It is clear that the experience of addiction to tobacco is different from the experience of addiction to alcohol, or something like cocaine. If we agree that addiction is socially constructed while also manifesting a physical or (dare I say) psychological dependency, then in what specific ways are commonly associated addictions (alcohol et. al.) really differentiated from tobacco. Intoxication of an altering of subjective experience may be the key to delineating one from the other. Thoughts?
Cigarette smoking is legal whereas an addiction to drugs is not, Further, there is a stigma relative to users of drugs (especially street drugs) because it is not considered acceptable behavior. It is regarded as a deviance in our society.
Alcohol and tobacco are among the top causes of preventable deaths in the United States. Moreover, these substances often are used together: Studies have found that people who smoke are much more likely to drink, and people who drink are much more likely to smoke . Dependence on alcohol and tobacco also is correlated: People who are dependent on alcohol are three times more likely then those in the general population to be smokers, and people who are dependent on tobacco are four times more likely than the general population to be dependent on alcohol .
Understanding just how alcohol and tobacco interact is challenging. Because co-use is so common, and because both substances work on similar mechanisms in the brain, it’s proving difficult to tease apart individual and combined effects of these drugs. In this Alcohol Alert, we examine the latest research on the interactions between these two substances, including the prevalence of co-occurring tobacco and alcohol use disorders (AUDs), some of the health consequences of combined use, biological mechanisms and genetic vulnerabilities to co-use and dependence, barriers to the treatment of tobacco dependence in patients with alcohol and other drug (AOD) use disorders therapies that are proving effective in treating co-occurring tobacco and alcohol dependence in depressed patients, and treatment interventions for adolescent patients with co-occurring tobacco and AOD use disorders.
Physical or pharmacological dependence can probably be explained by the increase, among smokers, of the number of "nicotinic receptors" on the surface of nerve cells. These receptors are called nicotinic because nicotine binds to them very strongly in laboratory conditions (and when you smoke!).But under natural conditions, there is no nicotine in the human body: the nicotinic receptors are in fact designed to receive acetylcholine, which is one of the most common neurotransmitters in the human body, especially within the brain, but also in terms of muscle activation.
So taking nicotine is likely to have effects at conscious and unconscious levels in human beings. Among dependent subjects, studies show that the number of nicotinic receptors decreases slowly after smoking cessation. A normal level is only reached after 6 to 12 months at the earliest.However, the acute effects associated with the physical addiction to nicotine (withdrawal symptoms), disappear 1-2 months after quitting smoking, according to the degree of dependence. For this reason it is important to follow the treatment (medical consultation, nicotine replacement therapy, bupropion) for at least 2 months.
Well done, Nemina Djulancic. That is good information to know. Thank you
After inhalation of the smoke, nicotine condenses on suspended particles in the fluid of the lungs, which coats the ca. 100 m2 surface area of the 300 million pulmonary alveoli. The nicotine present then penetrates the cell membranes of the alveoli, thereby entering the underlying blood vessels . After passage into the venous portion of pulmonary circulation, the nicotine gains access to the left ventricle of the heart, from which it is pumped throughout the body. Since nicotine in its neutral form passes unhindered through the blood-brain barrier, within 8–10 seconds it reaches the entire central and peripheral nervous system. This rapid incorporation enables the smoker to adjust the nicotine level in the blood quite precisely, so as to match rather closely his or her immediate needs: through the frequency, volume, and depth of inhalation on one’s cigarette.
For a smoker, smoking simply feels good! With the very first puff, nicotine provides a sense of well-being. Depending on the circumstances, the smoker becomes animated or pacified, stays alert or sheds anxieties. Nicotine triggers these positive prevailing moods indirectly through stimulation of the neuronal reward system . Such internal reward systems are evolutionarily quite ancient, and are found not only in humans but also in fruit flies and rodents. They see to such sensations as joy and passion: upon eating when one is hungry, drinking with thirst, or following sex, all of which are crucial activities for the survival of individuals or of the species.
How is it that nicotine causes the smoker to become so addicted? It’s because, with the very first cigarette, nicotine begins to bind to nACh-receptors in one’s nervous system. Apart from the peculiar side effects – nausea, increase in both blood pressure and pulse rate, as well as coughing due to smoke inhalation – the internal reward system begins subliminally to send out a positive signal. The second cigarette already tastes somewhat better, in part because the unpleasant side effects are not as severe, due to familiarization, but also because first withdrawal symptoms are mitigated somewhat by the renewed intake of nicotine. The smoker learns quite quickly from (still subliminal) positive signals from the reward system . Through an emotional learning process, the reward center very quickly recognizes that it "needs" nicotine in order to feel comfortable. Addiction has begun! Inhalation of nicotine results in especially swift addiction above all because an emotional "high" develops within a few seconds after the first drag on a cigarette. Thanks to this essentially instantaneous effect, smoking is the most powerful way there is of becoming addicted to nicotine .
Hi,
Here's a brief response: Besides the neurological and chemical differences, tobacco is a typical substance of abuse like others that are abused.. It is often more difficult to quit using tobacco than other drugs due to its action on the brain. Also, it is legal and can be purchased almost anywhere. That makes the dynamics (i.e. no dealer needed) a major factor. You might read about prohibition in the United States to get a better perspective.
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