How does nicotine get to the brain, and how does nicotine cause addiction?
• Nicotine travels through the body in the bloodstream, headed straight for the brain. • The brain gets a hit of nicotine about 10–15 seconds later. • The nicotine boosts the “reward center” of the brain, causing a pleasant, happy feeling. • Adrenaline is released, which makes the heart rate and blood pressure increase and makes breathing rapid and shallow. Over time, these effects can damage your heart, arteries, and lungs, increasing the risk for heart attack, stroke, and chronic lung disease. As an addictive substance, nicotine has a job to do: to be sure that the level of nicotine in the body stays high enough to avoid withdrawal symptoms. And the more nicotine your body gets, the more it wants. This is mainly because it takes more and more nicotine to keep the body from having withdrawal symptoms.
