9781422272299

1 CHAPTER

How Nicotine Impacts the Body and Mind Like all drugs, nicotine causes changes in a person’s body and affects the ways that the user’s brain operates. These changes are often quite subtle but can quickly make a person addicted to cigarettes, electronic vapor devices, or other products that contain nicotine. No matter how a person ingests nicotine, they will experience these symptoms. Some of the effects of nicotine use may seem beneficial or positive to users at first. However, scientists and public health experts have found that the long-term effect of nicotine use is often a lifetime of addiction and decreasing health. The potency of this drug, and the insidious ways that it affects the body and mind, make it extremely difficult for most users to quit. Tobacco users will eventually find that their once-cool habit has betrayed them in ways that they could never have imagined when they were younger. Nicotine Hijacks the Brain Nicotine is a chemical that occurs naturally in the leaves of the tobacco plant ( Nicotiana tabacum ). Because of its effect on the body and brain, it is considered to be a type of drug called a stimulant , which temporarily increases a user’s alertness and energy. (Other examples of stimulants include amphetamines and

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