The use of tobacco related products has been around for hundreds of years however becoming extremely popular during the 1960’s due to a newfound social acceptance for smoking cigarettes. Statements about how bad these products are for individuals are present vocally or visually all the time but the main reason for its prevalence is due to its addictive traits which stem from the chemical Nicotine.
Nicotine has been considered to have equal addictiveness as heroin while growing to be one of the most addicting substances on earth, although its effects are not nearly as severe. Researchers are still learning about long-term effects of nicotine, however many products containing nicotine are also associated with tobacco therefore resulting in similar health effects. Nicotine is considered a poisonous substance and a dose from 30 to 60 milligrams of nicotine is considered to be lethal.
While using the nicotine filled products an individual is not only hurting their health but also their society. Their side effects coupled with addictive traits and increased popularity have created a mass problem throughout the world and especially the United States of America. By explaining the problems surrounding Nicotine, both personally and socially, I will prove this extreme abuse use is causing negative impacts affecting our society.
127 our experts are availableright now
To understand the problems of nicotine it’s important to learn all the information surrounding the topic and assess it to draw a conclusion, leading to an explanation of what nicotine is. Nicotine and tobacco have formed a strong relationship in conversation, most likely because nicotine is a highly addictive substance found in tobacco products. Nicotine is a chemical that contains nitrogen, which is made by several types of plants, including the tobacco plant (Felman). Nicotine can be described as a colorless or yellowish oily liquid incorporated into a large number of products. By using these tobacco products individuals are enabling the nicotine substance to enter their body along with the other toxins.
Users can obtain this nitrogen source by chewing, inhaling, snorting, sucking, or sticking it on body. According to Adam Feldman, medical news today writer, chewing or snorting tobacco products usually releases more nicotine into the body than the more commonly known use of smoking it. Individuals choose to use these products because of their euphoric powers like that of most drugs which is why nicotine is used alongside other problematic influences such as alcohol. Most nicotine users find a mental connection between two drugs and therefor desire the counterpart when using one. The connection is a major cause for addiction problems as adults are more likely to drink on occasion causing the desire for nicotine ultimately leading them back into use.
According to the Addiction Center nicotine is commonly used alongside other drugs while also becoming an extreme liability as it has been listed as a gateway drug. A gateway drug is a habit-forming drug that can lead to the use of other addictive drugs. The mental connection for nicotine and its users has become so strong that it has now led to the use of other illicit stimulants such as cocaine. With so many negatives surrounding nicotine some positives also come out of the substance as research confirms it improves memory and concentration skills (Felman).
Nicotine is undoubtably addictive for current users however it’s also spreading throughout societies including the United States. According to the Addiction Center approximately 50 million people in America are addicted to cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco or snuff, all products containing nicotine. The smoking community is directly impacting the youth when 90 percent of smokers start before the age of 18(AddictionCenter).
The amount of American youth users has grown to be so large that 5.6 million under the age of 18 will die from a smoking-related illness (Smoking). Teens are extremely susceptible to information found through media sources as it has lately become such a large influence in our society, and the mass media sources typically show nicotine use as a common activity. Promotions for products containing nicotine products are oftentimes appealing to the youth’s eye.
In 2014, three-quarters of high school students and over half of middle school students reported to use of products containing a flavored nicotine source in the past month (Smoking). With easy availability due to the small number of legal and social consequences of nicotine products, users get easy access and are also comfortable with using the substance in public settings. Many users of tobacco products oftentimes try to use products such as JUUL’s to quit the toxic effects of tobacco while also receiving a nicotine buzz. ‘It is no wonder that JUUL e-cigarettes have rapidly caught on with youth — they look like a sleek USB flash drive, are easily concealed and come in youth-appealing flavors like mint, mango and creme brulee,’ said Robin Koval, CEO and president of Truth Initiative.
The JUUL is also known to have a higher nicotine content than many other e-cigarettes therefore adding to its addictive levels. The easy access and important legal use of nicotine allows for its users to abuse the drug while also enabling the spread of the product. The ability to carry around the product and have easy access allows users frequent use ultimately hooking them into addiction. In cases like this addiction makes a loss of users a difficult task therefor with the addition of new users, the new usage rate will likely increase faster than current users are quitting. This increase results in an improved usage amount which has led me to believe nicotine usage has become more prevalent in our society leading to a numerous amount of side effects.
Nicotine almost immediately impacts the user in a variety of different ways, smoking results in nicotine reaching the brain within 10 seconds of inhalation (Nicotine). Nicotine has serious effects on the body during use as it triggers multiple chemical reactions. According to Terry Martin of verywellmind, these reactions include a dopamine increase, increases in blood pressure and respiration, while also inhibiting the release of glucose. The increase in dopamine gives a smoker short-lived feeling of pleasure which could ultimately lead to its addictive traits.
