Tobacco's ability to wreak havoc on health is well known, yet cigarettes continue to lure new smokers into a life of nicotine addiction. The tobacco industry won't be closing up shop anytime soon, so educating smokers about the mechanisms by which tobacco consumption ruins their bodies must remain one of the primary weapons of defeating nicotine addiction. The central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal cord. It is the neurological control center of the body. Tobacco smoking exerts considerable effects over the central nervous system.
CNS Stimulant
Brown University explains that nicotine, the addictive drug found in tobacco, is a central nervous stimulant. By stimulating the central nervous system, nicotine causes blood sugar to rise, blood vessels to constrict and blood flow to decrease within seconds after it is inhaled into the body. The rise in blood sugar makes the smoker feel temporarily energized, but the effect is very short-lived. Blood sugar plunges soon afterward, leaving the smoker feeling fatigued and, in some cases, depressed. These effects can last as long an entire day, according to Princeton University Health Services.
Withdrawal
The effects of nicotine on the brain wear off quickly. The University of Maryland Center for Substance Abuse Research explains that nicotine's effects on the brain cause an increased release of neurotransmitters associated with pleasure. The brain quickly adjusts to repeated nicotine consumption by decreasing the amount of neurotransmitters released. The effect of this increased tolerance is that the smoker must continue to use nicotine in order to avoid the feelings of discomfort associated with withdrawal from the drug. Irritability and anxiety often ensue during nicotine withdrawal.
Fetal Effects
Mothers who smoke, or who are exposed to tobacco smoke while pregnant, can be exerting harmful effects on the central nervous systems of their unborn children. In 2000, the Carlo Besta Neurological Institute in Milano, Italy, explored the association between maternal smoking and central nervous system tumors in children.
The study, titled "Active and Passive Smoking During Pregnancy and Risk of Central Nervous System Tumours in Children," was published in the journal "Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology" in January 2000. Researchers found that tobacco smoking and exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy were associated with increased risk of having a child who suffers from central nervous system tumors.
References
- University of Maryland: Center for Substance Abuse Research: Tobacco
- Brown University Health Education: Smokeless Tobacco
- Princeton University: Drugs and Smoking
- "Paediatric Perinatal Epidemiology"; Active and Passive Smoking During Pregnancy and Risk of Central Nervous System Tumours in Children; G. Filippini et al; January 2000
