How nicotine addiction is formed. How does a strong addiction to cigarettes appear?

Nicotine addiction – painful condition, from which hundreds of millions of people on our planet suffer. They suffer, get sick, die, but at the same time they are afraid to give up smoking and, thereby, change their lives.

In fact, this variety Addictions are easy to eradicate at any stage. After all, it is based on human psychology. This means that it is enough to set the right motivation and the right attitudes to get rid of cigarettes once and for all!

Numbers that bring death

Before talking about effective way, helping to give up nicotine, let’s figure out where it comes from dangerous addiction. To begin with, here are a few numbers that indicate the seriousness of the problem.

So, currently every third inhabitant of our planet suffers from nicotine addiction.
One cigarette smoked takes 14 minutes of life. Thus, a heavy smoker lives on average 7 years less than a non-smoker. smoking man.
The cigarette smoke that a person inhales contains about 4000 chemical compounds. Many of them are toxic and poison vital important systems body.
Every year, about three hundred Russians die for reasons caused by addiction. Among them, in particular, cardiovascular diseases and problems of the respiratory system.
Every year, about 5.5 million people live in different countries world, dies due to his addiction to cigarettes. Apparently by 2030 this indicator will increase by another third.
Smokers get cancer twice as often as those who do not smoke cigarettes. Most likely, everyone knows what cancer ultimately leads to.
Unfortunately, the ranks of smokers are replenished mainly by teenagers. After all, it is at the age of 14-16 years that the first puffs most often occur, which can subsequently change a person’s life.

Nicotine addiction is pathological cravings to tobacco, which inevitably occurs in chronic smokers. Addiction to nicotine occurs physiologically and psychological level due to the fact that nicotine binds to acetylcholinergic receptors in the brain and provokes the release of dopamine adrenaline, causing a state of euphoria. When smoke is inhaled, nicotine enters the body through Airways and has an irritating effect on nerve endings. In fact, the effect of smoking on the body extends to absolutely all organs and systems: it increases blood pressure, increases heart rate and breathing, provokes certain changes in thought processes, etc.

Psychology

How more people smokes, the more receptors are formed in his body. If a smoker decides to give up nicotine, so-called withdrawal occurs, during which the body requires a new dose. Nicotine addiction is determined by several characteristic features, which include withdrawal syndrome(withdrawal syndrome), increased tolerance, uncontrolled craving, continued smoking with full awareness of its harm. This bad habit differs from drug addiction only in that smokers are not socially maladjusted and do not spend most of their time searching for a new dose and using it.

Separately, it is worth considering the psychological component of nicotine addiction. When smoking a cigarette, smokers experience a feeling similar to euphoria. In essence, a person experiences a state of drug intoxication, a change in physical condition. When there is a lack of nicotine in the blood, the smoker experiences not just physical discomfort, but also psychological discomfort. It seems that without the usual cigarette it is no longer possible to concentrate, irritability, aggression, etc. appear. All this happens because the effects of nicotine on the human body are very similar to psychoactive drugs. narcotic substances. However, the euphoria and increased mental activity– these are only short-term phenomena. It is worth noting that, despite the fact that smoking has a detrimental effect on health and is highly addictive, the attitude towards this habit in society is rather neutral than condemning, and nicotine is the only legal drug in our country.

Degrees

When nicotine is supplied, all body functions are stimulated or changed, and when smoking is stopped, they tend to be restored. This means that smoking has a reversible effect on the human body, and the stages of nicotine addiction are usually considered from the point of view of the degree of everyday attachment to the bad habit.

It is customary to distinguish four stages of nicotine addiction. If we talk about how long the first of them lasts, it should be noted that it occurs approximately a couple of years after the first cigarette. At first, smoking is only occasional (up to fifteen times a month). During this period, the symptoms of intoxication that appear after smoking a cigarette are quite pronounced: a person feels nauseous, becomes dizzy, and inhalation cigarette smoke causes cough. This stage can last up to two years.

The first stage of nicotine addiction is replaced by a mild chronic degree, characterized by a stronger psychological attachment. A person smokes up to a pack of cigarettes a day, but the body has already developed a fairly high tolerance to nicotine. And therefore severe symptoms no intoxication is observed. Lightweight chronic stage lasts five to seven years.

At the third stage, a person can no longer feel comfortable and function normally without usual dose nicotine At this stage, signs of pathologies caused by systematic smoking usually appear: cough, high blood pressure etc. A chronic smoker can remain at this stage for ten to twenty years, after which his health deteriorates sharply. Such patients often experience episodes of smoking at night, their nervous system experiences serious stress even with a short break, and the activity of absolutely the entire body has undergone irreversible changes.

