Nicotine: effects on the human body, harm from nicotine

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— Smoking prevention — Nicotine: disgusting, pleasant, dangerous

A drop of nicotine not only “kills the horse”, but also helps prevent the development of Alzheimer's disease. A click of a lighter, a few puffs - and after just 7 seconds, the molecules of the substance overcome the blood-brain barrier and begin to act on the brain. The effect of nicotine is not only the appearance of relaxation and high spirits. The substance also affects sleep and wakefulness rhythms, appetite, pain perception, digestion and the cardiovascular system.

Regular smoking leads to the formation of a dependence syndrome and chronic changes in tissues and organs.

Properties of nicotine

What is nicotine? It is an alkaloid - an organic heterocyclic substance consisting of carbon, nitrogen and hydrogen atoms. The group of compounds owes its name to its slightly alkaline chemical properties. Most alkaloids have an effect on the nervous system, among those. What people hear most are caffeine, cocaine, morphine.

According to its physical and organoleptic properties, nicotine is a bitter oily liquid. At certain temperatures it easily mixes with water, their densities are almost the same - about 1 g/cm3.

Nicotine dissolves well in environments with low polarity. This causes its rapid absorption through the skin and the blood-brain barrier. At high pH values, it easily penetrates through mucous membranes.

Where is nicotine found? The alkaloid is isolated from the shoots of plants of the nightshade family (tobacco, tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes). The concentration in tobacco is maximum – up to 14%. Nicotine is synthesized in plant roots, transported and accumulated in leaves. In the human body and warm-blooded animals, the compound breaks down to form safe metabolites.

Psychological addiction to smoking

The first experience of smoking cigarettes is accompanied by unpleasant sensations and sometimes acute nicotine intoxication. A person develops the following symptoms:

cough;
dizziness;
headache;
increased salivation;
nausea;
vomit.

With regular intake of small doses of nicotine into the body, resistance to its effects gradually develops. After one cigarette, you no longer experience nausea, vomiting or dizziness.

Psychological dependence on nicotine develops first. It is associated with the ritual of smoking and certain situations when the need for tobacco arises. At first, this is a company in which the majority are smokers, nervous tension in which cigarettes are used to distract thoughts. Many men start smoking during military service, when there is a long wait or a long gap to fill. Tobacco use is then associated with drinking a cup of coffee, driving a car, and other situations.

At the stage of psychological dependence there is no acute need for nicotine; the process itself is important. Narcologists call this stereotypical behavior. Therefore, a person can easily quit smoking and not experience withdrawal symptoms if they manage to break the psychological model.

To start smoking and form an addiction, special conditions are required. Some researchers believe that the cause of the bad habit is heredity. 50% of children from families where parents smoke also become addicted. In non-smoking families, 25% of children develop a bad habit. But this feature points more to the memorization of adult behavior patterns and the greater availability of cigarettes.

The desire to start smoking, and subsequent addiction, develops under the following conditions:

the desire to seem like an adult, increasing one’s social status and self-esteem;
frequent stress and the feeling of relaxation that smoking gives;
establishing interpersonal contacts, smoking for company;
reduction of withdrawal symptoms in other types of addiction.

Psychological dependence on smoking is a special type of conditioned reflex. The brain remembers and then learns the conditions under which it receives a dose of nicotine. If a person often ends lunch with a cigarette, then gradually each time after eating the desire to smoke will appear.

How much nicotine is in cigarettes

The range of lethal dose of the substance is from 50 to 100 mg. Recalling the drop of nicotine that killed the horse, toxicologists note that 2-3 drops are enough for a person. A person can get this amount of alkaloid from 1.5 packs of cigarettes.

How much nicotine is contained in 1 cigarette? The tobacco industry produces products of various strengths. The amount of nicotine in them ranges from 0.3 mg to 1.26 mg. For example, one Parliament cigarette can “supply” a smoker with 0.5 mg of nicotine, and a Marlboro “cancer stick” from a red pack can provide a smoker with 1.1 mg.

It is interesting that the strength of products in the line of one manufacturer can be determined solely as a subjective feeling. The filter of so-called light cigarettes has a larger number of perforations than their strong counterparts. This allows the smoker to draw in more air, due to which the concentration of nicotine and other toxic substances in the inhaled air becomes lower, and the taste is not so “rough”.

