Published by Bupa’s Health Information Team, December 2010.
If seven out of 10 smokers want to stop smoking, and the same number try to do so, why are there not more ex-smokers than smokers? What is it that makes cigarettes so addictive and makes stopping smoking so challenging?
Cigarettes all contain different levels of the drug nicotine. Nicotine creates a complex form of addiction: you will want to smoke, even if you would prefer to stop. Every time you smoke a cigarette, it creates and reinforces this addiction.
Nicotine is an addictive drug, meaning you can become physically and psychologically dependent on it. This means you'll get withdrawal symptoms if you don't smoke. Generally, nicotine is absorbed through the lining of your lungs into your blood from where it’s distributed around your body. But it can also enter your blood through your skin (eg NRT patches), mouth (eg NRT gum) or nose (eg snuff).
Nicotine increases your heart rate and blood pressure. However, over time you can become tolerant to this effect. This means that if you use nicotine regularly, over time your heart will begin to respond less to it. Nicotine also affects blood flow to your organs – for example, it narrows the arteries that supply blood to your heart, making it beat faster and work harder, and to your skin, which can make you look pale.
After inhaling, it takes 7 to 10 seconds for nicotine to reach your brain. Nicotine can make you feel dizzy, nervous or give you a headache. People who smoke claim that it helps them to relax, but there isn't any scientific evidence that the drug has this effect. In fact, what smoking a cigarette is really doing is just helping to relieve any side-effects of nicotine withdrawal, such as irritability.
However, while nicotine makes smoking addictive, reliance on cigarettes is often strengthened by physical, emotional and psychological dependences. These are different for everyone so if you understand the reasons why you smoke, it should make it easier to stop.
You may have started smoking when you were young, perhaps because it was fashionable or rebellious, or because your parents or friends smoked. However, it’s likely that over time your relationship with smoking has changed. Maybe now you’re more likely to have a cigarette to break up the day, when you’re out with friends who also smoke or because you’re having an alcoholic drink.
A great way to understand your reasons for smoking is to keep a smoking diary for a week. Every time you smoke, write down:
After a week, you should be able to see trends and patterns to your smoking, which may help reveal habits and reasons for smoking that you weren't aware of before.
Cigarettes contain nicotine, which is not only addictive but is also a powerful stimulant. After inhaling cigarette smoke, it takes seconds for the nicotine to enter your blood and reach your brain. Once there, it stimulates the release of chemicals. This gives you an instant rush – it makes you buzz, improves your concentration and speeds up your reaction time. But as with any addictive behaviour, for every high there is a low.
Also, in time you will develop a tolerance to many of these effects and you’ll need more and more nicotine, and hence more and more cigarettes, to get the same effect.
It's a common belief among smokers that cigarettes help them to calm down when they are stressed. In reality, what happens is that within hours or even minutes of your last cigarette you will begin to feel the effect of nicotine withdrawal. You‘re likely to have trouble concentrating and may feel grumpy or agitated. Feeding your nicotine addiction will obviously reverse these effects and make you feel calmer and so because of this, you begin to associate smoking with feeling relaxed.
For many people cigarettes offer a way to start friendships and make socialising easier through a shared common interest. You may ask someone for a match or lighter to help start a conversation or use your smoking habit to help bond with work colleagues – after all, cigarettes give you an excuse to have a break and a chance to catch up on office gossip. But stopping smoking needn’t mean an end to this – going for a coffee or doing a crossword together can be great alternatives.
Cigarettes can be used as a distraction in difficult situations – particularly by giving your hands something to do. Perhaps you smoke to help relieve boredom or break up the monotony of a tedious job or a long essay. Why not invest in a stress ball or thinking putty and if you need a break from a boring task, make a cup of tea or listen to your favourite song.
See our videos about exercises for smokers:
For sources and links to further information, see Resources.
Work out how much money you can save and how your health will benefit - if you commit to quit. Try our Cost of Smoking Calculator today.
Most of our health assessments include tests to determine damage caused by smoking, as well as guidance and advice on stopping. Find out more by calling 0845 600 3458 quoting ref. HFS100.
This information was published by Bupa's Health Information Team and is based on reputable sources of medical evidence. It has been reviewed by appropriate medical or clinical professionals. Photos are only for illustrative purposes and do not reflect every presentation of a condition. The content is intended only for general information and does not replace the need for personal advice from a qualified health professional. For more details on how we produce our content and its sources, visit the About our Health Information page.
Publication date: December 2010
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