The Truth About Smoking Pleasure and Nicotine Addiction

Smoking is often associated with feelings of pleasure and comfort. Some even say that they are happy smoking, despite research finding no connection between it and happiness. This can create challenges for quitting because the act of smoking is associated with positive emotions.

Here we explain the reasons why smoking feels pleasurable and why people crave nicotine even when their bodies are experiencing the negative health effects of cigarettes. Understanding the nature of nicotine addiction can be a powerful step in quitting smoking for good.

At a Glance Nicotine triggers the release of pleasure hormones in the brain, causing one to feel happy smoking. Smoking is also a habit. Despite the pleasure derived from this activity, smoking is harmful—even dangerous—to one's health. Quitting smoking for good is possible through a variety of mechanisms, including making a plan, getting support, and using aids.

Smoking Is Like a Toxic Relationship

Just as it's possible to have a toxic relationship with people, smoking is also a toxic relationship. While it might feel good to smoke in the moment, nicotine is not a true friend. Instead, this substance tricks the body and the mind into thinking it is a pleasurable activity, resulting in craving it more and more.

Smoking Manipulates the Brain

When the nicotine in cigarette smoke is inhaled, it triggers the brain's release of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine is often called the "feel-good" hormone as it produces feelings of pleasure.

The problem is that the effects of nicotine wear off fairly quickly. This creates a cycle whereby a person wants to smoke to feel good, but eventually needs to smoke more cigarettes over time to feel the same effects—also known as developing a tolerance.

Smoking Causes Constant Nicotine Withdrawal

People who smoke also live in an almost constant state of nicotine withdrawal, from the first cigarette of the day until the last. As soon as a cigarette is snubbed out, the level of nicotine in the bloodstream begins to drop.

Nicotine withdrawal symptoms such as irritability and anxiousness generally begin within 30 minutes of the last cigarette. So, they light another cigarette and within a few puffs, their discomfort starts to lessen.

Chemically, what the person is experiencing is the dopamine rush that comes when nicotine attaches to receptors in the brain. The fidgety tension is gone and they are back to feeling comfortable again.

This comfort won't last long, though. In another 30 minutes, the process will repeat itself. It is this pattern of nicotine depletion and replenishment in the bloodstream that people have learned to think that they are happy smoking.

Smoking Conditions the Body and Mind

Over time, the act of smoking gets attached to every emotion and event in one's life. This essentially conditions a person to crave nicotine during both pleasurable and troubling times, along with having more intense cravings in certain situations.

Common smoking triggers include:

• After eating a meal
• After having sex
• Before going to bed
• During stressful situations
• While driving
• When feeling bored or tired
• When having strong emotions (anger, happiness, or sadness)

With a morning cup of coffee

Beyond the physical dependence on nicotine, for many, smoking becomes a source of comfort in times of stress. This emotional attachment can make quitting even more difficult.

The urge to smoke can also be triggered by social situations, such as being around friends who smoke, being at a bar, or drinking alcohol. These types of triggers can encourage a person to smoke more. The brain associates emotional triggers with a cigarette craving, creating a strong addiction cycle.

Recap Thinking of smoking as a toxic relationship can make it easier to see just how manipulative nicotine is. It plays tricks on the body and mind, convincing us that we need it to feel pleasure. It becomes so ingrained in the lives of those who smoke, that people come to believe they can't live without it—and that they are happy smoking.

How to Quit Smoking for Good

The power that nicotine has over people who smoke is tremendous. But the short- and long-term negative health consequences of smoking are not worth any fleeting pleasure smoking provides.

Some negative effects of smoking, like lung cancer and heart disease, can take time to develop. However, smoking also immediately damages one's health, such as by increasing heart rate and blood pressure, negatively impacting almost every organ in the body.

Developing a plan, finding support, utilizing quit aids, and never giving up can help us kick this habit and break the cycle of addiction.

Make a Plan

One of the benefits of making a plan to quit smoking is that it gives us actionable steps to follow. Having a plan can also help keep us on the path to abstinence—even when the craving for a cigarette strikes.

An effective plan to quit smoking includes:

• Choosing a quit date
• Deciding how to quit
• Getting rid of all tobacco products
• Looking at past quit attempts to determine what worked and what didn't
• Telling friends and family about quitting

Some people use a "cold turkey" method to stop smoking. Quitting cold turkey means no longer using cigarettes as of their quit date. Others use the quit date as the day they begin to taper off or reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke until they are able to stop altogether.

Get Support

Receiving support from family and friends plays a significant role in being able to successfully quit smoking. This makes it important to let loved ones know about our goal.

If we have people in our lives who still smoke, we can ask them to avoid smoking near us. It's also helpful to engage in activities in smoke-free places (like movie theaters or museums) so we can better manage our social smoking triggers.

Many online and over-the-phone resources are available for help quitting. One is the National Cancer Institute's free quitline at 1-877-44U-QUIT (1-877-448-7848). They also offer a live chat option during certain hours, enabling users to instantly chat with one of their information specialists.

Consider a Quit Aid

Some people use quit aids to stop smoking, also known as nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs). NRTs are intended to reduce nicotine intake more slowly over a certain period of time, which can help reduce withdrawal effects. They supply the body with nicotine without also supplying other harmful chemicals found in cigarettes.

Over-the-counter NRTs are available in the form of patches, lozenges, and gum. Medical practitioners can also prescribe nicotine replacement therapies in the form of inhalers and nasal sprays. While they are often effective on their own, research indicates that NRTs work best when combined with smoking cessation counseling.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also approved two prescription medications to help people quit smoking that do not contain nicotine: bupropion SR and varenicline. Bupropion is often better known by its brand names of Zyban and Wellbutrin, while Chantix is a well-known brand of varenicline.

Varenicline works by making smoking less pleasurable. This can make it easier to quit. Bupropion helps by reducing nicotine cravings, also potentially reducing the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

People interested in prescription-based options for quitting smoking need to reach out to their healthcare providers to help determine whether these quit aids are right for them.

Don't Give Up

Quitting smoking might seem like an impossible feat, but it is possible to overcome nicotine addiction. Research indicates that for many people who have successfully quit smoking, it took a number of attempts before they gave up cigarettes for good.

For people who smoke, it may feel like they're in a close relationship with cigarettes. They might turn to smoking when they are angry or stressed, or even as part of their everyday routine. This is when it's helpful to remember that our relationship with cigarettes is a toxic one.

Numerous resources are available for help with quitting smoking, whether it's an online chat service or support from a family member. As long as we don't give up on our journey, we can eventually be smoke-free.