Smoking Cessation
Nicotine is a well-known poison that is widely used as an insecticide, and exposures in pure form have resulted in numerous accidental and some intentional human intoxications or deaths. Nicotine increases the heart rate, blood pressure and also affects the performance of the heart muscle.
It has been shown to produce damage to the cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels.
In addition, cigarette smoking may contribute to an accelerated thickening of the artery wall, and in particular to acute cardiac events and sudden death. Nicotine is highly addictive – in fact, it’s one of the most addictive drugs. Every time you have a cigarette, nicotine stimulates a chemical in your brain that makes you feel good. It’s like a reward for smoking.
When you haven’t smoked for a while, the level of this “feel-good” chemical drops and you have cravings for another cigarette. These cravings are strong and persistent.. If you don’t have a cigarette you get irritable. Your brain wants another hit of nicotine. It is a powerful addiction that is very difficult to break free from. Some 95%-97% of people fail to give up smoking using willpower. Smoking is a strong addiction that is hard to resist. Studies have shown that you are twice as likely to quit if given support combined with medicines.
