Tobacco & Nicotine

1. Tobacco/Nicotine
Courtney Kelly
Teachback
Drugs & Society

2. Tobacco Facts
 Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of disease and death in the
United States.
 “Cigarette smoking results in more than 480,000 premature deaths in the U.S.
each year-about 1 in every 5 U.S. deaths-and an additional 16 million people
suffer with a serious illness caused by smoking” (According to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention).
 Second hand smoke exposure can result in disease and death.
 “Every year approximately 88 million American nonsmokers are exposed to
second hand smoke and almost 41,000 nonsmokers die from disease pertained
to second hand smoke” (According to the National Institute on Daily Drug
Abuse).
DrugFacts: Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products

3. How does Tobacco Affect the Brain?
 There is an addictive substance called nicotine that are in cigarettes and
other forms of tobacco (cigars, pipe tobacco, snuff, and chewing tobacco).
 Nicotine is absorbed into the bloodstream when tobacco is either chewed,
inhaled, or smoked.
 On average while smoking one cigarette it takes about 10 puffs over the
period of 5 minutes that it is burned.
 A person who smokes a pack (25 cigarettes) daily gets 250 “hits” of nicotine
each day.
 When nicotine evades the bloodstream, it rouses the adrenal glands to
release a hormone called epinephrine (adrenaline).
DrugFacts: Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products

4. Continued..
 Epinephrine then stimulates the central nervous system, increasing blood
pressure, respiration, and heart rate.
 Nicotine increases levels of neurotransmitter dopamine which affect the brain
paths that regulate reward and pleasure.
 After long time use of tobacco, one will experience brain changes induced by
continued nicotine exposure which results in addiction.
DrugFacts: Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products

5. How does Tobacco Affect Health?
 Smoking cigarettes accounts for 1/3 of all cancers.
 90% are lung cancer cases from cigarette smoking.
 Smokeless tobacco increases ones risk of developing oral cancer.
 Adults who smoke die 10 years earlier than nonsmokers.
 Smoking has been linked to leukemia, cataracts, and pneumonia.
 Smoking can cause lung diseases which include:
 Chronic Bronchitis
 Emphysema
 Heart Disease (stroke, heart attack, vascular disease, and aneurysm)
DrugFacts: Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products

6. Health Risk Chart
WHO | Graphs.

7. What is Tobacco?
 Tobacco is a leafy plant grown around the world.
 China, Brazil, India, and the US produce 2/3 of the worlds tobacco.
 Tobacco is grown in 16 states in the U.S.
 A complex mixture of chemicals can be found in tobacco products; which
include carbon monoxide, tar, formaldehyde, cyanide, and ammonia.
DrugFacts: Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products
Facts About Smoking and Tobacco Use | Be Tobacco Free.gov.

8. Tobacco & Pregnancy
 Pregnant women who smoke cigarettes are at an increased risk of
miscarriage, stillborn or premature infants, or infants of low birth weight.
 Maternal smoking is linked with learning and behavioral problems in children.
 When you smoke during pregnancy, the toxic brew gets into your
bloodstream, where your baby's only sources of oxygen and nutrients come
from.
DrugFacts: Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products
Facts About Smoking and Tobacco Use | Be Tobacco Free.gov.

9. Second Hand Smoke
 When exposed to second hand smoke at home or work there is an increase
risk of developing disease by 25-30% and lung cancer by 20-30%.
 Children who grow up with parents that smoke are more likely to become
smokers.
 Second hand smoke causes health problems both in children and adults which
include:
 Coughing
 Over productive phlegm
 Reduced lung function
 Respiratory (pneumonia & bronchitis)
DrugFacts: Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products

10. Treatments for Tobacco Addiction
 When an addicted user tries to quit a substance, he or she experiences
withdrawal symptoms.
 Symptoms include irritability, attention difficulties, sleep disturbances,
increased appetite, and powerful cravings for tobacco.
 Some users can quit on their own, while others need assistance.
 A combination of medication and counseling is the most effective way to
quite.
 Toll Free Quitline: 800-Quite-NOW (Assistance for Quitting)
 Behavioral Treatment- Varies from self-help material to counseling. These
interventions teach people to identify high-risk situations and develop coping
strategies to deal with them.
DrugFacts: Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products

11. Treatment Continued..
 Nicotine Replacement Treatments- Pharmacological treatments used in
smoking sensation therapy. FDA approved NRT products include nicotine
chewing gum, the nicotine transdermal patch, nasal spray, inhalers, and
lozenges. Successful when used with behavioral treatments.
 Other Medications- Bupropin and Varenicline, target nicotine receptors in the
brain. Have easy withdrawal symptoms and blocks the effects of nicotine if
people resume smoking.
 Current Treatment Research- Working on a nicotine vaccine, which would
block nicotine's reinforcing effects by causing the immune system to bind to
nicotine in the bloodstream preventing it from reaching the brain.
 “Research suggest that a 35-year-old man who quits smoking, will on average
increase his life expectancy by 5 years”.
DrugFacts: Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products

12. Conclusion
 I agree that treatment is most successful when used with a combination of
medication and counseling for assistance in quitting.
 One thing I disagreed with throughout my research would be the nicotine
vaccine, I’m skeptical of the idea.
 Discussion Question: Do you think that all states should adopt the smoke free
car law, if so what should the penalty and fines be?

13. Works Cited
DrugFacts: Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products ... (n.d.). Retrieved October
21, 2016, from
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/cigarettes-other-
tobacco-products
Facts About Smoking and Tobacco Use | Be Tobacco Free.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved
October 22, 2016, from http://betobaccofree.hhs.gov/about-tobacco/facts-
figures/index.html
WHO | Graphs. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2016, from
http://www.who.int/tobacco/mpower/graphs/en/