Why is nicotine addictive

A stimulant is the addictive property in a cigarette that makes you crave more. When you first start smoking you may experience nausea, dizziness, headache, or upset stomach, but over time, as your smoking becomes more of a habit, you build up a tolerance to these effects until they become unnoticeable.

Tolerance means that it takes more nicotine to get the same effect that we used to get from fewer cigarettes. We begin to connect our smoking routines with many of our daily and social activities, creating triggers, making it hard to do those activities without smoking. An example is associating a cigarette with a cup of coffee or talking on the phone. The triggers, the feelings of relaxation, stress reduction, focus etc. This is defined as psychological dependence. Over time, the number of nicotine receptors increases and changes your brain's anatomy.

When you quit smoking, you cut off the brain's pleasure response because the receptors don't get nicotine, triggering nicotine withdrawal symptoms.

If you stick it out and use stop-smoking products to help with withdrawal symptoms and cravings, the number of nicotine receptors returns to normal, helping you quit smoking for good. Nicotine is the chemical in tobacco that keeps you smoking. Nicotine reaches the brain within seconds of taking a puff. In the brain, nicotine increases the release of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters, which help regulate mood and behavior. Dopamine, one of these neurotransmitters, is released in the reward center of the brain and causes feelings of pleasure and improved mood.

Nicotine quickly becomes part of your daily routine and intertwined with your habits and feelings. To overcome your nicotine dependence, you need to become aware of your triggers and make a plan for dealing with them.

Anyone who smokes or uses other forms of tobacco is at risk of becoming dependent. Factors that influence who will use tobacco include:. Tobacco smoke contains more than 60 known cancer-causing chemicals and thousands of other harmful substances. Even "all natural" or herbal cigarettes have harmful chemicals.

You already know that people who smoke cigarettes are much more likely to develop and die of certain diseases than people who don't smoke. But you may not realize just how many different health problems smoking causes:.

Smoking also poses health risks to those around you. Nonsmoking spouses and partners of smokers have a higher risk of lung cancer and heart disease compared with people who don't live with a smoker. Children whose parents smoke are more prone to worsening asthma, ear infections and colds. The best way to keep children from smoking is to not smoke yourself. Research has shown that children whose parents do not smoke or who successfully quit smoking are much less likely to take up smoking.

Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. A variety of Nicotine Replacement Therapy NRT products, in the form of gums, patches, lozenges and sprays, can replace the nicotine that smokers crave. These products can also get rid of the physical withdrawal symptoms most people have when they try to quit. Enter the terms you wish to search for. Menu Search Enter the terms you wish to search for. What is nicotine? Why is nicotine so addictive?

Tobacco use is also shown in video games, online, and on TV. And movies showing people smoking are another big influence.

Studies show that young people who see smoking in movies are more likely to start smoking. Often wrongly seen as harmless, and easier to get and use than traditional tobacco products, these devices are a way for new users to learn how to inhale and become addicted to nicotine, which can prepare them for smoking.

Anyone who starts using tobacco can become addicted to nicotine. Studies show that smoking is most likely to become a habit during the teen years. The younger you are when you begin to smoke, the more likely you are to become addicted to nicotine. The report estimates that about 3 out of 4 high school students who smoke will become adults who smoke — even if they intend to quit in a few years.

Addiction is marked by the repeated, compulsive seeking or use of a substance despite its harmful effects and unwanted consequences. Addiction is mental or emotional dependence on a substance. Nicotine is the known addictive substance in tobacco. Regular use of tobacco products leads to addiction in many users. Researchers are also looking at other chemicals in tobacco that make it hard to quit.

In the brains of animals, tobacco smoke causes chemical changes that are not fully explained by the effects of nicotine.