October 2006 « Chantix News Home

Nicotine and Smoking: Addictive as Heroin, Cocaine

Oct. 04, 2006

Nicotine is the psychoactive drug in tobacco products that produces dependence. Most smokers are dependent on nicotine. Smokeless tobacco use can also lead to nicotine dependence. Nicotine dependence is the most common form of chemical dependence in the United States. Research suggests that nicotine is as addictive as heroin, cocaine, or alcohol. Examples of nicotine withdrawal symptoms include irritability, anxiety, difficulty in concentrating, and increased appetite.

Quitting tobacco use is difficult and may require multiple attempts, as users often relapse because of withdrawal symptoms. Tobacco dependence is a chronic condition that often requires repeated intervention.
People who stop smoking greatly reduce their risk of dying prematurely. Benefits are greater for people who stop at earlier ages, but cessation is beneficial at all ages.

Smoking cessation lowers the risk for lung and other types of cancer. The risk for developing cancer declines with the number of years of smoking cessation.
Risk for coronary heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease is reduced after smoking cessation. Coronary heart disease risk is substantially reduced within 1 to 2 years of cessation.

Cessation reduces respiratory symptoms, such as coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. The rate of decline in lung function is slower among persons who quit smoking.
Women who stop smoking before or during pregnancy reduce their risk for adverse reproductive outcomes such as infertility or having a low-birth-weight baby.

Among current U.S. adult smokers, 70 percent report that they want to quit completely. In 2004, an estimated 14.6 million (40.5 percent) adult smokers had stopped smoking for at least 1 day during the preceding 12 months because they were trying to quit. An estimated 45.6 million adults were former smokers in 2004.

Nearly 54 percent of current high school cigarette smokers in the United States tried to quit smoking within the preceding year. Brief clinical interventions by health care providers can increase the chances of successful cessation, as can counselling and behavioral cessation therapies. Treatments with more person-to-person contact and intensity(e.g., more time with counselors) are more effective. Individual, group, or telephone counseling are all effective.

Pharmacological therapies found to be effective for treating tobacco dependence include nicotine replacement products (e.g., gum, inhaler,patch) and non-nicotine medications, such as Bupropion (Zyban).

Source: http://www.market-day.net

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