| Ever wondered what happens when you take that | | | | increase its acid secretions. With many smokers |
| deep pull on a cigarette. You get that familiar tug in the | | | | skipping meals, this has many unpleasant |
| lungs, the flood of relief, the clarity, the ah! factor. But | | | | consequences such as gastric ulcers. |
| what's that nicotine doing inside you? Read on and find | | | | But the worst thing is that nicotine doesn't come alone. |
| out. | | | | It brings over 4000 cohorts ready to do damage to |
| As you draw in that first draft of smoke, it passes | | | | your body. While the nicotine is working on your brain |
| past your larynx, surges down your esophagus and | | | | and keeping you addicted, the other chemicals in |
| goes along the two bronchi to the bronchioles that | | | | smoke are busy destroying other parts of your body. |
| make up your lungs. Here it meets the alveoli, the little | | | | These include tar, arsenic a deadly poison used to |
| sacs where the oxygen that you breathe is taken up | | | | make rat poison, ammonia an ingredient in floor |
| by the hemoglobin in your blood. | | | | cleaners, and butane which you'll find in your cigarette |
| The alveoli are a wonderful creation of nature. They | | | | lighter, |
| provide an absorption surface for oxygen with an | | | | To give just a few examples. Under the onslaught of |
| area 90 times the surface of you skin. When the | | | | smoke, the walls between the alveoli sacs break |
| tobacco smoke hits the alveoli, the nicotine and other | | | | down. Once destroyed, they never grow back. This |
| chemicals are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream | | | | can lead to chronic conditions such as emphysema. |
| where is quickly makes its way to your brain and all | | | | The smoke also paralyzes cilia, the little hair-like |
| over your body. | | | | sweepers that clean your lungs. When you most need |
| Less than ten seconds after taking that puff, nicotine | | | | protection, your cleaners are being incapacitated. |
| hits the brain, its main sphere of influence. Nicotine is a | | | | In addition, the chemicals in tobacco smoke damage |
| psychoactive drug meaning it affects brain chemistry. It | | | | the walls of blood vessels. This allows a faster build up |
| does this in many ways, one of which is especially | | | | of plaques increasing the risk of heart disease by |
| insidious. It causes the release of dopamine a chemical | | | | hastening arteriosclerosis. |
| naturally produced in the body. Dopamine works on the | | | | Nicotine has a short but devastating life in the human |
| reward pathways that result in the pleasurable feeling | | | | body. With a half-life of one hour, it's almost gone in six |
| we get after doing something good. In this case, | | | | hours. Except that the average smoker has lit up ten |
| nicotine tricks the neuroreceptors in the brain to giving | | | | times during that period repeating the devastating |
| us the feel good factor for doing something dumb - | | | | cycle. |
| smoking cigarettes. | | | | Some 80 percent of nicotine is processed by liver |
| Meanwhile nicotine is causing your adrenal glands to | | | | enzymes and most of the rest filtered out by the |
| release adrenalin causing the rise in pulse rate and | | | | kidneys. |
| blood pressure and release of glucose. At the same | | | | Many of the other chemicals in tobacco smoke are |
| time, nicotine is telling the pancreas to reduce its output | | | | more dangerous than nicotine. But nicotine is the |
| of insulin leading to a high blood sugar level. Your | | | | master without which they would never enter your |
| heartbeat rises by up to 30 percent | | | | body. |
| All these reactions in the body combine to form the | | | | Recognizing nicotine for what it is is a key step to |
| rush that smokers live for. | | | | conquering tobacco addiction. |
| As this happens, nicotine is causing the stomach to | | | | |