Another secret of “light” products: such products smolder on their own. The amount of tobacco gradually decreases, even if the person does not puff and just holds the cigarette in his hand.

The very idea of grading cigarettes was associated with an attempt by tobacco corporations to retain consumers: smoking light products was presented as a process of giving up a bad habit. In fact, people increased their daily number of cigarettes because they believed they were getting less tar and nicotine. According to the WHO Framework Convention, the labeling “light” and “soft” on the package is prohibited.

How does smoking affect the oral cavity?

Tobacco consumption causes a range of dental diseases and side effects. The effects of smoking on cavity are as follows:

change in taste sensitivity;
dark brown or black "smoker's plaque" on the teeth ;
bad breath;
gum diseases (periodontitis);
leukoplakia of the mucous membrane (inflammation of the keratinization type);
Oral cancer5 .

This effect of smoking on the oral cavity is due to the following factors:

chemical—cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 toxic compounds 5;
thermal - due to high temperature (300°C for smoldering tobacco, 900-1000°C at the time of puffing and 40-60°C for tobacco smoke6), the blood supply to the gums is disrupted, which leads to hardening of blood vessels and atrophy of gum tissue5;

Smoking can lead to an unpleasant mouth condition called halitosis. The reasons for this are as follows:

nicotine, tar and other products of tobacco combustion that linger in the oral cavity have a specific odor;
a decrease in the amount of oxygen in the oral cavity caused by smoking leads to an increase in the number of anaerobic microbes, as well as to the breakdown of proteins;
in smokers, the mucous membrane becomes dry - its desquamation increases;
Smoking is a risk factor for the development of inflammation in periodontal tissues and the appearance of tartar6.

Smokers have an increased content of pathogenic microbes in cavity that affect periodontal tissue. A feature of the clinical picture of periodontitis is minor external signs of inflammation and at the same time a sharply progressive loss of bone tissue5.

It has also been proven that constant tobacco consumption increases the growth of fungi of the genus Candida, which leads to the development of candidiasis in cavity (identified in 60% of men and women with this bad habit)7.

Oral diseases in smokers have a worse prognosis, including cancer, not only because of the local influence of tobacco, but also because of the effect on the immune system - the content of immunoglobulins IgG and IgA in the blood decreases 6 .

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How quickly does nicotine leave the body?

After inhalation, nicotine is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and reaches the brain within a few seconds. The half-life (the time during which the concentration of a substance drops by half) is about 2 hours. Depending on the length of smoking and the method of tobacco use, the rate of intake and metabolism may vary. Information about this helps to understand:

with what frequency does a person feel the need to “take a drag”;
how to choose the right therapy to alleviate withdrawal symptoms.

About 30% of the nicotine that enters the body is excreted unchanged, the remaining 70% in the form of non-toxic cotinine. The complete breakdown cycle of nicotine takes about 6-8 hours. When answering the question of how long nicotine is removed from the body, experts give a time frame of 1-2 days.

Interestingly, the name of the cotinine metabolite is an anagram of the word “nicotine.” The substance has an affinity for H-cholinergic receptors, providing a weak anti-anxiety and antipsychotic effect. Its half-life is up to 20 hours. The study of the duration of the last use of medications or smoking is assessed by the presence of cotinine and nicotine in the urine.

What harm do cigarettes cause to the human body?

Smoking is an extremely bad habit. When nicotine enters the body, it begins to destroy all organs and tissues without exception. The circulatory system and heart, as well as the lungs, are primarily affected. The gastrointestinal tract, liver, and kidneys are also affected.

So, what happens in the body when a person smokes constantly? The body receives a colossal dose of carcinogens with each puff. The most common causes of death among smokers are heart attacks, strokes and lung cancer. Thus, 9 out of 10 cases of diagnosed cancer are associated with prolonged smoking. The risk of heart attack increases on average three times!

Also, a person begins to get sick more often, his visual acuity decreases, his thought processes slow down, his face looks yellowish and unhealthy, and his breath always smells bad.

