Addictive Behavior & Smoking
Addiction is a condition in which a person habitually gives into a psychological or physical need for a substance such as alcohol, tobacco or drugs. This can also include other bad habits such as over-eating, gambling, playing video games, looking at pornography, watching television or spending hours on social media.
The word addiction was a term associated with good things five hundred years ago. Around 1450 "addiction" came into the English language as a legal term. A person was "addicted" when they gave their self over to a master to learn a trade as an apprentice. In our King James Bible, 1 Corinthians 16:15 says, "I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,)" The house of Stephanas addicted themselves to the work of the ministry which is one of the few healthy addictions a person can have.
In the 1800s "addicted" began to refer more so to harmful behaviors then positive things. Then, in the early 1900s "addicted" was being commonly used to refer to a person being mastered by tobacco, alcohol and drugs. The 1960 Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary defined "addict" as "one who is addicted to a habit, especially to the taking of some drug."
An obsession or constant craving for a substance is an indication of addiction. Most people who try to quit tobacco have withdrawals. When tobacco is taken away, the addict suffers mentally and physically with symptoms such as constant headaches and jitters.
The addicting agent found in tobacco plants is nicotine. It is a natural poison that protects tobacco plants from bugs. Nicotine is colorless, odorless and oily to the touch.
Nicotine is also a narcotic. A narcotic is an addictive substance that blunts the senses and can cause confusion, stupor and even death. Forty to sixty milligrams of nicotine which is the equivalent of a few drops, can kill a grown person. If a few drops touch mucous tissues (the damp skin inside the mouth or nose), the person can die. People have been murdered through nicotine poisoning.
Even though scientists and physicians have warned that nicotine was addictive for several decades, tobacco executives were claiming that nicotine wasn't addictive as late as the 1990s. In a hearing before the U.S. Senate in 1998, most tobacco executives wavered on the question of addiction. Nick Brookes, CEO of Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation said, "I wouldn't personally, in a serious debate about smoking, label tobacco as addictive...What addiction, in my use of the word, means, is that people can't quit." Vincent Gierer Jr. of U.S. Tobacco added, "I would consider it more of a habit than I would an addiction." Although Ross Johnson, former CEO of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, was quick to point out the addiction tobacco can be after leaving his position at RJR. When asked if he thought nicotine was addictive, he quickly responded, "Of course it’s addictive. That's why you smoke the stuff." 94:% of the cigarettes sold in the U.S. contain between one and two milligrams of nicotine. Only 6% of the market is buying the brands that have lower tar and lower nicotine. If nicotine wasn't addictive, smokers wouldn't need cigarettes with higher concentrations of nicotine.
Christians are not to be given to addictions. "All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." (1 Cor. 6:12). Believers are not to be under the power, i.e., enslaved to anything.
"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." (James 1:12). We are to resist the temptation of worldly things. One of the five crowns, the crown of life, is a crown that will go to the believer that resists temptations.
"Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." (James 1:15). Many people claim that tobacco isn't a sin. James 1:15 spells it out pretty simple. Tobacco isn't just an addiction but a lethal addiction. It's the highest cause of preventable death in the world.
Previously we mentioned the dishonesty of tobacco companies. Later in this literary exposition we will say a lot more about the deception and unethical practices of "Big Tobacco" (the six largest tobacco companies in America). Christians certainly shouldn't contribute to a company that kills people with its product and an organization that is full of deceit. "Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience." (Eph. 5:6). "Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the LORD." (Jer. 9:6).
There have been books written fully devoted to exposing the deceit and perverse business conduct of tobacco companies. These books would include Merchants of Death by attorney Larry C. White and Smokescreen: The Truth Behind the Tobacco Industry Cover-up by journalist Philip J. Hilts. I highly recommend these books as they are extremely informative.
Nicotine also has lots of physiological effects. Cigarette users get nicotine into their lungs through cigarette smoke. People who smoke pipes and cigars acquire nicotine through the mucous membranes of the mouth. Users of smokeless tobacco such as chewing tobacco or dip/snuff, get nicotine through their gums.
It takes one to three years to build up a chemical dependency on nicotine. This is why most tobacco users start between the ages of twelve to nineteen. Young people begin using tobacco to look cool and grown up. Then, after they use it for so long they are addicted and must have it to alleviate stress in tense situations.
