What is Nicotine?
Nicotine is an insecticide causing an interference within the nervous system. This interference is possible because of the nicotine involving itself in the nerve signals and acting as a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine. This signal triggers a release of dopamine, another neurotransmitter, which activates the nerve cells associated with the sensation of pleasure. However by nicotine playing this role it stops the receptor protein from functioning for a while, this continuous exposure to nicotine increasing the amount of acetylcholine receptors. Eventually this leads to the addiction of nicotine, which is present in every cigarette. This drug is so addictive that smoking related deaths double the total amount of deaths caused by alcohol, illicit drugs, fires, car accidents, homicides, suicides, and AIDS (Sherman 40). Although nicotine is the addictive causing agent it is not the disease causing agent.
The life threatening diseases smoking creates in humans are due to the harmful tars and carbon monoxide found in cigarettes. Circulatory disease such as cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, myocardial infraction and stroke, lung cancer, or chronic obstructive lung disease are attributable to the consumption of tobacco (Campbell 427). However the amount and duration of cigarettes smoked, the strength of the tobacco and the intensity of inhalation allow variation in the extent of the illness.
Although there are many side effects of nicotine addiction and cigarette smoking there are also many alternatives to solving the addiction and the diseases. For example, the mortality from smoking is reduced by 23% when the amount of tar is reduced to 15mg within a cigarette. However, this fact is only positive if a smoker is unable to quit. Some other alternatives to smoking is Nicotrol, a nicotine transdermal patch, or Nicorette nicotine gum. These methods provide small dosages of nicotine, 2-4 mg, yet do not have contain tar or carbon monoxide, the disease causing agents.
Smoking is not a habit, it is an addiction. It takes the average smoker anywhere from six to seven times to successfully give up smoking. With there now being many alternatives to smoking there is no reason why this addiction should kill an addictive smoker six and a half years earlier than a non smoker.
