What Exactly Nicotine Is?
Contents
Nicotine (found in tobacco) is a highly addictive chemical that contains nitrogen, which is why is hard to quit smoking and any tobacco products.
Tobacco leaves and smoke generate over 4 to 5k chemicals, when they are burned, the best known of which is – nicotine.
Common tobacco products that contain nicotine are:
- Cigarettes
- cigars
- smokeless tobacco like dip, snuff, chewing tobacco, etc.
- Hookah
- morphine
- E-cigarettes
- Cocaine
- Non-combusted cigarettes
Smokeless tobacco is more prevalent than cigarettes or bidis in India.
According to the WHO, there are about 120 million smokers in India, and each year about 1 million smokers die due to tobacco.
Moreover, nicotine has a high toxicity in comparison to many other alkaloids such as caffeine.

Why Are nicotine products hard to quit?
Because nicotine changes the way the brain works, causing a craving for more of it.
Understand it with smoking, when we smoke It triggers dopamine and endorphins (feel-good hormones) in the brain.
Over time nicotine makes smokers happy, or pleasurable sensations, which makes smoking highly addictive.
That is the reason why when you try to stop smoking, you experience unpleasant mental and physical changes called nicotine withdrawal.
Although, nicotine not only affects your brain, but also affects bones, heart, digestive, nervous, respiratory, and muscular systems.
Facts
The number of smokers worldwide increased to 1.1 billion in 2019, with tobacco smoking causing 7.7 million deaths.
Waterpipe tobacco use is damaging to health in similar ways to cigarette tobacco use.
Over 80% of the 1.3 billion tobacco users worldwide live in low-and middle-income countries.
Tobacco cultivation in India was introduced by the Portuguese in 1605.
Tobacco was grown in the Kaira and Mehsana districts of Gujarat and later spread to other areas of the country.
Nicotine effect on the body
As we know smoking is a very unhealthy lifestyle, which leads to death, and even affects your surroundings.
According to the (CDC) cigarettes contain 5,000 chemical components and hundreds of them are harmful to human health.
Tobacco isn’t famous for its health benefits.
However scientists genetically modified tobacco plants to produce medicines for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases including diabetes (2)
Nicotine has a wide range of effects on the body. Which include:
Effect on brain
Nicotine also causes increased oxidative stress, neuronal apoptosis, DNA damage, and reactive oxygen species increase.
Dopamine is a brain chemical that affects emotions, movement, and sensation of pleasure and pain.
If your brain’s dopamine levels rise the feeling of happiness is also higher.
NOTE: Consuming nicotine is also associated with raised alertness and a sensation of being relaxed.
Increased dopamine released may contribute to reward, and quitting can make it too difficult.
Nicotine also increases beta-carotene, resulting in reduced anxiety.
Effect on body
Nicotine stimulates the adrenal glands, resulting in the release of adrenaline.
Adrenaline stimulates the body, causes the immediate release of glucose, and increases heartbeat, breathing, and blood pressure.
In people who consume nicotine in any way, its symptoms can peak after two to 3 days after quitting. Common symptoms are:
- Frequent hunger
- Anxiety, depression
- Trouble in sleeping
- Restlessness
- Difficulty in focus
- Irritability
- Headache
- Weight loss and weight gain
- Bad dream
Side effect
An animal study showed that toxicity can decrease B cell population, thus increasing the risk of diabetes (4)
Other possible side effects:
- It damages blood vessel walls, which restrict blood flow, and triggers heart attacks and strokes.
- Cigarette ingredients can change the body’s DNA and cause cancer.
- Damage eyesight, low bone density
- Spasms in the lungs
- pneumonia
- Joint pain
- Irregular heartbeat
- Weak immune system
- Increased risk of eye problems
- Smokers are more prone to lung infections, such as colds, flu, and bronchitis.
- Risk of developing swelling of the gum and gum infection.
This causes a reduction in blood glucose levels. And also causes lipolysis, thus decreasing body weight.
Makes it harder for women to get pregnant, in men it can cause erectile dysfunction.
