Tobacco Addiction By: McKay Wallace

What is tobacco addiction? When people are addicted, they have a compulsive need to seek out and use a substance, even when they understand the harm it can cause. Tobacco products— cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and smokeless tobacco—can all be addictive.

Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the US. So WHY are people still smoking???

What makes tobacco addictive? Nicotine. It is actually the nicotine in tobacco that is addictive. Each cigarette contains around 8-20 milligrams of nicotine. Because the smoker inhales only some of the smoke from a cigarette, and not all of each puff is absorbed in the lungs, a smoker gets about 1 to 2 milligrams of the drug from each cigarette. Although that may not seem like much, it is enough to make someone addicted.

What is Nicotine? Nicotine-A toxic colorless or yellowish oily liquid inside tobacco that causes the body to become addicted.

Quitting When a person quits smoking, they usually experience withdrawal symptoms, which often drive them back to tobacco use. Nicotine is so addicting the withdrawls have been compared to that of Cocaine There are more than 4,000 individual chemicals found in tobacco Nearly 35 million people make a serious attempt to quit each year. Unfortunately, most who try to quit on their own relapse—often within a week. It is proven that people are 50% more likely to quit if they have help from a loved one or a sudden extreme motivation like health issues, etc.

Why is it so hard to quit smoking? Nicotine is a highly addictive drug Cigarettes deliver more nicotine more quickly now then ever before The tobacco industry spends about $9.94 billion each year, or $27 million each day on cigarette advertising & promotion; 72% of these dollars are spent on discounts to offset tobacco taxation and other tobacco control policies

Withdrawal symptoms Nicotine withdrawal symptoms include irritability, cognitive (your ability to reason) and short attention span, sleep disturbances, increased appetite, and craving.

What is a craving? Craving—an intense urge for nicotine that can persist for 6 months or longer—is an important but poorly understood component of the nicotine withdrawal syndrome. Some people describe it as a major stumbling block to quitting. Dependence is a “craving of the mind” (Just the motion itself even before nicotine is inhaled) Addiction is a “craving of the body” (craving can only be alleviated by nicotine in any form)

How much money does the average smoker spend on tobacco in 1 year? 1 pack of cigarettes costs about $5.00. The average smoker spends about $49.00 a week. $ a month And $2, a year

Health triangle Physically-Cancer & Several Other diseases, Emphasima, Wrinkles, Yellow Teeth, Bad Breath, Sports are more difficult, etc…… Mentally/Emotionally-Dependance beyond your control Socially-People don’t want to be around you because you stink; you’d rather smoke than do anything, even eating!

Activity Time!!!!! Everyone needs to put there heads down.

Percentage of adults who smoke in America

Remember It is the nicotine that makes the tobacco addictive. It is really hard to quit! SO THE BEST WAY TO NOT GET ADDICTED IS… TO NEVER EVEN START! ITS NOT WORTH IT!! BE SMART, DON’T START!!!!