Nicotine Addiction

Tobacco products include cigars, cigarettes, and pipes as well as chewing tobacco and other smokeless products. Nicotine is absorbed through the skin and the lining of the mouth and nose. It can also be inhaled into a person’s lungs. Nicotine is highly addictive, as evidenced by the 34 million smokers who attempt to quit each year. Less than 7 percent of these people are successful after one year of abstaining from smoking.

Nicotine addicts a person because it increases the dopamine levels in the brain. To keep the level of pleasure up, a person must “dose” themselves frequently throughout the day. Tolerance eventually develops, making higher doses necessary to get the same effect. Nicotine can also create a calming effect, depending on the makeup of a person's central nervous system.

There are few to no legal or social consequences for smoking or chewing. Nicotine products are available almost anywhere in the United States, at virtually any corner gas station or drugstore. Therefore, preventing nicotine addiction begins with childhood education. Having an open line of communication regarding nicotine, tobacco, and cigarette use helps keep kids from becoming addicted. By encouraging healthy living habits and either abstaining from tobacco or quitting existing nicotine use, parents can teach their children how to stay away from nicotine products.

Signs and Symptoms of Addiction

Admission of a problem is the first step in quitting. Even just one cigarette can have negative consequences to a person’s health. Occasional users have the potential to become abusers after even just a few days. Signs that a person is addicted to cigarettes include:

• Simply not being able to quit
• Getting withdrawal symptoms when abstaining from use
• Continuing to smoke even when health problems arise
• Avoiding certain social activities or people because using nicotine or tobacco products is not possible in those situations

Treatment Options

Several treatment options are available for people with a nicotine addiction problem. Nicotine therapies, non-nicotine treatments, and behavioral treatments can all address the addiction.

Nicotine replacement therapies involve giving users small doses of nicotine to reduce cravings. However, the pleasurable effects are not felt, so there is no abuse potential. The lower level of nicotine also helps keep withdrawal symptoms at bay, so users do not have the urge to soothe their symptoms by getting a cigar or cigarette. These therapies include inhalers, lozenges, gum, and the patch.

Non-nicotine treatments often use prescription drugs, like antidepressants. One such drug, bupropin (marketed as Zyban), can aid in treatment. Several other drugs are being tested to see if they result in similar effects for nicotine addicts.

Finally, behavioral treatments can keep people from returning to use and abuse. These treatments teach people to learn when they are most at risk for craving a cigarette. Additionally, coping skills like relaxation and exercise are taught. Learning to avoid environments where heavy smoking will occur will also help keep the newly abstinent person from relapsing.

Most doctors and counselors agree that a combination of drug and behavior therapies is the best solution to overcoming nicotine addiction. This treatment program keeps the physical cravings at bay, lessens withdrawal symptoms, and helps with the psychological need for nicotine.