The rise in blood pressure and racing heartbeat is caused by the stimulation of the adrenal gland. This controls an individual’s adrenaline or the “fight or flight” hormone, which tells the body to get rid of glucose by releasing it into the bloodstream. Terry Martin believes nicotine also acts as a meal suppressant because it doesn’t allow insulin to enter into the bloodstream to enable the removal of excess sugar. This explains why many nicotine users tend to lose weight during frequent use, the body doesn’t feel hungry and doesn’t tell the brain it wants to eat making the user unaware of the need for nutritional value.
Nicotine is harmful from a mental aspect as well, addiction changes the chemical makeup of the brain which is why it becomes harder to quit after using. The euphoric feelings from nicotine use creates a newfound desire for the product than can be associated with past experiences. Triggers for this desire can be anything from music to people and places, but its strong effects cause users to crave it almost as a necessity. Not only does the use of nicotine impact its users but by not using the product users can also experience withdrawal effects.
Nicotine can have some serious side effects as withdrawal causes users to feel edgy and agitated. Most side effects from nicotine affect the brain and include dizziness and light headedness. While the brain is extremely important to humans and a fragile asset that must be protected the use of nicotine can have detrimental impacts making simple cognitive skills difficult. Nicotine can also disturb sleep of users by making it irregular and difficult to sleep while integrating bad dreams and nightmares. A lack of sleep, or insomnia can have serious and dangerous effects on an individual with numerous diseases listed as possible outcomes.
The effects of nicotine do not limit to the mental side as they can also affect users on a physical level. Nicotine use can cause nausea and even get harsh enough to cause vomiting or diarrhea. While in the gastrointestinal system nicotine caused xerostomia, a symptom focused around a dry mouth. The biggest impact on humans is on the lifespan as smokers typically live 14 years less than nonsmokers. Overall the impacts of nicotine on its users appear to be negative, so how could this dangerous product leave a positive impact on the complete American society.
Nicotine has obvious direct impacts on humans, however its societal impacts stem from its most known addictive trait. Nicotine addiction is the most common addiction in America as of 2018. The American society is based around an environment that is more follower oriented than leader along with an increased interest in new ideas, the American society has widely been overrun by the problem of nicotine. Nicotine is the leading preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States.
While a majority of the population feels a tendency to fit in and follow the societal norms such as these nicotine products, they have also caused more severe problems such as death, disease, and economic loss. In other words, we have accepted this drug to be a commonality to our everyday life with knowledge that it is linked to serious side effects to not only our mind but body. According to the Addiction Center, societal cost estimates of nicotine addiction in the U.S. are approximately $193 billion a year. This loss incrementally adds to our already struggling economy that is filled with debt as we continue to value money over time.
These losses are accumulated by the effects of nicotine withdrawal on workers that include sleep disturbances, cognitive and attentional deficits, as well as irritability. Our economy is losing in its fight to overcome debt and with workers losing money because withdrawal our economy is ultimately suffering. With this recent increase in amount of nicotine use in teens and young adults it also has direct impact on schoolwork and extracurricular activities. Young people being more likely to form an addiction and more likely to be persuaded by advertisements have become overrun by nicotine’s effects even as they hold the future of the American society in their hands. Youth smoking correlates directly with depression, anxiety, and stress that cause constant societal impacts on a personal level.
In recent studies by the Center for Discovery, 20 percent of America’s youth feels the effects of depression before adulthood. Suicide rates are way too high for comfort as they account for one-third of youth deaths in the United States. In the workplace companies are taking cost hits for inefficient workers due to depression and stress symptoms. Depression, anxiety, and stress have also become rampantly common problems in the workplace while depression ranks in the top three workplace problems in the United States and has come to affect the economies efficiency to a great degree.
With an abundant amount of notable societal problems occurring from nicotine use it cannot be positive substance for the society as a whole. While not all of the population is a current user of the product, its use has grown to be so large that it is leaving large impacts on our entire society. This abundant use has created disaster throughout the American nation with its current connection to significant problems.
The American society is clearly taking loss from the numerous amounts of effects from the nicotine epidemic as it has been overwhelmed by disease, depression, and disaster. The ongoing research on nicotine reveals its still increasing list of side effects from not only use but withdrawal have taken tolls on American individuals and societies alike. Its impacts not only create problems for the body and brain but also the economy as it results in major losses in the country’s economic system.
With mass media outlets to influence the youth, nicotine products have infiltrated the American system and compiled major complications for the society and its future. The nicotine drug has become too widely used and its addictive traits have ultimately caused extremely negative effects towards the American way of life. Nicotine is a dangerous and powerful chemical that causes mass catastrophes.