Risk factors

The reasons for the formation of nicotine addiction lie in the fact that due to the blocking of receptors by nicotine, after some time the body begins to rebuild, producing less and less dopamine and adrenaline, which are replaced by nicotine.

The harm of smoking on the body is known even to children, with whom an explanatory conversation should be held, both at school and at home, but many smokers become addicted precisely in childhood or adolescence. It has been proven that formerly man joins this bad habit, the more dependent he becomes on it later. The risk group includes those children whose parents themselves are heavy smokers, as well as children with a genetic predisposition. Studies have shown that people who do not have hereditary predisposition to nicotine addiction, do not experience any pleasure from smoking.

Nicotine addiction often occurs in people with a certain personality type. As a rule, these are easily suggestible people, characterized by impressionability and emotional lability. In patients with schizophrenia, depression or other mental pathologies are also more prone to the bad habit in question.

Manifestations

The following signs indicate nicotine addiction:

the smoker has had at least one unsuccessful attempt to quit cigarettes;
when smoking cigarettes is reduced, withdrawal syndrome occurs, manifested in digestive disorders, sleep disorders, increased irritability, depressed state, etc.;
a smoker understands that he has health problems caused by smoking, but still does not give up bad habit;
the smoker is forced to limit his own social activity in order not to give up smoking. If among his friends and acquaintances there are people who are categorically against tobacco, the patient can limit communication with them in favor of his addiction.

Negative consequences

So, the effect of nicotine on the human body is extremely negative, as it causes changes in all organs and systems. If at the initial stages of addiction all these changes can still be reversible, then with smoking experience they develop serious illnesses with disastrous consequences for humans.

The harmful effects of nicotine on the body affect following systems and organs:

Women and teenagers

The impact of smoking on the body of people of any gender and age is difficult to underestimate. Women who smoke are more likely to experience hormonal fluctuations,
The condition of the skin worsens, and pregnancy is much more difficult. It is worth noting that nicotine quite easily passes through the placenta to the fetus, causing pathological changes. Also, in women with nicotine addiction, the risk of developing osteoporosis increases several times. Male smokers are more likely to have problems with potency, prostate adenoma and other pathologies. Such fathers are more likely to give birth to weak, frequently ill children.

When it comes to teenagers, their bodies are exposed to so much nicotine that it negatively affects almost every area of their life. Due to exhaustion nerve cells In children, mnestic functions deteriorate, perception and logic suffer, and problems with learning are observed. Teenagers who smoke often develop endocrine pathologies, acne, heart and vascular diseases, nervous and mental illness etc.

Is it possible to get rid of

Many smokers are concerned about the question of whether there are effective methods treatment for nicotine addiction? It should be noted that almost no one succeeds in quitting smoking the first time. A competent specialist will help you in the fight against a bad habit and will offer to try one of the methods that exist today.

In the fight against smoking, the so-called replacement therapy with reception medicines containing nicotine or substances similar in their action to it. Antidepressants and medications that act on brain receptors can also be prescribed, reducing the symptoms of withdrawal symptoms. In addition, you may need to take a drug that lowers your blood pressure.

Many people still argue that smoking, albeit harmful, is still a habit. Whether they really think so, or are simply lying to themselves, the essence does not change. It has long been proven that smoking is an addiction, and it has both psychological and physiological components. Physical dependence on smoking, or more precisely on nicotine, is determined by its participation in biochemical processes, psychological - by the habit of smoking and enjoying the process itself. Moreover, many doctors tend to consider addiction to nicotine a drug addiction.

Article structure:

Is nicotine addiction a drug addiction?

So should smoking be defined as a drug addiction? Most likely, yes, even if nicotineism is not very similar to the signs and manifestations of drug addiction that are familiar to us. Of course, a smoking person will not sell cars and apartments for the next “dose” of nicotine, he will not steal or commit robbery if he does not have money for a pack of cigarettes.

The smoker does not forget about his family, parents, children and does not come to socialize at a certain time only in a close circle of other smokers. A smoker does not hallucinate, does not fall into prostration, and does not lose touch with reality after another cigarette. Even - the phenomenon is not only rare, but almost impossible.

However, signs of drug addiction in tobacco addiction are still present.

First- this is, of course, addiction to a substance, when its absence or inability to use leads a person to a state of discomfort, depression, irritability, and decreased performance.

Second- this is a consequence of use, which is an increase in psychoactivity, albeit for a short period of time.

