Nicotine addiction

Generality

Smoking is the habit of burning tobacco leaves and inhaling the resulting fumes, for pleasure and a form of addiction.

First cause of death in the world and first cause of avoidable death (always in the world), tobacco consumption began to spread in Europe only after the discovery of America (1492).

Smoking is responsible for damage to numerous organs and tissues of the human body. After all, the burning of a cigarette produces about 4000 substances, many of which are toxic / irritating or carcinogenic.

The most important and common diseases deriving from the consumption of tobacco are: lung cancer, cardiovascular diseases and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The only way to stop the effects of smoking is to stop smoking as soon as possible.

Definition of smoking

Smoking is the act of burning tobacco leaves and inhaling the resulting fumes, for a form of dependence and pleasure.

In common parlance, smoking is the habit of smoking tobacco in a constant and prolonged manner.

Methods for smoking tobacco range from ordinary cigarettes, cigars, pipe etc.

According to the WHO (World Health Organization), the habit of tobacco consumption holds two tragic records: it represents the second cause of death in the world and the first cause of avoidable death (still in the world).

HISTORY OF TOBACCO AND ITS DIFFUSION

The introduction of tobacco in Europe took place only after the discovery of America, in 1492, by Christopher Columbus . According to the descriptions of the time (including those of the Genoese navigator), in fact, Native Americans were habitual consumers of tobacco, whose plants grew luxuriant from North to South America.

A key figure in the spread of tobacco on the European continent was the Frenchman Jean Nicot, who revealed the existence of this plant to France in 1560.

From France, the use and knowledge of tobacco expanded slowly in all the other countries of Europe (England and Spain above all ), not without some fear and fear.

In the seventeenth century, states like Sweden and Austria had a large number of tobacco smokers; others like Switzerland forbade smoking.

The first tobacco processing industries date back to the first half of the 18th century (1730) and were based in America. From this moment on, the industrial activity related to tobacco began to expand more and more, reaching even in Europe, particularly in England.

A very important character for the marketing of the first cigarettes was James Buchanan Duke, a native of New York. Duke founded one of the most powerful tobacco processing companies in the United States and also invaded the UK market.

In the twentieth century, cigarette consumption became widespread. Consider that several nations participating in the First World War supplied their soldiers with cigarette rations, on par with provisions and war equipment.

The first reports concerning the incidence of tobacco consumption on the appearance of lung cancer are dated around 1930-1940. Particularly curious was the anti-smoking companion, promoted by the Nazi regime around the end of the 1930s: since the III Reich spent too much money to cure diseases due to smoking, Hitler and his advisers decided to abolish consumption.

What does tobacco contain?

According to reliable studies, the burning of a cigarette (exactly like that of a cigar or a pipe tobacco) produces about 4000 substances . Among these 4000 substances, there are lots of toxic / irritating substances for our body and at least 70 of the proven carcinogenic power on humans and animals (NB: toxic and carcinogenic do not mean exactly the same thing).

NB: benzopyrene and aromatic hydrocarbons are two of the toxic substances that make up the corpuscular part of smoke, ie tar .

NICOTINE

Nicotine is the toxic component of perhaps the most famous tobacco. Named after Jean Nicot, it is an addictive alkaloid. In fact, an avid consumer of tobacco, when he stops smoking, develops a nicotine withdrawal syndrome which leads to the appearance of various symptoms, including:

• Unstoppable desire to smoke
• Anxiety
• Stomach cramps
• Nausea
• Headache
• Anger and irritability
• Depression
• Lack of concentration

Generally, the acute phase of nicotine withdrawal begins 3 days after the last cigarette and lasts for about 2-3 weeks.

On the human body, nicotine results in an increase in blood pressure and an increase in heart rate.

CARBON MONOXIDE

Carbon monoxide is a "poison" of smoke that, when inhaled, mixes with blood and reduces blood oxygen levels.

