Addiction

In 1988, the U.S Surgeon General concluded that niccotine found in tobacco is addictive. The three major findings were:

1. Cigarette smoking and other forms of tobacco use are addictive
2. Nicotine is the drug in tobacco that causes addiction
3. Nicotine addiction is similar to heroin or cocaine addiction.

How nicotine works

Nicotine causes chemical or biological changes in the brain. It is a 'reinforcing' drug, which means that users desire the drug regardless of the damaging effects. For example, in research conducted in 1994, only 50% of smokers who suffered a heart attack managed to quit smoking even though their doctors advised them to. Coincidentally, 50% of all regular smokers die as a result of smoking.

Nicotine addiction is a physical dependency. Withdrawal symptoms are severe and most smokers cannot quit on their first attempt because of these symptoms.

The human body builds a tolerance to nicotine and the effect of the drug is reduced over time. As a result, regular smokers can inhale greater amounts of smoke and therefore greater amounts of toxins, without showing immediate effects (ie coughing, nausea).