How smoking affects all organs and systems

Circulatory system. Blood viscosity increases, which creates a high risk of thrombosis. Oxygen binds less well to hemoglobin, so tissues, organs and systems constantly lack it. Hypertension occurs.
Heart. Nicotine increases the load on the myocardium and provokes vasospasm. As a result, tachycardia develops and there is a high risk of heart attacks. Necrosis of the heart muscle is five times more common in smokers.
Mucous membrane and teeth. Nicotine has an irritating effect on them. This results in inflammation of the gums and an extremely unsightly yellowish-brown color of tooth enamel.
Digestive organs. The destructive effects of nicotine affect the intestines. stomach, liver, gall bladder. It makes it difficult to produce enzymes necessary for normal digestion. Chronic gastrointestinal diseases are worsening, including colitis, peptic ulcers, gastritis, pancreatitis. The mucous membranes are colonized by pathogenic microflora. The load on the liver increases significantly.
The immune system. Since all organs and systems suffer, a person ceases to look healthy. His hair and nails become brittle, his skin loses its radiance and blush, age-related changes and wrinkles become more pronounced.
Respiratory system. Tobacco smoke passes from the oral cavity to the alveoli through the pharynx, trachea and bronchi. Swelling and spasms occur, the course of infectious diseases worsens, and the person has difficulty breathing. Diseases such as chronic bronchitis and laryngitis appear. As tar accumulates, filling the alveoli, the person develops the characteristic “smoker's cough.” Physical endurance also decreases.
Reproductive system. Nicotine significantly reduces the chances of having a healthy baby. Men have a significantly increased risk of developing prostate cancer. In women, the menstrual cycle is disrupted. In both sexes, hormone production is disrupted.
CNS. Smoking provokes irritability, apathy, drowsiness, migraines, and memory impairment.
Bones. Nicotine is washed away by calcium, which extremely quickly leads to the development of osteoporosis. Teenagers who start smoking at an early age are usually short in stature and have fragile bones that are prone to frequent fractures.
The skin suffers greatly due to constant attacks from free radicals from the inside. This leads to early aging as the rate of collagen formation decreases by 35-45% on average. Since blood circulation also deteriorates, poor wound healing is observed.
Vision decreases, as tobacco smoke provokes atrophy of the optic nerve. Redness and watery eyes also occur.

Smoking has an extremely detrimental effect on the fetus in the womb, including genetic disorders and the development of mental disorders, since nicotine freely passes through the placenta. Many experts believe that such children are already born with drug addiction and have difficulty breathing. In addition, they experience chronic oxygen starvation of the brain. Adverse effects may continue after birth if nicotine enters the child's body through mother's milk.

But it is worth remembering that all these processes are reversible. It is believed that after 5 years the bronchi are completely cleared and all the risks of “smoking” are completely removed. But the positive effect of quitting smoking is observed already in the first month!

Nicotine meets receptor

The effect of nicotine on the body is realized through communication with nicotinic cholinergic receptors (or N-cholinergic receptors) and partially with adrenergic receptors.

The autonomic nervous system is responsible for the autonomous functioning of internal organs. It consists of 2 parts - sympathetic and parasympathetic. The work of biologically active substances occurs at the level of synapses - places of contact between neurons and neurons or organ cells. Each of them consists of a presynaptic. postsynaptic membranes of cells and the gap between them.

The transmission of impulses in the parasympathetic department is carried out due to the mediator acetylcholine. When it interacts with the presynaptic membrane of the receptor:

pupils constrict;
blood pressure decreases;
heart rate decreases;
peripheral blood vessels dilate;
muscle fibers of internal organs contract;
The secretion of sweat, bronchial, digestive, and lacrimal glands increases.

But the work of acetylcholine is not limited only to the parasympathetic system. The mediator also “puts his hand” to the sympathetic department. By connecting to a receptor on the presynaptic membrane, it has an effect reminiscent of adrenaline. Namely:

heart rate increases;
blood pressure increases;
the concentration of glucose in the blood increases;
fat breakdown is activated;
appetite decreases.

Nicotine has a similar structure to the important C-loop of the acetylcholine molecule, but the connection of the alkaloid with the cholinergic receptor is stronger. Chemists claim that its molecule ideally replaces acetylcholine in all parts of the autonomic nervous system. The effect of nicotine on the human body is almost identical and consists of its effect on receptors in various tissues.

