It is nothing new that cigarettes have a negative impact on smokers’ health and those around them. It is also not a secret that quitting is hard. Still, nowadays there are plenty of methods to make it possible. Some people, for example, find it useful to switch to the e-cigarette first, in order to find a more personalized way out of this habit.
If it could be a suitable option for you, you will be positively surprised to now that there are many e liquid flavours you can choose from that will make the change easier.
Whatever strategy you are thinking to adopt, it could be useful to understand what makes it so hard to quit smoking in the first place. In this article you will learn more about how cigarettes become a habit and why it is so hard to quit.
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Nicotine’s effects on our body
You might have heard it already. Plenty of times. You probably already know that nicotine is the substance responsible for your smoking addiction. However, that does not make you understand the biology behind it. So, do you want to discover how this invisible enemy looks like?
The official name of the addictive substance found in tobacco is called Nicotiana Tabacum and it belongs to the same plant’s family of red pepper, eggplant and tomato, namely the nightshade. As it is the case with many plants, it found its first use in medicine, before it was spread for recreational scopes. In fact, nicotine can be both a sedative and a stimulant.
The effect of nicotine on the brain is similar from the ones provoked by bungee jumping or driving a fast car. The individual experiences a kick, meaning an adrenaline shot runs through our body after its production has been stimulated by this substance in the adrenal glands. Consequently, our hearth rate increases, as well as the breathing activity. Since nicotine slows the insulin production down, you may also experience a peak of glucose.
Starting this series of reactions, nicotine stimulates the dopamine production. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that sparks the areas of the brain which are responsible for motivation and pleasure, having a similar effect as heroin and cocaine.
Nicotine: too good to be bad
That’s being said, nicotine also has some positive effects on our brains. In facts, it keeps it awake and increases concentration. Besides, nicotine can reduce anxiety both by making our body produce more beta-endorphin and by affecting our psychology. In fact, a lot of people feel calmed down, more confident and even more social while smoking a cigarette.
In last paragraph has been said that nicotine activates some reactions in our body that simulate happiness, so it could be perceived positively. After all, happiness is a good thing, right?
When happiness is real it is indeed great, but nicotine just makes our body reacts like that without making you really happy and more positive. The downside of it is, that it creates addiction, meaning that when you are trying to stop the habit of assuming this substance your brain starts to crave for it making it very hard for you to say no.
As if nicotine did not have enough side effects on its own, the worst part of it is that it is assumed with tobacco. In fact, some typical smoking related diseases like lung cancer are not directly caused by nicotine, but by the combustion of tobacco and other substances inside cigarettes as you inhale it.
Alternatives to cigarettes
If you are addicted to nicotine, now you know why. Nicotine has a lot of physical and psychological effects on our body that are undeniably hard to fight. However, as nicotine paved your way into cigarettes, it could also help to find a way out.
As we learnt in previous chapter, nicotine is the most addictive substance in cigarettes, but it is not the worst one in terms of negative consequences on your body, when it comes to diseases. Now, the good news is that, there other products that still contain nicotine, but are less harmful than cigarettes.
For sure you have heard of plasters and gums that contains this substance and can help you quit smoking. However, the problems with these items, is that sometimes smokers miss the habit more than nicotine, reason why they start again.
You might have heard of the electronic cigarette as another way out of smoking. The advantage of this product is that it is made to remind you of a cigarette, so you would not miss the habit itself. The good thing about it is that you can adjust the level of nicotine in it gradually, until you go completely nicotine free.
If you are ready to make this step, you can visit the famous online retailer Terpy, you will find not only high-quality e-cigarettes and e-liquids, you will also receive everything directly at home.
