People addicted to smoking have a dependence on the chemical nicotine, according to the American Cancer Society and MayoClinic.com. The habit-forming compound exists in the smoke that burning tobacco products emit and the smoke that smokers expel while smoking, and it is present in all tobacco products. Although smokers may believe that it is the act of smoking that they long for, they actually crave the positive effects that nicotine produces.
Significance
In the United States, nicotine dependence is the most frequent kind of addiction, according to the American Cancer Society. Nicotine cravings occur because the chemical creates pleasant mood-altering and physical effects in smokers when they inhale tobacco smoke, according to the American Cancer Society. Thus, smokers become psychologically dependent on smoking as they yearn for more of the tobacco product of their choice to experience the enjoyable effects again.
Effects
When nicotine enters a smoker's body, it causes the release of brain chemicals, including the neurotransmitter dopamine, within seconds. Such brain chemicals make you experience good feelings, such as alertness and calmness. Nicotine can also cause a short boost of energy, according to the American Cancer Society. However, the feelings are fleeting, and they disappear in several minutes, inspiring smokers to feed their craving again by smoking some more.
Features
Research confirms nicotine is as capable of causing users to become addicted as the legal narcotic alcohol and the illegal narcotics heroin and cocaine, according to the American Cancer Society. Similar to those narcotics, nicotine causes users to build up a tolerance to its effects and experience significant withdrawal symptoms when they stop smoking. Nicotine tolerance makes smokers crave smoking more to recreate the pleasant feelings that accompany nicotine use. At the same time, the withdrawal symptoms also make addicted smokers smoke more to avoid the unpleasant impact of not smoking, which becomes severer with continued smoking.
Considerations
Overcoming cravings for nicotine and smoking usually involves quitting smoking completely, whether gradually or all at once. Unfortunately, some people do not realize that dozens of other chemicals in tobacco products cause cancer but not nicotine, according to the American Cancer Society and MayoClinic.com. As a result, they avoid using the nicotine replacement therapy products that could help them eventually stop longing for nicotine. Such products include nicotine gum, lozenges, patches, inhalers and nasal sprays, all of which help smokers reduce their craving for nicotine and decrease withdrawal symptoms without exposure to the other dangerous chemicals in tobacco products.
Warning
Cigarettes are not the only tobacco products that cause users to crave them due to the nicotine they contain. For example, one cigar typically has the nicotine equivalent of several cigarettes, states the American Cancer Society. Those cigar smokers who inhale absorb nicotine the same way that cigarette smokers do. Yet, those who do not inhale are still vulnerable to nicotine cravings and addiction because the chemical enters their body via the lining of their mouth, albeit more slowly.
People who smoke flavored tobacco products--such as bidis, clove cigarettes and hookah water pipes, for example--may experience even stronger cravings than people who smoke only regular cigarettes. Because such products often contain higher levels of nicotine and other dangerous tobacco-related chemicals, such as carbon monoxide and tar, users may absorb more nicotine than smokers of normal commercial cigarettes.
