It is tobacco addiction, specifically to nicotine which is the main substance in tobacco. It generates dependency as it briefly causes pleasure in the brain, so to enjoy these effects, you need to smoke more to get that feeling back. Hence its difficulty to quit smoking.
The highly addictive degree of nicotine means that when you try to quit, you experience severe physical and mental withdrawal symptoms. However, it is possible to stop this addiction as there are currently several treatments that have achieved good results. Remember that even if you have smoked for many years, your health will improve significantly once you start living smoke-free.
Nicotine causes the release of neurotransmitters, which are chemical substances that regulate your behavior and mood. One of them is dopamine, which produces pleasant sensations and helps you to be in a better mood and with more energy.
In this way, a physical addiction sets in and, over time and with the increase of daily cigarettes, it also becomes a habit that triggers mental and emotional dependence, which makes it more difficult to quit smoking.
Smokers make a lot of excuses or create situations to continue smoking, but the most common are:
- After eating.
- When drinking coffee.
- When talking with friends.
- During work breaks.
- When talking on the phone.
- When drinking alcohol.
- While driving.
The only way to quit smoking is to be aware of the physical, mental, and emotional links you have with it, as well as the situations and aspects that lead you to smoke in order to avoid them and draw up an action plan.
