August 1, 2017

    I will continue discussing just how harmful tobacco really is.

2. Nicotine (continued)
   In The Tragedy of X by Ellery Queen, a book I loved reading as a junior high school student, there’s a scene in which a gloved conductor (the culprit) kills someone on a streetcar using a cork with needles all around.

The tips of the needles were coated with nicotine, and the culprit wore leather gloves so the needles wouldn’t prick his own hand as he secretly placed the nicotine-laced device into the victim’s pocket.

The detective deduced that only a conductor could wear leather gloves in the sweltering summer without raising suspicion—and identified the culprit.

Even as a student, I clearly understood how deadly nicotine is.

Nicotine is toxic to almost all living organisms and has been used as an insecticide.

  Though nicotine itself is not carcinogenic, one of its metabolites—nitrosamines—has been confirmed to be carcinogenic.

  Even more frightening is nicotine has strong addictive potential, on par with heroin and cocaine.

When nicotine is consumed through smoking, its concentration in the blood rises rapidly and quickly reaches the brain, resulting in a strong dependency.

In fact, smoking is the most effective method for producing nicotine addicts. 

One notable feature of nicotine is that it does not produce much pleasure when first consumed.
This is what distinguishes it from other addictive substances.
Repeated nicotine use leads to depletion of the brain’s reward system, resulting in physical dependence.
Only then does the user begin to feel pleasure from nicotine intake.
The brain’s reward system is the network that activates when desires are fulfilled, giving rise to sensations of pleasure.

In short, the stress relief that smokers feel from smoking is actually just relief from withdrawal symptoms (the depletion of the reward system).
There is no actual benefit or “positive effect” of smoking in terms of stress reduction.
  The condition in which one denies the harm of toxic substance intake and develops a perceived need for it is known as psychological dependence.
Nicotine causes strong psychological dependence.

Many people around me say things like:
“I get irritated and can’t concentrate without a cigarette.”
“Smoking helps me relieve stress.”
They are all experiencing psychological dependence on nicotine.
This is precisely what nicotine addiction is.

However, a prominent immunologist once wrote in his book:

“If smoking is your only form of relaxation or stress relief, you don’t need to force yourself to quit by fighting your own weak will.”

This is an outrageous statement that essentially endorses psychological dependence on nicotine.
Though he may be a respectable immunologist, it is truly regrettable that he would make such a foolish remark.
I sincerely hope he will deeply reflect on how powerful and damaging his words can be.

To be continued