Why is it so difficult to quit smoking

The Russian Ministry of Health claims that more than 30% of the country's adult population, both men and women, are active smokers. But if you just go outside, you get the impression that there are many more of them. At the same time, about a quarter of smokers are trying to get rid of this craving, but each of them knows that quitting smoking is extremely difficult. Why is this happening?

The fact is that every cigarette smoked is remembered by the brain as a “reward”. This is a powerful stimulus that even overcomes the pleasure of eating. Moreover, it becomes dominant after 10 cigarettes have been smoked.

Constant smoking leads to an increase in the number of acetylcholine receptors in the brain, which provoke the release of dopamine, but their sensitivity decreases. Gradually, the amount of nicotine required for “happiness” increases, and a pronounced physiological dependence is formed.

Nicotine has the highest narcotic potential. This is why they say that “there are no former smokers.” After all, half of those who were able to quit and even lasted more than six months return to smoking again and quickly increase their pace. Even alcohol is not as addictive as nicotine. This is why addiction is so difficult to cope with alone, without medication support and the help of specialists.

Nicotine and the brain

The effect of the alkaloid on the brain is associated with the activation of α4β2 receptors. They make up more than 80% of all H-cholinergic receptors in the central nervous system. Nicotine's affinity for them is so high that even acetylcholine cannot compete with it. These receptors take part in the release of mediators such as dopamine, GABA, and glutamate. This is how smoking improves attention and memory.

The effect of nicotine on the human brain is:

in stabilizing the emotional background;
in reducing anxiety;
in increasing resistance to stress;
in accelerating the reaction;
in improving the perception of visual and auditory information.

In addition, the alkaloid activates metabolism in brain tissue and delays cell death. This circumstance formed the basis for clinical studies that have proven the effectiveness of nicotine as a means of preventing atrophic brain lesions (for example, Alzheimer's disease).

The effect of relaxation and increased resistance to stress, for which acetylcholine is responsible, plays a cruel joke in the formation of addiction. Since nicotine binds better to receptors, the body stops producing the mediator on its own. If a person decides to give up cigarettes or, due to various circumstances, cannot satisfy his nicotine hunger immediately, anxiety and irritability appear. Gradually, the addict begins to resort to smoking not in order to feel great, but in order to eliminate discomfort.

Symptoms of physical dependence are due in part to endogenous opioids in the brain. A constant supply of nicotine promotes the release of endorphins and enkephalins, which play an important role in reducing pain.

Nicotine “vigor” and “attractive slimness” are the result of the influence of the alkaloid on a certain group of neurons in the brain. These cells secrete substances that are involved in reducing appetite, breaking down fats and maintaining a high level of activity. When quitting smoking, a person may feel the need for large quantities of food and become lethargic and drowsy.

THE HABIT THAT KILLS

01.Jun.2020

According to WHO, there are more than 1.3 billion adult smokers in the world.
Smoking kills 5-5.5 million people every year. Moreover, Russia is one of the five leading countries in terms of mortality from tobacco smoking. On May 31, the whole world celebrates No Tobacco Day. On the eve of this day, we talked with the psychotherapist of the Soviet District Hospital, Sergei Nikolaevich Stupnikov. — Sergey Nikolaevich, how acute is the problem of tobacco smoking in Sovetsky?
Describe the social portrait of a smoker (gender, age, social status, etc.). — Smoking is still quite a popular activity among residents of the Sovetsky district. Many smokers in recent years have begun to resort to alternative ways of consuming smoke. These include hookahs, electronic cigarettes, “tobacco heating systems,” etc. The structure of consumption of tobacco products is changing: people are trying to smoke less in quantitative terms, the game of reducing damage to health is still popular: many prefer “light” cigarettes with low tar and nicotine content, and are switching to “vapes” and “IQOS”. A stable layer of residents who smoke traditional cigarettes from the lower price segment has not disappeared anywhere, because there is simply no money for anything more. Therefore, the portrait of a smoking Soviet citizen is a mosaic with elements of consciousness, following fashion and adherence to habits. And in this regard, the collective image of a tobacco fan has many faces and, most likely, is something unnatural. The world stands still - addiction spares no one: neither young nor mature, neither rich nor poor, neither intelligent nor ignorant.

