WHY IS IT HARD TO QUIT SMOKING.Smoking is emerging to be one of the major causes of death in the modern world. This is attributed to the growing consumers of tobacco. Tobacco is responsible for the death of 1 in 10 adults all over the world, which translates to around 5 million deaths every year. It is because of this fact that cigarette smoking is now a public health priority.
As we mentioned previously, the boom in cigarette smoking occurred sometime during the First World War. Tobacco companies were successful in including their products as part of the military ration. At the time, soldiers under the stress of warfare took up smoking. And since then, the tobacco industry has grown through an increased consumer patronage all over the world.
With the prevalence of cigarette smoking came its adverse health effects on its consumers. Smoking poses dangers directly and indirectly to the public. An indirect public health concern that cigarettes may pose is accidental fire. As for the health risks in smoking tobacco, the disease mainly strikes the cardiovascular system, resulting to heart attack, respiratory tract diseases, and even cancer.
In spite of these risks, the number of cigarette smokers all other the world has not dropped considerably. Though several smokers claim to have been meaning to quit this habit, they just find it so difficult. The fact is that after smoking for quite sometime, quitting smoking will prove to be very hard, but not impossible.
Why is it hard to quit smoking?
Foremost, this is because most smokers become addicted to the nicotine contained in tobacco products. Nicotine has a deadly addictive power. How? When a person puffs a cigarette, nicotine particles find their way to the lungs through inhalation. From there, nicotine is absorbed into the bloodstream just like the oxygen people breathe. It travels with the blood to the brain where it locks onto certain receptor areas. Dopamine is then released into the brain. This is the chemical that makes the smoker feel a euphoric sensation. Smokers find it difficult to quit because they come to be dependent on this good feeling. And in wanting to experience this repeatedly, this leads to dependence - a sign of addiction.
A person who attempts to quit may experience withdrawal symptoms. Topping the bill of withdrawal symptoms is depression. With the absence of the chemical that produces the relaxing feeling, the brain becomes distressed without it. Other withdrawal symptoms from smoking include:
- Headaches, dizziness, and nausea - Shakes, chills - Cough, dry throat nasal drip - Hunger, fatigue - Constipation, gas or stomach pain - Insomnia, troubled sleep
Not knowing what to do with their hands is another common complaint among ex-smokers while quitting. Once people get hooked, smoking becomes a big part of their lives. They seem to enjoy holding on a stick of cigarette and puffing on them. And after a long period of lighting up, it becomes a routine. As a fact, humans are creatures of habit. By some force of habit, smokers find themselves reaching for a cigarette and lighting it up automatically without thinking about it.
