Here, well look at some of the ways it makes things worse
It would be three more years before a chance meeting with a friend at his favorite tobacco shop turned me, a few weeks after my 35th birthday, into a pipe smoker
This sudden drop causes intense withdrawal symptoms, making you feel irritable, hungry, anxious, restless, and depressed.[1] Because nicotine addiction is a physical dependency, using medical support to ease these withdrawal symptoms is far more effective than willpower alone
Evaluation of nicotine addiction and brain neurochemistry Strengths The role of dopamine could explain how there appears to be a genetic link to addiction, as the release of dopamine may lead some individuals to feel more reward from using nicotine than others, and this difference in the dopaminergic pathway may be inherited The link between the use of nicotine and dopamine is also supported by research showing that smokers are less likely to develop Parkinsons disease (which is due to the loss of dopamine-producing cells) than non-smokers (Chen, 2010) Limitations The research evidence in this area often comes from animal experiments , meaning the findings may not be generalisable to humans Research into nicotine addiction and brain neurochemistry cannot explain individual differences in reasons for smoking and cannot explain why some people become addicted very quickly and others do not Issues & Debates Focusing only on neurochemical mechanisms is biologically reductionist , as it ignores psychological and social factors (e.g., stress, peer pressure, habits) that influence smoking A more holistic understanding of addiction would consider how brain chemistry interacts with environment and individual experience Cosgrove et al
