As the dangers of smoking have become so well known, it has become more apparent that the smoking of cigarettes can produce a very powerful dependence on nicotine. By some measures, nicotine is the most addicting of all the commonly used drugs. Cessation of smoking may be very difficult even in patients who strongly desire to quit. Relapse after quitting is common. Because of the 400,000 deaths produced each year by smoking, including 50,000 in non-smokers due to passive inhalation of second-hand smoke, it can reasonably be argued that nicotine is the most important drug of abuse. Heroin and cocaine combined produce no more than 6,000 deaths per year in contrast.
Nicotine dependence is the physical vulnerability of your body to the chemical nicotine, which is potently addicting when delivered by tobacco products. Smoke from cigarettes, cigars and pipes contains thousands of chemicals, including nicotine. Nicotine produces physical and mood-altering effects in your brain that are temporarily pleasing, and these effects reinforce your continued use of tobacco.

Being addicted to tobacco brings you a host of other health problems related to the substances in tobacco smoke. These effects include damage to your lungs, heart and blood vessels.

Breaking an addiction to nicotine is difficult and takes commitment, support and time. But even if you're a longtime smoker, stopping smoking plus taking healthy lifestyle steps can reverse much of the damage smoking has done to your body.

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