Why is it so Ridiculously Hard to Stop Smoking?

According to the study conducted by the world health organization, tobacco smoking kills approximately 5 million people annually.

Despite various advertisements running along and social channels and people spreading awareness about smoking, there is no end to it. Even the carton says “smoking causes cancer.”

Surveys conducted by various institutes found that despite the fact that 80% of smokers are eager to quit smoking, only 5% of them can do so. The reason is because of the highly addictive properties that constitute the composition of nicotine.


Why Quitting Cigarettes is Hard?


Smoking is one of the major causes of death and illness like lung cancer. Smoking has dangerous effects on the body that each smoker is aware of. Tobacco contains several other contents, but it’s the nicotine that addicts smokers to an extent. Smoking directly delivers nicotine to the brain that excites it, leading people to smoke constantly.


People understand that smoking is not good for their overall health, but still, they drastically fail to quit. The reason behind this is that nicotine is an exponentially addictive component. Our brain has certain pleasure centers that are activated during smoking.

Nicotine activates ventral tegmental centers that release dopamine, giving the smokers excessive pleasure and relaxation, making it hard for them to quit smoking.

When an addictive smoker tries to quit, the brain experiences some physical withdrawal that urges them to smoke again. However, these withdrawal symptoms vary from person to person. Some common symptoms observed in individuals are:


  • Flu-like body aches

  • Discomfort

  • Cravings for a smoke

  • Anxiety

  • Irritability

  • Sleep Deprivation

  • Fatigue

  • Difficulty concentrating

  • Headache

  • Cough

  • Chest rigidity

  • Tender throat

  • Sore tongue

  • Shivering

  • Palpitation


The social aspects of nicotine are highly satisfying for the smoker, so it becomes difficult for them to quit. Smoking behavior has been diligently related to daily activities. People, while participating in social gestures like meeting their friends or consuming alcohol tend to smoke, where they feel that it helps them to relieve stress and get relaxed.

Thus, this slowly leads to addiction, making it impossible for them to quit. The psychosocial aspects of quitting nicotine can be just as challenging for people.


Conclusion


The tobacco industry has induced several chemicals within the composition of cigarettes that makes them exceedingly addictive for humans. As nicotine provides temporary relief from anxiety, people try to use it regularly to get rid of the stress or any other tension.

During the non-smoking period, dopamine drops, which increases the stress levels and causes anxiety. This creates the need to smoke. Whenever a person tries to quit smoking, this nicotine and dopamine drop causes the need to smoke again, making them hard to stop.

The perceived calming effect caused by nicotine consumption usually fortifies the habit of smoking again and again. The bottom line is tobacco cessation is the slow and long process, and most people are trying their best to do it. All it requires is consistency and motivation.

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