Nicotine Addiction

According to the American Heart Association, nicotine addiction is one of the hardest addictions to break. Nicotine content in cigarettes has slowly increased over the years, and one study found that there was an average increase of 1.6% per year between the years of 1998 and 2005. Nicotine activates reward pathways, the circuitry within the brain that regulates feelings of pleasure and euphoria, which makes it addictive.



Articles Related to Nicotine Addiction

“Light” Addictions May Be More Serious Than Previously Thought

n their most recent column, Dr. David Moore and Bill Manville of the New York Daily News write that “light” addictions like caffeine can be more serious than we think. Addiction specialist Lynn Telford Sahl, author of the best selling “Intentional Joy,” told Bill of a patient...
January 15th, 2010 | Types of Addiction | Read More

Thrill-Seeking Teens Susceptible to Sweet-Tasting Cigarettes

New research shows that thrill-seeking teenagers are especially susceptible to fruit-flavored cigarettes, coinciding with the recent ban on the sale of flavored cigarettes by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to the FDA, the September 2009 ban, authorized by the new Family Smoking...
December 15th, 2009 | Nicotine Addiction | Read More

Initial Attitude Predicts Smoking among Mexican-American Youth

Whether non-smoking Mexican-American adolescents go on to experiment with smoking depends largely on their initial attitude toward the habit, researchers at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the December issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention, a journal of the American Association...
December 7th, 2009 | Nicotine Addiction | Read More

Smoking Tobacco through Waterpipe Just as Harmful as Cigarettes

Smoking tobacco through a waterpipe exposes the user to the same toxicants (carbon monoxide and nicotine) as smoking a cigarette, which could lead to nicotine addiction and heart disease, according to a study led by a Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) researcher published in the December issue of...
December 3rd, 2009 | Nicotine Addiction | Read More

Secondhand Smoke Exposure Worse for Toddlers and Obese Children

Toddlers and obese children suffer more than other youth when exposed to secondhand smoke, according to research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2009.
November 18th, 2009 | Nicotine Addiction | Read More

Maternal Smoking Can Increase Level of Discomfort in Newborns

A new research study suggests that maternal smoking may increase the level of distress in newborns. The research was published in the October 15th issue of Biological Psychiatry.
October 21st, 2009 | Nicotine Addiction | Read More

New Drug Shows Promise in Helping People Quit Smoking

A new drug that prevents smokers from getting the “buzz” from cigarettes showed promise in preliminary testing and may someday offer a new way to kick the dangerous habit. In the study, more than twice as many people given five of the shots stopped smoking than those given fewer shots or placebo—about...
August 10th, 2009 | Addiction Treatment | Read More

Cigarette Smoking in Movies Influences Teens

Researchers at Dartmouth Medical School have found that movie characters who smoke cigarettes—regardless of whether they are heroes or villains—influence teens to try smoking. Susanne Tanski, the lead author of the study, said that previous studies have found a link between smoking in movies and...
July 3rd, 2009 | Nicotine Addiction | Read More