What Nicotine Does to Your Body

Nicotine's immediate effects on the body include decreased appetite, heightened mood, increased heart rate and blood pressure, nausea, diarrhea, and increased alertness. In the long term, however, this highly addictive substance affects the body's cardiovascular, digestive, oral, reproductive, respiratory, and nervous systems in more sinister ways. This article discusses what nicotine does to the body.

What Happens When You Use Nicotine

When you inhale cigarette smoke, the nicotine in the smoke is rapidly absorbed into the blood and affects the brain within 10 seconds. Nicotine then triggers chemical reactions that temporarily boost feelings of pleasure and concentration.

But these sensations are short-lived, subsiding within minutes. In the long term, nicotine has effects on many different parts of the body:

• The brain: Nicotine can change the chemistry in your brain and is linked with an increased risk of psychiatric disorders such as major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder.
• Skin: Nicotine constricts the blood vessels, which prevent nutrients from getting to the skin. This may cause premature aging and wrinkles.
• Heart: In addition to an increase in heart rate and blood pressure, nicotine narrows the arteries, which increases the risk of a heart attack.
• Lungs: Smoking cigarettes or using vapes limits your lung capacity over time, which can also cause illnesses like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) later on.

What the Experts Say

To date, there have been studies showing benefits of nicotine, including decreased tension and increased cognition. The stimulant also has shown promise in holding off cognitive decline in Alzheimer's, delaying the progression of Parkinson's disease, and treating ADHD and schizophrenia.

Still, health professionals continue to warn about the dangers of nicotine use, especially among adolescents, whose brains continue to develop until age 25. Nicotine may negatively affect the parts of the brain that play a role in attention, memory, learning, and brain plasticity.

Off-Label and Approved Uses

Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) was the first pharmacological treatment approved by the FDA for smoking cessation. Studies show that using the nicotine patch can double the rate of a person's smoking cessation success, especially when combined with support.

There are a variety of available NRT products, including:

• Nicotine gum
• Nicotine inhaler
• Nicotine lozenges
• Nicotine nasal spray
• Nicotine patch
  

Methods of Nicotine Use

Cigarette smoking is the primary way people use nicotine, with one pack of cigarettes providing some 250 "hits" of the addictive substance.

In the past several years, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes and vapes) have joined more traditional nicotine-containing products such as cigarettes, pipes, cigars, chewing tobacco, snuff, and hookahs as popular ways to ingest nicotine.

Signs of Use

Cigarette smell is easy to detect on someone who smokes. Vaping is more discreet, but there are still some signs of use:

• Devices: E-cigarettes, vape pens, tanks, disposable cartridge pens, and other types of vapes
• Thirst: Caused by propylene glycol in many e-cig liquids
• Irritability: A classic sign of nicotine withdrawal
• Nosebleeds: From dry nasal passages
• Sweet smells: From flavoring in vape liquids
  

Tolerance, Dependence, and Withdrawal

Nicotine is extremely addictive, and when used regularly, your body and mind learn to expect a certain amount of nicotine each day. If you don't fulfill these cravings, withdrawal symptoms can be intense. You can quickly build a tolerance to nicotine, needing more to reach the desired effect. This is one reason why it's so hard (but not impossible) to quit smoking.

How Long Does Nicotine Stay in Your System?

Nicotine (in the form of a cigarette, pipe, or e-cigarette smoke) is mostly absorbed into the body through the lungs as well as the membranes in the mouth and throat. It can also be absorbed in your gastrointestinal tract (via chewing tobacco, nicotine gum, and lozenges) or your skin if you use a nicotine patch.

Nicotine is metabolized mainly in the liver and is excreted in urine and feces. How long it stays in your system depends on many factors, including your age and weight; the type of nicotine product; frequency of use; and your hydration and physical activity levels.

Here are some general estimates for how long nicotine is detectable in your system:

• Saliva test: One to four days
• Blood test: Two to four days
• Urine test: Two to four days
• Hair follicle test: Up to 90 days
  

Many routine drug tests screen for nicotine.

Addiction

Nicotine is highly addictive, activating the same reward pathways in the brain that drugs such as cocaine and amphetamines do, although to a lesser degree. It also increases the level of dopamine, a neurotransmitter responsible for feelings of pleasure and well-being.

This release of dopamine contributes to the cycle of addiction, as the brain's dopamine receptors crave more nicotine over time.

Withdrawal

The acute effects of nicotine wear off within minutes, so a smoker must continue smoking frequently to maintain the pleasurable effects. Should nicotine levels drop, the person will begin to feel edgy and agitated. Other physical and psychological symptoms can include:

• Constipation, gas, stomach pain
• Cough
• Cravings to smoke
• Dry mouth
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Inability to concentrate
• Insomnia
  
• Postnasal drip
  
• Sore throat
  
• Sore tongue and/or gums
  
• Tightness in the chest

Treatment for Addiction and Withdrawal

Overcoming nicotine addiction is hard but very possible. To set yourself up for success, prepare by choosing a quit day. Mark it on your calendar, and from that point on, do your best to discontinue the use of any nicotine product other than a cessation gums, patches, etc.

Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be effective in quitting the nicotine habit. During a CBT session, a therapist will help you understand your triggers for using nicotine products and teach you healthy coping mechanisms to turn to instead.

Motivational interviewing is another therapeutic technique during which a counselor will help you become more motivated or inspired to pursue your goal of quitting smoking. They will help you answer important questions, such as: What is getting in your way of quitting? How can you align your values with your actions?

In a mindfulness session, a counselor teaches you how to detach yourself from your cravings for nicotine. Mindfulness practices can help you learn to tolerate your cravings and triggers to smoke instead of giving in to them.

Medications

A doctor may recommend a prescription medication to quit smoking such as Chantix (varenicline) or Zyban (bupropion).

Chantix works by reducing the feeling of pleasure a person gets when they use nicotine. Both Chantix and Zyban can also help relieve the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. Zyban can also help reduce nicotine cravings. Potential side effects can include headache, nausea, mood changes, trouble sleeping, and seizures.

A doctor might also recommend nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) separately or in addition to another medication. NRT administers small amounts of nicotine without the other toxins in cigarettes and other nicotine products. It can help reduce cravings during nicotine cessation and lessen nicotine withdrawal symptoms.

Lifestyle Changes

Let your friends and family know that you're quitting. By enlisting their support, you improve your chances of success. If you have friends or family who use nicotine, you might request that they refrain around you.

Make a list of smoke-free social activities to engage in, such as going to the movies or a museum. Know your triggers to use nicotine, and have a plan to avoid or cope with them. If you associate alcohol with cigarettes, for example, you might avoid drinking or going to bars until you can manage your cravings.

How to Get Help

Behavioral support can help you quit. Research has shown that it increases the success rate by 10% to 20% among those already using pharmacotherapy for quitting smoking.

Whether you prefer to quit cold turkey or use a quit aid, understand that recovery from nicotine addiction is a gradual process of release. With perseverance, however, freedom from nicotine addiction is doable, rewarding you with proven benefits.