In addition to promoting myocardial ischemia (angina pectoris and heart attack), it is particularly dangerous for pregnant women. In fact, its effect of reducing blood oxygen levels compromises the normal growth of the fetus.

Effects of smoking

Smoking strongly damages many organs and tissues of the body.

At the expense, there are primarily the cardiovascular and respiratory systems; therefore, they follow the oropharyngeal tract (ie mouth-throat), the skin, the esophagus-stomach digestive tract, the genital apparatus, the scalp, the brain, the bones and some abdominal or pelvic organs such as the bladder, the kidneys, the uterus (in women) and the pancreas.

WHAT DISEASES CAUSES THE TOBACCO?

Smoking can be due to:

• Lung cancer . According to recent estimates, tobacco consumption is at the base of 83% of global deaths from lung cancer.

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) . As in the case of lung cancer, the incidence of smoking on this serious lung disease is very important: several studies have shown that more than 80% of COPD deaths are due to smoking.

• Asthma, pneumonia, pulmonary emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis and acute bronchitis . These conditions, together with lung cancer and COPD, all derive from the destruction of the characteristic ciliary tissue of the respiratory tract, destruction that is induced (obviously) by the "poisons" of smoking.

• Heart diseases . The main cardiac diseases caused by tobacco consumption concern the coronary arteries and are: angina pectoris and myocardial infarction.

  Furthermore, smokers tend to have a higher heart rate than normal.

• Tumors at the level of the oropharyngeal tract . These are tumors such as: mouth cancer, throat cancer, tongue cancer, lip cancer and laryngeal cancer.

• Tumors of the esophagus and stomach . Esophageal neoplasms are generally a serious complication of gastroesophageal reflux disease (induced in turn by habit of tobacco consumption). The neoplasms of the stomach, instead, derive from an alteration of the normal epithelium that constitutes the gastric wall: due to this alteration, the stomach becomes particularly sensitive to the acidic substances contained in it and develops a predisposition to tumor processes.

• Tumors of pancreas, bladder, uterus (cervix) and kidneys .

• Serious changes in the blood circulation . Smokers have hypertension, reduced levels of oxygen in the blood, a marked tendency to suffer from atherosclerosis and persistent vasoconstriction. All this compromises the oxygenation of some tissues of the body (hair, skin, etc.) and dramatically increases the risk of stroke (up to 50%) and brain aneurysm.

• Erection problems in humans. They are due to reduced blood supply to the arterial vessels of the penis.

• Fertility problems, both in men and women . The man who consumes large quantities of tobacco could see his ability to produce sperms reduced.

  The strong smoker, on the other hand, may have problems getting pregnant and / or completing pregnancies.

• Early menopause, in women.

• Premature aging of the skin . Because of tobacco, smokers tend to have yellowish and dry skin (especially at the level of the hand holding the cigarette), numerous wrinkles (especially around the eyes and mouth) and sunken cheeks.

• Stained teeth, gingivitis and bad breath .

• Bone fragility and, in severe cases, osteoporosis . Osteoporosis is a systemic disease of the skeleton, which causes a strong weakening of the bones. The weakening results from the reduction of bone mass, a reduction which, in turn, is a consequence of the deterioration of the microarchitecture of the bone tissue.

• Problems during pregnancy . Pregnant women who consume tobacco (or inhale passive smoke) are more prone to: miscarriage, premature birth, newborn birth death, SIDS (crib death), birth defects in the newborn, placental problems, low weight birth and neonatal respiratory distress.

Smoking increases the symptomatology of various diseases, including:

• Asthma
• Cold
• Influence
• Respiratory infections
• Tuberculosis
• Chronic rhinitis
• Diabetic retinopathy
• Hyperthyroidism
• Multiple sclerosis
• Optic neuritis
• Crohn's disease

TABAGISMO AND EFFECTS ON THE LIFE OF THE AVERAGE LIFE

In the past, several studies have tried to establish how much smoking affects the average life of human beings. It emerged that 20 cigarettes a day reduced the life of a 25-year- old by 4.6 years, while 40 cigarettes reduced it by 8.3 years .