The most common category is active people aged 14 to 55 years. Men are still in the lead, but the number of smoking representatives of the fair sex is steadily increasing. Women still prefer not to advertise the fact of use, ashamed of the censure of others. But there is a trend in recent years - many people give up smoking on their own and consciously, some are looking for information and preparing to change their consumption patterns (less, easier, different, harmless). There are stable categories: people from the category of convinced people who stand their ground: “I smoked, I smoke and will continue to smoke,” teenagers who are trying to look like adults and increase their prestige among their peers, and finally, women who have believed in the “weight-loss” properties of tobacco for decades.

There are several important differences between the modern smoker - he is more health conscious, searches for information on the Internet, resorts to alternatives and doubts a lot. Therefore, many are switching to electronic cigarettes and tobacco heating systems. Undoubtedly, all these newfangled forms from a marketing point of view are a more attractive product, not smoking microtorches with carcinogens, but convenient and pleasant aesthetic devices that are supposedly “virtually harmless.” In private conversations, the vast majority of smokers (about 80%) are considering quitting in the future. The more educated and wealthy resort to expensive alternatives, those who live more modestly, do not penetrate much into the information space and are not particularly worried about the consequences for health, smoke ordinary cheap cigarettes the old fashioned way. From all of the above, the conclusion is that the overall situation is complex, but quite favorable in terms of prospects, people are looking for other options, so the work of the Health Center constantly has a modest but stable influx of people wanting to quit smoking. Active people began to take more care of themselves and reflect.

- What is smoking anyway? Bad habit, addiction or disease?

— Most experts in the field of treatment of mental disorders agree that tobacco use is addictive; the WHO diagnostic manual includes the heading “Tobacco Dependence Syndrome.” Addiction, disorder, disease - all these terms are equally suitable to describe the effects of tobacco smoking. Although there is an excellent point of view - some professionals believe that smoking and other types of addictions are forms of unreasonable consumer behavior that is imposed by market policy. There are many aggressively advertised products, which means there are many consumers. From the point of view of these specialists, addiction to nicotine is largely an artificially “fueled” state by the business community, where biology is partially involved, and there is an active social influence that is superimposed on the characteristics of a person’s personality and nervous system. But practicing doctors know from the example of their long-suffering patients that addiction to nicotine exists because a large number of smokers try to quit, but a strong desire to smoke nullifies all their attempts. Smoking is like the coronavirus; it passes by unnoticed for some, while others are sent to intensive care with complications. So those who like the “smoking is not a disease” hypothesis have something to think about.

— What happens in the human body when smoking? What harm is done?

— When inhaling tobacco combustion products, the main field of action is the central nervous system. It is on her that nicotine, the main culprit of addiction, has a stimulating effect in small doses. It is for this effect that smokers come back! And in addition, they receive a “cocktail” of chemical toxins, which necessarily accompany the transport of nicotine to the brain. Moreover, any form (tobacco heating systems, hookahs, and vapes) with minor differences carries this “bonus” into the body of the consumer of the product. Without fail, the smoker receives a gift of carcinogens, mutagens and toxic substances totaling over a thousand. The names are fascinating - formaldehyde, cyanide, aniline, pyridine, dioxins, acrolein, nitrosoamine, ammonia, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide. And all this chemical diversity has a serious damaging effect on the entire body, without exception. The main impact falls on the heart, blood vessels and respiratory system. This is why there are early heart attacks, atherosclerosis in forty-year-olds, and bronchitis with emphysema. Think about it: how long will a person live if every day instead of vitamins he consumes formaldehyde with hydrocyanic acid and benzene in addition?

— Why do people start smoking and then can’t quit?

— There are no absolutely identical debuts, some are driven by curiosity, some are attracted by the thirst for thrills, some follow the team, others follow a role model (father, musical idol, charismatic personality, authority), others have a more tragic story — they start smoking out of an unbearable state of mind due to a difficult life situation (financial collapse, family crisis, illness of a loved one, etc.). But for people who are predisposed to forming an addiction, tobacco remains in life for a long time, sometimes until the very end, and sometimes it greatly accompanies this end. Why can't people who start smoking quit? This is a whole complex of reasons! For an individual person, their combination is an insurmountable obstacle, which is why outside professional help is often required. Lack of compelling motives (“I’m already fine!”, “Why should I quit, I can do it at any time?”), personal characteristics (for example, conformism, “like others, so am I”), toxic environment (there are a lot of smokers around - family, friends, colleagues), being in a chronic stressful situation (problems in the family and at work, lack of money, etc.), low subjective value of health among our people and a disdainful attitude towards one’s body as a philosophy of life, and in the end after all - the notorious pleasure from the process, which many tobacco users begin to consider dubious after a while.

