Support Group for Smoking Cessation

Smoking is not simply a bad habit – it’s an addiction caused by nicotine contained in tobacco. Just like with any other addiction, people who are addicted to cigarettes have a compulsive need to smoke as their body craves regular doses of nicotine.

Smoking often leads to changes in one’s brain and nervous system. Specifically, nicotine alters the balance of two chemicals, called dopamine and noradrenaline, found in the brain. When the levels of the foresaid chemicals change, one’s mood and concentration levels also change. It should be noted that many smokers find this enjoyable as the changes occur quickly, for while inhaling the nicotine, it immediately rushes to the smoker’s brain where it produces feelings of pleasure and, simultaneously, reduces stress and anxiety. It should be borne in mind that these are real physical differences as the brain will now be dependent on the nicotine, having “rewired” itself.

When a smoker stops smoking for a period of time, it is common for the individual to experience some withdrawal symptoms as the brain and the body are adjusting to no longer having nicotine in the system. Clinical research supports that withdrawal from smoking and nicotine is often uncomfortable because it has many physical and psychological symptoms which the majority of smokers cannot handle.

Health risks of smoking

Medical research has determined that tobacco smoking is a major contributing factor towards many health problems such as:

• Infant mortality rate
• Lung cancer
• Diseases of the respiratory track
• Cardiovascular disease
• Sudden infant death syndrome

Many of tobacco’s health effects can be minimized through smoking cessation.