Nicotine addiction - All you need to know

It is difficult to get away from nicotine addiction. The psychological dependence can last for many months or even years after the physical dependence is gone.

If you can't quit smoking on your own, we recommend overcoming physical withdrawal with a nicotine replacement product such as patches or gum. However, overcoming the psychological dependence will be much more difficult without help

Nicotine addiction: a description

Over the years, advertising has portrayed smokers as attractive, free-thinking people. People remember this image even though they are supposed to be educated about the dangers of smoking.

While most smokers are addicted only for the nicotine, the body and psyche of tobacco users are affected by the chemical substance of the plant. In some minds, cigarettes can have an invigorating effect.

Trying to reduce or quit tobacco use altogether is a difficult task for a smoker. A person's desires become tied to smoking itself, and even the best intentions cannot be fulfilled because the relentless craving overwhelms them.

The stress builds up in those who fight against themselves because reaching for a cigarette is automatic in order to satisfy a certain need

Nicotine addiction: passive smoking

Cigarette smoke can be dangerous for both smokers and secondhand smokers. Women should not smoke during pregnancy because of the dangerous effects on their unborn child. Every cigarette you smoke increases the risk of premature birth, low birth weight baby, and SIDS. For smoking mothers, this intake can be significant because nicotine passes into breast milk at a much higher concentration.

Nicotine addiction: How many are affected?

About 29% of adults in Germany smoke. That is about 20 million people. Among men, about 31 % reach for cigarettes, among women it is about 26 %. Among 12- to 17-year-olds, the proportion of smokers has fallen significantly since 2001: At that time, it was 28 percent; in 2014, it was just under 10 percent. The smoking rate among boys (11 %) is slightly higher than among girls (9 %).

Most tobacco in the U.S. is consumed in the form of cigarettes, whether they contain filters or are made from a prepackaged material. Cigarillos, cigars, pipes, snuff, and hookah account for a smaller percentage of tobacco use.

Nicotine addiction: Toxic fumes

Tobacco is made from the dried leaves of the tobacco plant. Smoking, chewing or snuffing are the only ways to ingest tobacco after it has been processed.

The most active component of nicotine can lead to high concentrations of toxic chemicals, depending on how the tobacco was prepared and the region it came from.

Inhaling tobacco smoke exposes smokers to many other harmful substances besides nicotine. More than 40 of these substances have been shown to cause cancer in rats and mice, but research has not established a causal link between tobacco smoking and cancer in healthy adults.

Nicotine addiction: Screening and diagnosis

If you suspect you have a tobacco addiction, you should see your primary care physician. To diagnose nicotine addiction, the doctor will ask you questions about your tobacco use. The Fagerström questionnaire has proven to be very useful.

A doctor will examine the physical health condition to determine if the nicotine addiction is having negative effects. This may require treatment, which should be taken into account when quitting smoking.

If the nicotine addiction is severe, treatment is recommended. For people struggling with the addictive habit of smoking cigarettes, there are also less intensive help measures. The doctor can provide information about all the smoking cessation products that are available for people who struggle with addiction in their daily lives.

Nicotine addiction: Treatment

There are several methods of treating nicotine addiction, including nicotine patches and psychotherapy. However, tobacco addiction is not considered an official disease, but is merely a self-harming behavior.

Health insurance companies must cover the treatment of nicotine addiction because it is considered a disease. Some doctors demand that the cost of smoking cessation be covered by health insurance.