— What are the ways to combat smoking? Is it necessary for a person to want to give up cigarettes?

— The most common way is to work on your thinking, change your view of the world and yourself. Statistics show that at least 70% of smokers quit smoking without professional help. What methods did they use? Everyone has their own recipes - this includes self-hypnosis, intense sports activities, reading the legendary Allen Carr, isolation from society, and money bets with friends. Some people refuse immediately, while others prefer the method of gradually reducing doses. Professional help involves the use of psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy and acupuncture. In psychotherapy, the emphasis is on approaches related to the work of thinking (beliefs, attitudes, strategies) and changing the behavior of the smoker (cognitive behavioral psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, etc.). Acupuncture (acupuncture) shows good results in many patients at the first stage of quitting tobacco, reducing the negative manifestations of “nicotine withdrawal.” And medications (nicotine replacement drugs, nicotinic receptor agonists, antidepressants and tranquilizers) are best taken on the recommendation and under the supervision of a competent specialized doctor (narcologist, psychiatrist, psychotherapist). But any treatment, including self-treatment, requires the categorical interest and involvement of the smoker himself, otherwise another attempt at quitting will be futile.

Many people now use e-cigarettes as a way to quit smoking. Does this really help?

— The transition to electronic cigarettes and “tobacco heating systems” is a very attractive and somewhat dangerous illusion for the smoker himself. There is a certain magical device that allows you not to change your views and lifestyle, at the same time “not harm your health” and get the usual nicotine pleasure. Most smokers get stuck on this surrogate of cigarettes and put off trying to quit somewhere “beautifully far away.” At the same time, the use continues, the eternal illusion “I’m getting ready” arises, and the deadline for making a decision to stop poisoning the body is constantly postponed. The only winners are the sellers of “pipes” with sticks and vapes with “liquid”; the sales of these products “harmless transportation of nicotine to the brain” brings astronomical profits. And clients who have fallen into this trap are now complaining in despair, “it’s almost impossible to get out of this.” This is the benefit...

— Also, one of the ways to get rid of nicotine addiction is special tablets, nicotine patches. How effective are they?

— Nicotine replacement drugs are not a panacea and can be classified as auxiliary means of treatment, nothing more. Their effectiveness in unmotivated patients is extremely low; as a rule, the effect is temporary, and an inevitable return to smoking follows fairly quickly. There is no magic pill, there is no miracle pill, the patient himself is the main medicine, “salvation lies in you,” as a well-known historical figure said.

— Nowadays it is very fashionable among young people to smoke hookah. Many people believe that smoking hookah is either completely harmless or causes minimal harm to the body. Tell me, is hookah smoking harmful?

— The harmlessness of hookah is another favorite myth that lulls lovers of smoking pleasures. The harm from smoking a hookah is no less than from smoking cigarettes. The dose of nicotine in a hookah stream is many times higher than its content in regular tobacco smoke. This is where nicotine begins to exhibit its so zealously disputed neurotoxicity, its targeted damaging effects on nervous tissue. Smoking a hookah is equivalent to smoking 4-5 packs of cigarettes. Even the nervous system of an elephant cannot withstand such a chemical attack, not to mention such a fragile creature as a human. And the content of carbon monoxide, along with all other toxins (benzopyrene, formaldehyde, cyanide and others like them) in hookah smoke shows very high levels.

— There are quite a lot of myths associated with smoking. Let's debunk or confirm some of them. Myth one: a cigarette relieves stress and calms you down. Myth two: smoking helps you lose weight. Myth three: quitting smoking is a big stress for the body, so you shouldn’t quit smoking suddenly.