Of course, there is also social degradation of smokers, although not on the same scale as those addicted to alcohol and drugs. Whatever you say, there are a number of aspects physical dependence from smoking makes itself felt. For such people, throwing a cigarette out of the window of an expensive car is a common thing, just like smoking in places where it is prohibited or can harm others. Even smoking breaks in front of children, including our own, are not considered something shameful, but thereby a program is quite definitely laid in the child’s psyche that a cigarette is a completely ordinary thing, and there is nothing terrible about it, because even dad (brother) , uncle, grandfather) smokes.

At the same time, the intelligence of people dependent on tobacco does not suffer to the same extent as it does in those dependent on others. psychoactive substances. They may have weight in society, a decent position, or own business, nicotine does not become the center of the universe for them, when all thoughts, actions and actions revolve around the substance, they take care of their loved ones and remain devoted friends. But the paradox is that staying with high level intelligence, these people continue to poison themselves, knowing about everyone negative consequences smoking...

Signs of physical dependence on nicotine

How to recognize physical dependence on tobacco? In fact, everything is simple: if you feel physically ill without smoking, if you experience discomfort when you are unable to smoke, there is physical dependence.

Discomfort in the absence of nicotine can manifest itself in different ways, it all depends on the individual characteristics of the smoker. But the sensations that arise during the withdrawal period are quite unpleasant. Anger, irritability, apathy, nervousness - these are some of them. In some cases, a person may lose the ability to perform their job functions, lose the ability to concentrate and think soberly. During the withdrawal period, all the smoker’s thoughts are occupied only with the desire to take a sip of cigarette smoke.

Often, it is the possible withdrawal symptoms that frighten a person and are a serious obstacle to recovery from nicotine addiction.

The mechanism of nicotine addiction

From a biochemical point of view, nicotine acts on the human body in the following way: once it enters the blood, it reaches the brain in a few seconds and spreads to all organs and systems. Under its influence, the adrenal glands secrete norepinephrine, a hormone that increases cardiac activity and increases blood pressure. As a result, the smoker’s mood improves, a feeling of comfort, well-being, tranquility arises, the reaction becomes more acute, and a surge of energy is felt.

Norepinephrine plays a role in metabolic processes and is a necessary hormone for normal life, therefore it is produced by the body itself in required quantities. However, the wise human body does not need excess, and with the artificial production of norepinephrine through the use of tobacco, its own “production” of the hormone stops.

Starting with a small number of cigarettes, a person gradually increases the frequency of smoking - the less norepinephrine the body produces, the more nicotine it requires. This is how a physiological addiction to smoking arises. Nicotine provides a lasting addiction, and all other toxic substances present in tobacco smoke begin to slowly but surely kill the smoker.

The process of addiction to smoking occurs in several stages:

Smoking intermittently, intermittently

Most often, a smoker takes up a cigarette simply “for company” - this can be at a party, when discussing important matters, in society strangers when it is necessary to smooth out pauses in communication. In this case, there is no physical dependence on nicotine yet; the number of cigarettes smoked is a couple of cigarettes, 1-2 times a week.

Episodic nicotineism becomes systematic

Smoking becomes daily, up to 10 cigarettes are smoked per day. Physical dependence develops, the craving for smoking increases, and the need to quit smoking arises. discomfort associated with a lack of nicotine.

Chronic intoxication appears

The number of cigarettes smoked reaches 15-30 pieces per day. Withdrawal syndrome manifests itself more acutely and painfully, disorders appear in the nervous, respiratory systems and in the digestive system.

Stage of severe chronic intoxication

The craving for tobacco and withdrawal symptoms are pronounced. Smoking 1.5-3 packs of cigarettes daily. Problems arise in the functioning of many organs and systems of the body.

How to get rid of physical dependence on smoking?

To get rid of nicotine addiction, you need a set of measures aimed not only at physical, but also at.

There are a sufficient number of remedies to relieve nicotine hunger. These can be nicotine replacement therapy drugs - patches, chewing gum, sprays, tablets - providing the body with a “dose” of nicotine, less than in a cigarette, but sufficient to satisfy the nicotine hunger. The use of such drugs helps relieve withdrawal symptoms and smooth out unpleasant symptoms, calm down nervous system and quit smoking gradually.

In addition to products containing nicotine, there are nicotine-free drugs that alleviate withdrawal symptoms, and in some cases cause a person to feel aversion to tobacco smoke. It can be herbal teas, sprays, tablets and other drugs.

And don't forget two things. First, the decision to quit smoking must be conscious and persistent, and not for the sake of an argument or at the request of your mother and wife, otherwise not a single drug, even the most powerful and wonderful one, will help you. And secondly, don’t forget about the psychological addiction that can live with you long years after quitting tobacco.

