Tobacco?

Nicotine is only one of the 4,000 chemicals found in tobacco products, and many of them are poisonous. Many of the chemicals found in tobacco products are harmful, such as carbon monoxide, tar, acetaldehyde, and nitrosamines, and most people would never consider putting them in their bodies as they can cause many diseases, with the top two causing health problems being tat and carbon monoxide.

• Tar: This compound has been linked as a cause of lung cancer, bronchial diseases, and emphysema.
• Carbon Monoxide: Carbon monoxide is the main cause of heart problems and the reason why many smokers are at a high risk of developing heart disease.

How Is Tobacco Used?

As previously mentioned, tobacco has been used throughout human history and can be smoked in many ways, such as cigarettes, cigars, or pipes, as well as chewed or sniffed if powdered. Hookah, also known as waterpipe smoking, has been practiced for centuries and has grown in popularity amongst younger generations as it comes in many flavors, and the pipe can be passed around for a social experience. 

Impact Of Prolonged Tobacco Consumption

As mentioned, prolonged use of tobacco products leads to nicotine addiction; however, there is research being conducted to review the changes in the brain as a direct result of long-term nicotine use and the behavioural consequences of this habit. Prolonged use of tobacco products also causes harm to every organ in your body and has been linked as a cause for leukemia, pneumonia, and cataracts, as well as a significant number of cancer deaths. As a result of long-term tobacco use, the overall death rate for cancer is twice as high for those who smoke, and people with heavy smoking habits are four times more likely to develop cancer.