— You can comment on each of these myths in one phrase: “the statement is not true.” The stressful state is not relieved by either nicotine or the tars of tobacco smoke, the relaxation effect is ultra-short-term - a few minutes, and again a new portion of the relaxant is required. And with each new cigarette, the toxic effects of consumption increase. Therefore, attempts to treat problematic conditions of the soul with tobacco are the path to an overdose of nicotine and smoke components, and it (overdose) does not have any medicinal properties. An overdose of nicotine keeps the “appetite center” in a semi-suppressed state, not due to direct influence, but for the same reason as above - due to chronic poisoning by the components of tobacco smoke. Using tobacco to reduce appetite is the same as drinking arsenic or lead for these purposes. Abrupt withdrawal of nicotine in the first two to three weeks can cause many negative reactions from the body in several percent of a special category of smokers (with a genetic predisposition, a long history of smoking, a burden of chronic diseases, a strong degree of dependence, age after 50 years). Other smokers experience no more stress when they limit smoking than after a family quarrel or an unsuccessful conversation with a colleague. Therefore, if you are not confident in your own abilities or are afraid of something, consult a doctor (psychiatrist, narcologist, psychotherapist) to hear a reasoned professional opinion and dispel unnecessary fears.

— If you manage to quit smoking, how soon will an improvement in a person’s quality of life and changes in the body’s condition for the better follow?

— Improving the quality of life begins from the first weeks of refusal. After the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal subside (2-3 weeks), general well-being and performance improve, psycho-emotional tone increases, mental clarity appears, the sense of smell returns and triumph due to the feeling of freedom from obsessive doping.

— They say that passive smoking is more harmful to humans than active smoking. How true is this?

- But this opinion corresponds to the real state of affairs. In passive smoke, the concentration of proven carcinogens (phenol, ammonia, acetone, hydrogen cyanide) is several times higher than in the stream inhaled by the smoker. Accordingly, the risk of diseases (primarily lung cancer) due to the damaging effect of these compounds is higher. The mentioned data have been repeatedly confirmed by serious studies of the connection between passive smoking and the incidence of a number of serious diseases.

— What advice would you give to the Soviets about smoking?

- I will speak succinctly. Sooner or later you will give up tobacco. And you will have good reasons for this. And the main one is a catastrophic deterioration in health. Do it earlier, look for ways, options, reflect, compare, remembering that health and life are your main capital. And doctors are always nearby and ready to provide you with all possible professional help and support. Good luck on this difficult path of independent life as an adult, intelligent person!

AU "Soviet District Hospital"

Nicotine and the cardiovascular system

As described earlier, the effect of nicotine on both parts of the autonomic nervous system is realized through changes in the lumen of blood vessels, heart rate, and fluctuations in blood pressure. Arterial spasm, tachycardia and increased pressure are the result of the release of adrenaline. The heart begins to work in emergency mode, pushing blood through narrowed vessels. It is forced to cope with the increased load. If a person smokes continuously, the blood vessels are constantly spasmed.

Nicotine also reduces the level of a substance called prostacyclin, which helps large and small arteries relax after contraction. The blood supply to all organs deteriorates, including the most important ones - the brain and heart. In fact, a smoker lives in a state of hypoxia.

Active and passive smoking destroys the membranes of cells located on the inner surface of blood vessels. Thus, changes in the aortic endothelium are observed even in infants 1 month of age, if their mother does not part with a cigarette. The dangerous effect of nicotine on human blood vessels can lead to sudden death. The risk of acute coronary syndrome in adult passive smokers compared with those isolated from tobacco smoke increases by almost 100%.

Activation of lipolysis and damage to vessel walls accelerate the development of atherosclerosis of any localization.

In addition, nicotine affects the rheological properties of blood. It increases the ability of platelets to stick together. Small clots form in the vessels. Blood viscosity increases, flow rate decreases. The presence of damage to the vascular wall leads to adhesion of formed elements and the formation of wall thrombi.

So the effect of nicotine on the human heart and blood vessels is to increase the risk of developing:

arterial hypertension;
coronary heart disease;
heart attack, stroke;
gangrene.

The effect of smoking on the respiratory system

Tobacco tar, consisting of liquid and solid fractions, settles on the walls of the airways, accumulating in the alveoli of the lungs. Some of these compounds are released when coughing along with sputum, and some are absorbed into the tissues and enter the bloodstream6.