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Nicotine addiction is a pathological craving for tobacco that occurs over time in the vast majority (about 90%) of smokers. Interestingly, up to 60% of total number Chronic smokers recognize themselves as addicts and want to get rid of pathological desire, but only a few of them have the willpower.

Smoking addiction develops due to nicotine’s ability to affect acetylcholinergic receptors in the brain, which provokes the release of adrenaline and dopamine. The combination of these two substances causes a person to experience mild euphoria, cheerfulness, improved mental activity, and increased breathing. However, after a few weeks, the body’s ability to produce these substances without the “help” of nicotine decreases. Therefore, a smoker who does not receive his next portion in a timely manner tobacco smoke, gets a failure of regulatory systems and a kind of nicotine.

Manifestations of nicotine addiction

Symptoms of this pathological condition appear in three forms:

Physiological reactions;
Emotional manifestations;
Behavioral deviations.

Physiological reactions

A smoker who decides to treat his addiction may begin to suffer from hypotension and a decrease in blood glucose levels, which makes the person lethargic, tired, and with a feeling of “stuffed up” ears. However, the patient’s objective indicators improve - vascular spasms disappear, oxygen concentration in the blood increases, heart function, potency and tolerance to physical stress improve.

Emotional manifestations

The feeling of loss of strength that occurs during nicotine withdrawal can reduce the patient’s self-esteem and lead to the development of depression. Also, people who are thinking about how to get rid of nicotine addiction should be prepared to deal with their irritability during the period of possible withdrawal.

Treatment

The method of treating this pathology is selected based on the degree of nicotine addiction in a person. As a rule, psychotherapeutic methods are effective, as well as the prescription of nicotine replacement drugs.

Treatment of mild addiction

Its presence is confirmed by a test for nicotine addiction; another confirming sign can be considered the fact that a person smokes up to one pack of cigarettes per day. It will be enough to work on psychological aspect, special effect carry group classes and personal consultations with a psychologist.

Treatment of moderate addiction

At this stage of the disease, the smoker is already beginning to experience moderate withdrawal symptoms while quitting his bad habit. As for the quantitative aspect, we are talking about smoking one pack of cigarettes every day. IN in this case psychotherapy is effective, in parallel with which nicotine replacement drugs are taken, produced in the form of lozenges, chewing gum, nicotine-containing patch. Pills for nicotine addiction are also quite popular. "Tabex", With active substance cytisine.

Treatment of severe addiction

Smoking more than a pack of cigarettes per day indicates that the patient has a severe degree of the disease. Manifestations psychological discomfort, and later withdrawal syndrome in those patients who decided to quit smoking at this phase of the disease, are very noticeable. This stage involves adding nicotine to psychotherapeutic assistance and nicotine replacement, the use of which should be monitored by a narcologist.

Alternative Treatments

IN Lately treatment of nicotine addiction with acupuncture, body cleansing, homeopathic medicines, coding certainly has an impact positive effect for some patients, but do not have an evidence-based scientific basis. Many patients are interested in how long does nicotine addiction last? It all depends on individual characteristics the patient's body, but on average the consequences of failure are felt for about one month.

Consequences of nicotine abuse

Consequences of nicotine addiction for human body quite serious. This is a decrease in immunity, the formation of lesions in the lungs and throat oncological diseases, stomach ulcers and duodenum, and malignant formations in these organs. As for the consequences of quitting smoking, it can lead to an increase in a person’s body weight by a maximum of 4 kilograms.

Smoking is a bad habit, everyone knows about it. However, the number of smokers does not stop growing, because it is much easier to start “smoking” than to quit, since the addiction only intensifies day after day. Doses and the need for cigarettes change at each stage of nicotine addiction, and, with “overcoming” each of them, it becomes more and more difficult to part with a cigarette.

Why does nicotine addiction occur?

The main component of cigarettes is nicotine, a natural but psychoactive substance that has a stimulating effect and has narcotic properties. By activating the part of the brain responsible for pleasure, nicotine, like cocaine, causes mild euphoria. After powerful stimulation, there comes a sharp decline, fraught with strong nervous disorders, hence physical nicotine dependence and an increase in the need for cigarettes arises. After each puff, the smoker receives reinforcement of the satisfaction effect: if on average there are 10 puffs per cigarette, then a pack per day is 200 reinforcements.

Then an association arises that with or after a cigarette it is easier to work, think, communicate and even wake up. It is called psychological dependence, and getting rid of it is much more difficult.