Learn More – Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy
Signs that you may be addicted to nicotine
Many people smoked 1, 2, and 4 cigarettes a day. Yet they are not addicted to it, no, no that’s not right, they are fully addicted to it.
Signs that say you have become a nicotine addict which include:
Difficulty in stopping smoking
You will not be able to quit smoking even if you want because it is giving you fun. And makes it hard to quit nicotine products.
When you try it stop it, you have to face withdrawal symptoms.
You feel comfortable after consuming it
Before any stressful situations, you use it to make yourself confident, and comfortable. Which shows that you are addicted to it.
You may avoid family or friends or socialize, and choose a smoking restaurant or room, due to your smoking lifestyle.
Smoking Cigarettes several times a day
It is most commonly seen in smokers, that even by saying no, they consume cigarettes many times a day, which triggers addiction.
Also, attempts to stop physical and mood-related symptoms such as:
- Cravings
- Anxiety
- Nervousness situations
- Restlessness
- Difficulty in focus
- Sad mood
- Anger
- Irritability
- Increased hunger
- Difficulty in sleeping
- Constipation and diarrhea
You keep smoking despite health issues
After recovery from any health concern, you will not be able to stop nicotine consumption.
Because it gives your brain a relaxed feeling, After which your mind cannot think of anything. Even your health condition.
Symptoms of nicotine overdose
Sufficiently high doses of nicotine are associated with poisoning.
But in the past, most cases of nicotine poisoning have been used to kill insects.
Moreover, nicotine and creams also have adverse effects, In some cases, children have become poisoned by topical medicinal creams that contain nicotine.
Symptoms of nicotine overdose are:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Stomach pain
- Rapid heartbeat
- High Blood pressure
- Headache
- Rapid breathing or difficulty in breathing
- Dizziness
- Pale skin
- not visible

Situations that trigger the urge to smoke
Many situations trigger the urge, however, if a person is highly addicted to smoking, they are easily triggered even by smell.
Here are common situations that can wake up your urge to smoke.
- If someone consumes in front of you
- During drinking alcohol, coffee or taking breaks from work
- Driving car
- Happy for the day, Because of this, you will smoke in celebration on that day.
- Talking to someone on the phone
- Spending time with friends
- Stressful situations and conditions can also urge you to smoke.
Treatment
There are medicines available that help you to boycott nicotine products in your life.
Nicotine Replacement Therapy
It is used for smokers to reduce the severity of urges and cravings. It is available in the form of:
Patches: Apply on certain body parts, like the arm, however, which patch you apply depends on how much smoke.
- Gum
- Throat lozenges
- Inhalers
- Nasal spray
- Solution
Making sure, gum and lozenges are chosen is also important, their effectiveness also depends on, how much you smoke in one day.
If someone smokes 1 pack per day or less, use the 2mg pieces. And if more than 1 pack per/day, then 4mg pieces are recommended.
A 2008 study review advises that NRH can boost the chances of quitting smoking in the long term.
NOTE: Before taking any therapy, consult the doctor, which will tell medicines according to your urge and your health.
Supportive Therapy
Quitting smoking is hard when doing it alone. But family members, friends, colleagues, etc may help you quit smoking.
Most smokers seem to find it very hard to quit, but with support, it becomes easy, but first control your mind with
Meet people who completely stop it, they can help you in mood and irritability symptoms, and how to get rid of them.
Prescription Medicines
Your health care provider also prescribes you some other types of medicines to help you quit.
But left treatment between can urge the sensation and decrease the risk of a reversion (5).
NOTE: healthytalk8 not recommended any type of medication because individuals conditions are different.
Prevention Tips
The best way to prevent nicotine is to avoid places, situations, and conditions that trigger urges.
Also, do not use tobacco in the first place. like in college, office, parties, etc.
The best to keep children, and younger ones away from it, is not to smoke yourself.
It’s seen that parents who do not smoke are less likely children to do the same.
Down Line
Nicotine is very hard to quit but with proper support, you can completely stop it.
It has many health concerns like increasing the risk of heart health, bone disease, and even promoting the cancer risk.