As an ex-smoker ( smoked for 6 years ), I can attribute to the addictiveness
of nicotine. A few years ago, I picked up some American Health journal or
something like that in a doctors office. It rated the most addictive drugs
according to how hard it is to quit, and how easily it is to get addicted.
This is what it said:
Most addictive (in order) Hardest to quit: (in order)
Cocain Nicotine
Nicotine Caffeine
Caffeine Cocain
This addictiveness, IMHO, has to do with the buzz to some extent. Studying
drug abuse in a course, cocain provides high sensory stimulation and results
in extreme senses of euphoria, though it also causes dying back neuropathy (
I think ) which last’s a pretty good time( the buzz, not the neuropathy.
Nicotine doesn’t really provide that much of a buzz after smoking for probably
two days maybe. The buzz is caused by the chemicals in the cigarette reaching
the brain rather then oxygen. Caffeine, as we all know, wakes you up.
It also blocks the ability of the reabsorption of HOH from the nephrons,
which is why it causes frequent urination as well. Caffeine also inhibits
the digestion system somehow (I’m an undergrad, excuse the non-technicality ),
which is why diahrea is frequent after a good coffee binge.
As to why Nicotine and caffeine are the hardest to quit, the answer is simple
availability and cost! You can get a cup of joe for a quarter in some places
and last time I checked, a pack of smokes is about $1.50 as opposed to
whatever the price of coke is now.
As to regulating, I think it’s a matter of opinion. Smoking is probably the
worst thing you could possibly do to you body! Cigarette smoke contains
hydrogen cyanide, vinyl chloride and all sorts of lovely toxins! Caffiene
doesn’t really cause any detrimental damage to the body as far as I know,
though I think I remember reading that it inhibits the immune system to some
extent. Cocain, needless to say, is just plain unhealthy! It is
understandable that nicotine in cigarettes should be regulated, as well as
all the other crap they put in them!
From the desk of the imfamous Mr. G.