Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary - Tenth Edition
Yes, the drug nicotine was once used as an insecticide. You sure you want to drag that into your lungs? One single drop of that stuff in your blood stream would kill you. And now there are rumors that cigarette companies are increasing the amount of nicotine in cigarettes to make them even more addictive -- and poisonous.
A report published by the Royal College of Physicians stated that cigarettes are as addictive as heroine or cocaine. A 1988 Surgeon General's Report said the same thing. And yet, day after day, week after week, year after year, people do smoke, chew or sniff tobacco, and with the tobacco, nicotine. Hard to believe, isn't it, that folks could be that foolish. Yet they are. I know. I was. I smoked for fifty years, dragging that poison into my body.
Why? It makes you feel good. Strange stuff, tobacco. Depending on what you need, it can either perk you up or make you relax. What it does is act as a trigger, causing the brain to release a flood of dopamine.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that produces feelings of pleasure. Over time, however, this trigger gets weaker, and it takes a greater and greater amount of nicotine to get that pleasant glow.
What does all this have to do with sleeping? Smoking is related to sleeping in two ways. First, the smoke and the thousands of chemicals in the tobacco are irritants. You end up with irritated throat, lungs and bronchial tubes. You probably wake up with a smoker's cough, and the longer you smoke, the worse that cough's going to get.
All this is hard enough on a relatively healthy body. But imagine just how hard smoking is on air passages and lungs already besieged by bronchitis, sleep apnea or even severe snoring. Add to the irritated throat, lungs and nasal passages, the hassle of trying to cope with your CPAP mask or nasal pillows. while dealing with a bad smoker's cough.
Nicotine is also bad for anyone with insomnia or other disorders where there is difficulty dropping off to sleep. That cigarette before bedtime - you know, the one that's supposed to help you relax? Think again. That late evening smoke is going to do just the opposite. It's going to stimulate your nervous system and, instead of helping you sleep, it's going to ensure that you stay awake. It has much the same effect as a cup of strong coffee.
I'm not saying it's easy to stop smoking. Because of the addictive properties of nicotine, you will suffer some withdrawal symptoms. No, it isn't easy, but it is possible. After fifty years of smoking, as much as two packs a day in the final years, I quit. And I have never regretted it.
Save your lungs and your air passages. Save your life. Stop smoking today.
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