This is the time of year when we make New Year's resolutions. One of the most common New Year's resolutions is to quit smoking. It is important to understand why you are addicted before you start any program. Understanding how nicotine affects the body is the fist step in quitting smoking. The second step is picking the right program for you to help you achieve your goal of becoming a non-smoker.

Nicotine is a type of chemical called an alkaloid. Many plants containing alkaloids are poisonous and produce a bitter taste when eaten. Nicotine is found in cigarettes, but it has other uses as well. Weed killers and insecticides also contain nicotine. Nicotine is extremely potent. A person would die if the nicotine found in 2.5 cigarettes were directly injected into a person's bloodstream.

Nicotine enters the bloodstream through the lungs. It quickly reaches the brain, where it affects certain chemicals that change the way you feel. Eventually the brain becomes dependent on nicotine to control these chemicals that make you feel "normal."

Nicotine is more addictive than heroine is. As smokers become addicted to nicotine, they will develop a tolerance to nicotine- meaning that they need to smoke more cigarettes in order to feel the same effects they did when they first started.

Nicotine can have different effects on people. Some say nicotine relaxes them when they are upset. Others say that it energizes them and raises alertness when they are tired. The affects vary according to each person and how much they have inhaled. Nicotine also causes the heart to beat faster, veins to constrict, blood pressure to rise, and the adrenal glands to pump out adrenaline that raises the metabolism and suppresses hunger.

Nicotine interferes with the transmission of information between the nerve cells. It also affects sections of the brain that regulate pleasurable feelings, called "reward circuits." The neurotransmitter dopamine is one chemical affected by smoking; nicotine raises the level of dopamine in the brain's reward circuits, causing the smoker to experience pleasure. Other chemicals impacted by nicotine are serotonin, which controls mood, norepinephrine, which affects arousal and appetite, and beta-endorphin, which reduces anxiety.

Remember that every year the tobacco companies pour millions of dollars into research to keep you addicted! The time is right to stop smoking and get healthy. For more information on quitting smoking you can go to my website at http://www.healthsolutionsandyou.com

About the Author

About The Author Libby Sustacheck has over twenty years of experience in the healthcare field working with such industry giants as Kaiser Permanente and Aetna. She has assisted many organizations with their wellness programs. libbys@libbyshealthsolutions.com

Md. Legislature Revives Smoking Ban (Washington Post)
A bill to ban smoking in bars and restaurants will be considered in the Maryland legislature again this year.
Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Hospitals want full smoking ban (BBC News)
Derby's main hospitals move toward a total ban on smoking for all staff, patients and visitors.
Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Still Smoking in New York City, and Venting About the $8 Pack (New York Times)
If lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema and the like have failed to stop smokers, why, some asked, would a a 50-cent increase in taxes do the trick?
Source: www.nytimes.com

No-smoking law applies to construction site (Bismarck Tribune)
Workers were banned from smoking inside a Wal-Mart building under construction in Dickinson after a union employee complained to police that smokers were violating a new state law.
Source: www.bismarcktribune.com

Cigarettes, Our Genes Decide How Many We Smoke A Day (Medical News Today)
A study to be published in the European Respiratory Journal (ERJ) demonstrates that most Japanese smokers' cigarette consumption is conditioned by their genetic heritage. This discovery opens new horizons for stop-smoking treatments. Nicotine, an alkaloid found in concentrations of 10 to 20 mg per gram of dried tobacco leaf, is known to be the main agent causing cigarette addiction… click link
Source: www.medicalnewstoday.com

Cigarette tax revenue up, smoking down (Arkansas News Bureau)
By Aaron Sadler Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas officials looked to the Sooner State on Tuesday to explain why state tax revenue from cigarette sales increased by about $4 million while cigarette smoking appeared to decline in 2005.
Source: www.arkansasnews.com