Nicotine is one of the most highly addictive-and deadly-substances in the world. In fact, Cornell University describes nicotine as a “super toxin” that’s more lethal than strychnine, arsenic and diamondback rattlesnake poison.
Why it’s addictive?
People get addicted to nicotine by smoking cigarettes made with black leaf tobacco. Addiction experts claim that kicking the nicotine habit can be as difficult or harder to quit than heroin.
As deadly as nicotine is, its chemical structure is virtually the same as the neurotransmitter responsible for the release of dopamine, the brain’s way of using a pleasant sensation to remind us that we want something. In its own way, the release of dopamine is a survival mechanism to help keep humans alive. We feel better when we eat, drink, get praise from family and friends. We can also feel better when we drink, smoke, shoot drugs. Dopamine doesn’t just trigger these sensations; it reminds us of the need to indulge them. Dopamine doesn’t distinguish the difference between a good behavior or a bad behavior.
Health Effects
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, smoking causes or creates increased risk for:
- 90% of lung cancer deaths in men and 80% of lung cancer deaths in women
- an increase in coronary heart disease by 2 to 4 times,1,5
- an increase in stroke by 2 to 4 times,1,6
- an increase in the likelihood of men developing lung cancer by 23 times,1
- an increase in the likelihood of women developing lung cancer by 13 times,1 and
- dying from chronic obstructive lung diseases (such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema) by 12 to 13 times.
- Fertility problems
- Premature births, low birth weights and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
Nicotine Replacement Products
There’s a lot of money spent advertising nicotine replacement products. Whether it’s gum, a pill, or a patch, it’s all the same-a pharmaceutical answer to the body’s natural defenses.
Most nicotine replacement use a derivative of nicotine in its formulas. Using nicotine to quit nicotine doesn’t make sense. It’s also why use of these products has such high failure rates, as well as create transferred addictions from cigarettes to the nicotine replacement product.
Healthy Ways to Quit Smoking
70% of smokers want to stop. And while the body can be 100% free of nicotine after 72 hours, it’s the mental and emotional triggers that usually cause someone to start smoking again. It can take an extra 21 days for your body to completely adjust to being nicotine-free.
Here are some ways you can quit smoking for good:
- Do not skip meals, especially breakfast. Skipping meals triggers spikes in blood sugar, which can trigger dopamine and craving…for anything, including cigarettes.
- Watch caffeine intake. Nicotine can double the elimination rate of caffeine from the body, so after smoking, you may feel jittery if you maintain caffeine intake levels.
- Try drinking cranberry juice in the first 3-5 days after quitting smoking. It helps to stabilize blood sugar while your system is cleansing itself of nicotine.
- Lobelia tea is a great tea to drink while detoxing from smoking due to a similar nicotine-like effect on the body without the actual harmful effects of nicotine.
- Licorice Root tea is another tea that is good to drink while overcoming cigarette addiction.
- Hops, Magnolia Bark, and Wild Lettuce are also good herbs to help with healing from cigarette smoking.
- Take Sea Salt baths to help draw toxins from the body.
Dherbs Solutions
To help break cigarette and nicotine addiction, Dherbs recommends:
- Full Body Cleanse
- Substance Abuse Cleanse
- Respiratory Cleanse and Regimen
- Smoke-Less (Anti-Smoking) Formula
- Smoke-Less Inhaler
- Nerves Cleanse & Regimen
- Nerves Formula
Thank you for reading! This article is compliments of Dherbs.com.
Vincent Stevens is the senior content writer at Dherbs. As a fitness and health and wellness enthusiast, he enjoys covering a variety of topics, including the latest health, fitness, beauty, and lifestyle trends. His goal is to inform people of different ways they can improve their overall health, which aligns with Dherbs’ core values. He received his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of Redlands, graduating summa cum laude. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.
