" I spent years telling people how great it felt to be drug-free before I realized that I couldn't last twelve hours without a cigarette." (A former smokers)
Most people are aware of the danger of addictive characteristics in heroin, alcohol or other drugs while they consider smoking as a bad habit only. Nicotine contained in tobacco is a stimulant, like cocaine or amphetamines. The scope of the problem is staggering : heroin may kill hundreds of people a year, but tobacco-related illnesses kill more than that every week.
But does nicotine addiction qualify as an addictive disease?
Can it be classified alongside drug addiction?
Let's see if it meets the criteria :
- Compulsion.
Smokers who've made an attempt to quit and have relapsed may experience this compulsion in such a powerful way that they find themselves consuming many more cigarettes than before. - Continued use.
Most smokers begin in their late teens and continue to smoke at least ten years before they quit. - Medical problems.
The negative aspects of smoking to the body such as shortness of breath, coughing, lung diseases or several kinds of cancers become more apparent as smokers age. - Tolerance.
Most smokers start with an occasional cigarette and gradually increase consumption until they approach a pack a day. Some people may consume as many as two, three, or even four packs in a twenty-four hour period. - Withdrawal and craving.
When smokers attempt to stop or cut down on smoking, they experience irritability, and restlessness associated with decreasing levels of nicotine in their bloodstream. Then, they develop a craving for smoking. - Defense Mechanisms.
Unlike the negative effects of heroin or any other addictive drug use that are strong and can be apparent in a relatively short period of time, those of smoking are less strong and become apparent in a relatively long period of time. Smokers can smoke many packs a day and can still function as normal people for years. They may start smoking in their teen-age years and will probably develop lung cancer fifteen years later.
Moreover, smoking cigarettes is legal. So, smokers usually develop defense mechanisms even stronger than other kinds of drug addicts : Everybody smokes, even doctors do! You have no call to ask me not to smoke; I have the right to smoke!; It's my body, it's my money, it's me, why be so nosy?; Smoking makes me feel better and helps me to concentrate, you know.
It's both tragic and ironic that so many people think there's nothing wrong with their lives and later they eventually die because of an addiction to smoking. And worse, unlike other kinds of drug addicts who jeopardize themselves, smokers can harm not only themselves but also those around them who are forced to inhale the smoke exhaled by the smokers. Many people persist in smoking even in the face of severe, life-threatening medical conditions. They grouse about every price increase yet peacefully spend a certain amount of money a month on cigarettes.