The lungs of smokers function worse than those of non-smokers. There is a narrowing of the bronchi, a violation of gas exchange develops and, as a result, oxygen deficiency8. According to the data described, as a result of pathological studies it was established that the lungs of a forty-year-old smoker look like the lungs of a non-smoker aged 75-80 years8.

The main symptoms of impaired functioning of the respiratory system due to smoking are chronic shortness of breath and cough with sputum. Often tobacco smoke is the cause of persistent breathing 9.

Bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tuberculosis and pneumonia are what smoking can to . Tobacco negatively affects the course of these diseases: it contributes to the appearance of extensive damage to lung tissue and pronounced destructive changes9.

In recent years, there has been an increase in the incidence of lung cancer due to nicotine consumption, due to an increase in the number of not only active, but also passive smokers9.

There is a relationship between the frequency of consumption of tobacco products and the development of oncology of the respiratory system. Heavy smokers lung cancer 70 times more often than non-smokers10.

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Respiratory system

Of course, the respiratory organs suffer the most from smoking, because they bear the first blow of toxins. Tobacco smoke, which a smoker inhales when lighting a regular cigarette, leads to inflammation of the respiratory system and therefore most people who smoke suffer from chronic bronchitis, they develop frequent mucus-purulent sputum. All this is accompanied by a constant, painful cough, which is especially intensified in the morning, the person constantly tries to cough up, and the sputum has a dirty gray color. Sometimes the infection can go further and penetrate the lung tissue, and this can cause pneumonia or lung abscess.

Since a smoker's vocal cords are constantly irritated, this causes his voice to become rougher. It becomes hoarse and not very pleasant. A person’s professional activity may also suffer from this if, for example, a smoker is a singer, presenter, etc.

Over the course of a year, a smoker's lungs pass through about eight hundred grams of tobacco tar. This makes their lungs darker than the lungs of an ordinary person.

If a person continues to actively use tobacco products, the connective tissue of the lungs loses its elasticity, the respiratory tubes stretch and bulge, and this can lead to the formation of bronchiectasis. Bronchiectasis is a chronic inflammatory disease that lasts for many years.

As a result of these diseases, the lungs can become denser, and this can lead to pneumosclerosis. Due to chronic cough, lung tissue can lose its elasticity, resulting in pulmonary emphysema. Studies have shown that the functioning of the lungs suffers in all respects, and they are no longer able to fight external infections. At the same time, the likelihood of contracting tuberculosis also increases, because smokers get it twice as often as ordinary people. Ultimately, smoking can cause cancer, and the more cigarettes you smoke per day, the greater the likelihood of lung cancer.

If a person stops smoking, the likelihood of cancer becomes less. Having studied the habits of lung cancer patients, doctors concluded: almost all of them are tobacco lovers. Tobacco can also cause stomach cancer. After all, when swallowing saliva, all toxic substances enter directly into the stomach. It is possible to prove through experiments that carcinogenic substances are concentrated in tobacco leaves. If you lubricate a rabbit's ear with a substance obtained from tobacco tar for a year, the rabbits will develop cancer. After all, tobacco smoke contains a strong carcinogen called benzopyrene, which leads to the development of cancer. This is a substance of the first class of danger. And this is not the only dangerous substance contained in tobacco smoke. Oncological formations can be caused by chrysene, dibenzanthracene, dibenzapyrene and others.

Tobacco smoke also contains organic compounds that are derivatives of ammonia. They

dissolving in saliva they go directly into the stomach, where nitrosamides are formed, causing malignant tumors. It is interesting that tobacco leaves can contain both natural and artificial chemical elements, all isotopes of which are radioactive, and in finished products (cigarettes, cigars, cigarettes) there are much fewer isotopes than in the leaves themselves. This can be explained by the fact that during tobacco processing in factories, radioactive polonium begins to decay, and continues to do so when the finished products are stored in warehouses. In general, tobacco ash contains approximately nine percent of the isotope, cigarette butt twenty percent, filter eight percent, and smoke as much as fifty percent.

Thus, half of the isotopes are concentrated in tobacco smoke, from where they enter the human body. The researchers conducted the following experiment: they made an incision between the larynx and bronchi of a dog, and blew smoke from several cigarettes every day. As a result, after two years the dog developed lung cancer.