Introduction
Global use of tobacco is growing rapidly and consequently contributing to the global burden of disease. Currently, 50% of men and 9% of women in developing countries smoke, as compared with 35% of men and 22% of women in developed countries. According to WHO report, tobacco was ranked fourth among the ten leading risk factors in terms of avoidable disease burden and remains high on the list in the 2010 projections (Lloyd, 1998). Many cases of illness have been reported to be caused by tobacco and nicotine smoking. In the year 2000, tobacco alone contributed 5% of lung illness. In addition, males have been more prone to smoking illness especially in the United States and United Kingdom.
The main reason why smoking is widely used is the immediate effects that result after smoking. People smoke for the pleasure associated with it while others smoke for social reasons. In the recent decade, vast research on smoking has widely improved our understanding of human physiology and behavior (Goodwin & Hamilton, 2002). The research has further reported that addition is a biological brain disease which can be chronic or relapsing in nature. The main reason why most individuals engage in the habit of smoking psychoactive substances is the ‘benefit’ associated with them after they enter the body. An effect such as relaxation of mind and pleasure prompts most people to take drugs. However smoking may result in either short-term or long term harmful effects in your body. Long term effects include chronic diseases such as lung cancer as well as emphysema. Other categories such as acute social problems and chronic social problems may arise due to smoking.
Effects on the brain
Substance addiction or dependence is a disorder of altered brain function caused by prolonged use of psychoactive substances. In addition smoking affects the emotional and motivational process occurring in the brain. Since the output of the brain is behavior and thoughts, dysfunction of the brain may result in highly complex behavioral symptoms. The brain is affected by smoking and may result to traumas, illness such as stroke and brain injuries. Tobacco or nicotine affects the brain cell by linking at various receptors at the neural pathway. The effect is coordinated to affect and stabilize the pain or pleasure pathway. Recent developments in substance abuse and addiction have cited the root causes of such behaviors. To date, researchers have identified several factors that lead to these conditions such as poverty, racism, weak families, peer pressure, lack of education, social dysfunction and many others. In addition, genetics and environment have played a critical role in smoking (Lloyd, 1998).
Neuroscience
After the initial use of the dependence substance, the victim’s mood, perception and emotional state are instantly modified. There are four common routes of administering psychoactive substances in the body. This include; oral consumption, intranasal consumption, smoking (inhalation into the lungs) and intravenous injection. Once the psychoactive substance enters the brain system they immediately exert their effect. The brain is highly organized into a number of different regions with specialized functions (Cardinal, 2002). The hindbrain is the part of the brain that functions as a life maintaining region as well as controlling other useful activities such as breathing and alertness. The part of the brain referred to as the midbrain is important when substances like nicotine or tobacco enter the brain.
The midbrain is involved with motivation and learning about the external environment and controls various body behaviors such as smoking, drinking and eating. The forebrain is highly developed and more complex compared to the midbrain. Its main function is to help a person to think and be perceptive in receiving information and organizing thoughts. Recent research on brain-imaging has demonstrated that smoke is responsible for activating the forebrain region. In addition, the activation results in craving to smoke and thereby the person becoming addicted. However, the forebrain has also been seen to function abnormally in most long term smokers. The work of neurons is to transmit information and coordinate messengers in the brain and the rest of the body. The brain structure has neurons that bind to different and specific receptor. However, when psychoactive substances get into the brain region they actually mimic the neurotransmitters and convey a message. This affects the brain’s normal function of coordinating information.
They do this by blocking the neurotransmitter immediately when it is activated at the presynaptic terminal (Cardinal, 2002). Psychoactive substances are divided into two groups. Those that interact and increase the function of the receptors are precisely referred to as agonists, and those that interact to stop or block (the antagonists) the normal function of the brain. The several different psychoactive substances affect the brain in different ways with each subjecting the brain to different illness. This is because tobacco bind to a specific receptor from nicotine and therefore the brain react differently. The resulting emotional effects are therefore different since the brain tolerates them in different ways.
Motivation to engage in quitting smoking behavior
A successive survey indicates that over 60% of the smokers want to quit the habit. Very few have succeeded while others attempt more than five times before dropping the habit successfully. Since most of the psychoactive substances are addictive, quitting becomes a difficult task to overcome. The main key factor to quit smoking is motivation. An addict should be motivated through rehabilitation centers, engaging in activities sports or other activities that will help his or her mind forget the craving of smoking. The smoker is therefore required to overcome those factors that make the processes of quitting difficult. Another factor that the smoker has to fight with is the intensity of the withdrawal symptoms which has been suggested to be the basic contributing factors that hinders quitting.
The first days of quitting are associated with discomfort, anxiety, sleepiness, irritability and many more. Such symptoms may continue for the first 30 days or months (Robinson & Berridge, 2000). People with nicotine-dependence faces great obstacles during the process of quitting. They usually have low confidence and perceive quitting as a difficult process. The heavy smokers often express verbal desire to quit the habit though this is not translated to real life since they are not fully motivated to take the path. Another hallmark obstacle is the weight factor associated with smoking. Recent epidemiological studies reports indicate that nonsmokers weigh more than smokers. However, other studies have shown alterations of weight gain or loss during the life of nicotine smokers. During weight gain periods, the smoker experiences depression, irritability, aggression as well as abstention. Theories behind weight changes include, increased rate in metabolism and loss of appetite
Conclusion
The health data have clearly suggested the main cause of mental illness to be associated with smoking. This is because most people with mental illness are smokers. This indicates a close connection between smoking and the brain. However those individuals with a clear record of past history of depression are likely to quit smoking compared to their counterparts. Treatment of the habit requires a combination of medical and behavioral therapies though controversial debates have accompanied these kinds of treatments. For instance, public announcements through the media for the dangers of nicotine have successfully motivated people not to smoke.
References
Goodwin, R & Hamilton, S. (2002). Cigarette smoking and panic: the role of neuroticism. American Journal of Psychiatry, 159(7), 1208-13.
Cardinal, N. (2002). Emotion and motivation: the role of the amygdala, ventral striatum, and prefrontal cortex. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 26(2), 321–352.
Lloyd, C. (1998). Risk factors for problem drug use: identifying vulnerable groups. Drugs: Education Prevention and Policy, 5(1), 217–232.
Robinson, T. E. & Berridge, K. C. 2000. The psychology and neurobiology of addiction: an incentive-sensitization view. Addiction, 95(2), S91–S117.