PASSIVE DAMAGES OF TOBACCO

The passive damages of smoking are the harmful consequences that fall under the more common name of passive smoking .

Passive smoking is, by definition, the smoke that non-smokers inhale involuntarily when they are near smokers.

The damage and the pathologies that can derive from the exposure to passive smoke can be superimposed, in good part, to those of the active smoke.

WHO MANAGES THE MAJOR DAMAGES?

The smokers on whom the damages of smoking are most evident are the most avid and the oldest .

OTHER EFFECTS AGAIN

According to some scientific studies, smoking would promote the development of: dementia, optic neuropathy, macular degeneration, cataracts, psoriasis, tooth loss and Raynaud's phenomenon.

Furthermore, we must not forget that smoking impregnates clothes with an unpleasant smell, it is expensive and can be a cause for dispute between friends or between family members.

spread

Smoking is, unfortunately, a widespread habit in all the countries of the world: according to the most recent statistical surveys, the habitual tobacco consumers in the world would be about 1.1 billion .

Other research, relating in this case to the mortality of smoking, has shown that smoking is responsible for 5-6 million deaths worldwide (NB: around 600, 000 are victims of passive smoking). For these individuals, the most common causes of death are cancer, cardiovascular diseases and respiratory diseases.

A recent WHO forecast stated that, if the trend does not change, by 2030, smoking-related deaths will be 10 million a year.

DIFFUSION OF TOBACCO IN ITALY

With regard to the spread of smoking in Italy, the 2014 Istat data show that:

• Total smokers are around 10-11 million or so . Even if the difference in terms of percentages is no longer as wide as in the past, smoking men are even more than women who smoke (just over 6 million men against the remaining 4 million and slightly more than women).
• The annual deaths due to smoking are between 70, 000 and 83, 000 : 25% of these deaths concern individuals aged between 35 and 65 years.
• The men who consume the most tobacco are young adults between the ages of 25 and 34 . Among the female population, however, the largest smokers are young women between 20 and 24 years old .

Remedies

The best remedy against smoking or, better, against the effects of smoking is to stop consuming tobacco .

Numerous experiments and many clinical observations have shown that the damages of smoking are reversible : patience and willpower are needed, but, if one intervenes quickly, there is a good chance of avoiding irreversible consequences .

If it is true that the years of smoking affect the severity of the damage caused by smoking, it is equally true that before a smoker stops smoking and the consequences will be smaller, including irreversible ones.

PROGRAMS TO STOP SMOKING

For smokers with less will power and for those who simply need help, there are special smoking cessation programs . In fact, these programs are guides, written by experts and full of tips and tricks on how to abandon the smoking habit.

Anyone interested in knowing the aforementioned programs in detail can contact their doctor.

REMEDY AGAINST NICOTINE ABSENCE

While relying on a smoking cessation program, some smokers fail to overcome nicotine withdrawal symptoms and fail in their resolve to stop consuming tobacco.

These subjects are ideal candidates for taking some pharmacological products, such as bupropion, varenicline and the so-called nicotine substitutes .

• Bupropion and varenicline are two drugs mimicking the effects of nicotine, while not containing it. Taken only on prescription, they are both fairly effective in reducing the desire to smoke.
• Nicotine substitutes (or nicotine substitutes) are nicotine-based medicines designed to reduce the desire to smoke gradually. Their administration attenuates, with good results, the impact that nicotine withdrawal symptoms have on the most sensitive ex-smokers.

  Usable even without a prescription, nicotine substitutes exist in the form of patches, chewing gum, inhalers, sprays and lotions.

  If you are pregnant, it is best to ask your doctor for advice before using it.

ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE

For some years now, smokers can resort to using the electronic cigarette .

On the safety of this instrument, doctors and experts have raised some doubts, but they have also admitted that the effects on human health are certainly inferior to the effects of smoking (understood as the burning of tobacco leaves).