Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known to man. It is also one of the most damaging. Because tobacco is a legal drug, it is easy to obtain, but not so easy to quit once you have become addicted. However, the benefits to your health, sex life and athletic ability make it worthwhile to kick the habit.
Types of Tobacco
The American Cancer Society warns that use of cigars, pipe tobacco, spit tobacco and snuff are as bad as cigarette smoking. The lining of your mouth absorbs nicotine more slowly than your lungs, but it is just as addictive.
General Health Effects
The general health effects of nicotine use can be divided into short-term and long-term effects. None of them are good. The American Heart Association describes short-term effects as including increased blood pressure, heart rate and narrowed arteries. When you smoke tobacco, the smoke contains carbon monoxide. This combined with the artery-narrowing effect of nicotine reduces the amount of oxygen in your blood.
Long-term effects include cancers of the lung, lip, tongue, mouth, throat, voice box and esophagus. It may increase the risk of bladder and pancreatic cancer. Long-term effects also include an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and chronic lung diseases, such as emphysema.
Other unpleasant effects are bad breath, stained teeth, gum disease, tooth decay and loss, and loss of bone in the jaw.
Impotence and Infertility
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, erectile dysfunction is usually a result of disease, injury or drug side effects. Among the diseases that cause erectile dysfunction are heart disease, atherosclerosis and high blood pressure, all of which can be the result of nicotine use. MayoClinic.com also advises that men who smoke may have a lower sperm count than normal and that even secondhand smoke can affect fertility.
Athletic Ability
Because tobacco use causes widespread negative effects on the body, it can impair your ability to engage in athletic activities. The immediate effects of smoking tobacco reduce the amount of oxygen available to your body. The longer-term effects of heart and lung disease can stop you from engaging in sports permanently.
Quitting
According to the American Heart Association, nicotine causes changes in your brain that make you crave more of it. Because of these changes, you are likely to experience withdrawal symptoms when you try to quit. As for methods of quitting, you must discover what works best for you. Some people prefer going "cold turkey," while others find it more effective to use one of the many products on the market that gradually reduce dependence on nicotine. Support groups and even hypnosis can help. Do not feel discouraged if you have tried unsuccessfully to quit before. Many tobacco users have tried and failed, but kept trying until they were finally free of the addiction. You can be one of them.
