Can Cigarettes Create Physical Dependence?

The answer to this question is “probably yes-at least in some people. “ If a Person smokes and has not been able to break the habit, he or she may have a true physical

The Action Of Nicotine

Here’s how nicotine works in the body when a person smokes a cigarette. Inhaling cigarette smoke brings nicotine directly to the lungs, where it is transferred through the thin membranes of the lung tissue into the bloodstream. Pumped out through the aorta, one-fourth of the nicotine soon passes directly into the brain, where it stimulates nicotine receptors. As a result, the brain releases chemicals that, in turn, stimulate the cardiovascular system. The hearth beats faster and the blood pressure goes up.

Meanwhile, the remainder of the inhaled nicotine is carried in the bloodstream to the rest of the body, where it acts at a number of nicotine receptor sites in body cells. Not only does it stimulate the gastrointestinal tract, it also causes the adrenal gland to release epinephrine, causing the “fight or flight “ reaction . The hearth beat increases by fifteen to twenty five beat per minute; the pupils of the eyes and the bronchioles of the lungs dilate, and the blood vessels in the fingers and toes constrict . Thermograms, or heat pictures, of smoker’s hand and feet clearly show the drop in temperature in fingers and toes after a cigarette is smoke. Epinephrine also stimulates the breakdown of glycogen to glucose in the tisues.