Nicotine addiction is also a disease accompanied by disturbances in life important processes the body as a result of the consumption of substances that can cause persistent addiction. The harm of nicotine effects is inhibition mineral metabolism, hormonal status, stimulation of production gastric juice, weakening of blood vessels, development of tumors. This list can be continued for a long time. The point is that the components of a cigarette, of which there are dozens, turn into toxic when burned. chemical elements and mercilessly spoil health.

Stages of addiction to cigarettes

From the first time, smoking rarely gives anyone true, uncorrupted pleasure: coughing, nausea, dizziness - the sensations that come with the first puffs. After such an experience, some are no longer interested in cigarettes, others smoke occasionally or turn it into a daily activity. Depending on the frequency of the desire to smoke and the amount necessary cigarettes per day, there are usually three stages of nicotine addiction.

The first stage is the initial stage

The initial stage is characterized by systematic cigarette sipping. Smokers feel cheerfulness, improved mood and abilities, comfort - the first signs of desire. The symptoms that occurred when you first became acquainted with cigarettes are no longer present; day after day, the need for them increases more and more. People go through this stage between 2 and 5 years.

Although, there is an opinion that, although harmless at first glance, smoking 1 - 3 cigarettes a week is already initial stage addiction.

The second stage is chronic

At the stage of chronic addiction, the need to smoke continues to change upward and gradually takes on a stable form. Now people reach for the pack under any pretext - bad and wellness, overexertion, unobtrusive conversation, walk, etc. Here we are already observing manifestations of withdrawal syndrome, a component of the dependence syndrome that occurs if you suddenly stop smoking or reduce the amount of tobacco.

The picture is complemented by the appearance of a cough in the morning, pressure surges, a feeling of discomfort, problems with sleep, aggressiveness, and some lethargy. I want to smoke all the time, the thought of smoking comes to me at night, a pack of cigarettes a day is already the norm. How long the second stage will last depends entirely on the person, on average it is 6 – 10 years, but they also talk about 15 – 20 years.

The third stage is late

On late stage There is no meaning put into the smoking process, sometimes this happens unnoticed even by the smoker himself. There are no specific reasons or intervals between smoke breaks, there are no brand preferences, the process is “adjusted” to the point of automaticity. Forgetfulness, anxiety, irritability, apathy appear, headaches often begin, and appetite disappears.

The respiratory, digestive, and heart organs suffer, and the elasticity of blood vessels is weakened. Distinctive feature an experienced smoker - yellowish tint skin.

Of course, the described division is conditional; the development of addiction is influenced by the type of cigarette, age, gender differences, health, and personal resistance to toxic substances.

Determining the presence of cigarette addiction

In most cases, smoking is an addiction, sometimes it’s a habit, when you want to smoke a cigarette after a feast, severe stress, experiences, etc.

The presence of dependence on the part is determined by the length of time and intensity of the desire to smoke, as well as the following signs:

Nervousness and anxiety if cigarettes are excluded or their quantity is reduced;
The desire to smoke does not stop growing, the previous doses no longer bring satisfaction;
Smoking is allowed for large periods of time;
After one cigarette, the thought of the next immediately arises;
The reason why smoking started has been eliminated, but the habit of smoking remains;
Smoke breaks are taken to the detriment of work, rest, etc.;
Be aware of the full extent of the harm caused to health by smoking, but do not think about quitting;
I really want to quit, but I have no willpower.

An undoubted symptom of cigarette addiction is the appearance of headaches, weakness, insomnia, poor health, and severe nervousness when trying to quit smoking. Also, if at least three of the above symptoms occur within a year, this is called nicotine addiction.

What is nicotine withdrawal?

overcome bad habit Not everyone can do it on their own. Having put out a cigarette, after about two hours a person feels the inconvenience associated with nicotine starvation. After another 6–7 hours, it becomes difficult for the smoker to concentrate; any little thing can set him off. After another two days, the thought of smoking does not leave me for a minute, a depressive mood sets in, I even feel physical pain- this is how they describe nicotine withdrawal- a consequence of an acute lack of nicotine.

The duration and severity of this condition directly depends on the stage of nicotine addiction. Receptors in the brain formed during smoking gradually cease to function, but in smokers with the second and third stages this process occurs for more than one year.

Stages, forms and degrees of nicotine addiction. Fagerström test

nicotine addiction stage

Vivid emotions, sports, traditional methods(in the form of seeds, coffee, sweets) and medications facilitate the adaptation process.

As soon as arrival toxic substances in the body stops, the body begins to recover. It turns out that it is possible to get rid of the smoking habit at any stage of addiction; it is important to realize that every smoker only benefits from this.