With new tobacco users, the effects of nicotine can leave them "high" for several hours. When a person becomes a habitual smoker, chewer or dipper the stimulation wears off after thirty to forty-five minutes. The more nicotine a person ingests the more tolerance they grow for it. This is why chain smokers must light up one cigarette after another to keep the "high." During sleep nicotine is expelled from the body, so the craving for nicotine when one wakes up in the morning is the strongest. The first dip, chew or smoke a user has in the morning has the greatest effect on the body, as it has been without nicotine all night.
The general health problem with nicotine is that it gets past the blood-brain barrier that is supposed to protect the brain from strange chemicals. The molecular structure of nicotine mimics one of the body's natural neurotransmitters. Once it's in the bloodstream, nicotine travels to the brain, binds to receptor cites and sets off a chain of reactions.
The nicotine stimulates production of the hormone epinephrine, a form of adrenaline, which usually acts to put the body on alert in life-or-death situations. The hormone causes a surge of insulin, releasing sugar into the blood and creating a burst of energy. As the nicotine in the body decreases, so does the sugar. The tobacco user then feels depressed and tired- lights up another cigarette or has another dip or chew. This is known as "the basic nicotine cycle" although a lot more goes on in the body when nicotine is passing through.
Another big problem with the nicotine cycle is that it causes epinephrine to rev up other body functions as preparation for great exertion. This causes breathing and the heartbeat to go faster, putting stress on the lungs and heart. Blood vessels constrict, making the blood pressure rise. This is what leads to lung cancer, high blood pressure, stroke and a host of other potential problems. This epinephrine process also releases dopamine, the "feel-good" neurotransmitter. This is why tobacco users enjoy the product. Dopamine is the same transmitter released when a person uses heroin or cocaine, views pornography or drinks alcohol. Releasing too much dopamine is bad for the brain.
In 1996, scientists at Brookhaven Laboratory, a major nuclear research facility, used body-scanning technology to discover that smokers have low levels of an enzyme called Monoamine Oxidase B (MAO B) in their brains. Enzymes trigger chemical reactions on the body, such as digesting food or breaking down body chemicals. MAO B is called the "killjoy chemical" because it breaks down dopamine, turning off feelings of pleasure in the brain.
There is something in cigarette smoke that stops or at least restricts MAO B. Physicians use MAO B inhibitors to treat people suffering from depression. It seems that smoking also prolongs the pleasurable effects of nicotine and may have a long-term effect on the smoker's mood.
The Brookhaven researchers made a further discovery in 2003. Comparing full-body scans of smokers and non-smokers, they found low levels of MAO B in the heart, liver and kidneys of smokers. MAO B also breaks down chemicals that cause high blood pressure. Since surges in blood pressure can cause crippling and even fatal strokes, this discovery pointed to even more health concerns for smokers. These findings also reveal there is still much more to learn about the effects tobacco and nicotine have on the body.
Another issue that could make tobacco even unhealthier is the potential act that tobacco companies could "spike tobacco." Do tobacco companies manipulate the dose of nicotine to keep tobacco users using?
In 1997, the Associated Press reported on a variety of tobacco found growing in Brazil. These plants not only grew amazingly fast but they also had much more nicotine than other tobacco plants. A 1998 follow-up story by UPI, another news wire service, reported that DNA Plant Technology Corp., a company working for Brown & Williamson (one of the big six tobacco companies) had created this new variety of tobacco, through genetic manipulation. The company plead guilty to illegally exporting seeds for the plants outside the United States.
While the question of whether tobacco companies add nicotine to their products has never been proven, there is evidence that they have experimented with adding nicotine to tobacco. And then, that certainly raises the question, "What else could be added?"
Researchers who were going over a tobacco company's records found more than six hundred ingredients added to cigarettes. Philip Morris is another major tobacco company and the producer of Marlboro cigarettes. Some of these six hundred ingredients were things added for flavor like cherry and licorice. Nicotine was also one of the ingredients. Nicotine was described as a flavoring agent- it gives tobacco smoke its sharp burning taste.
Another chemical listed as a flavoring agent was ammonia. It might sound strange using ammonia as a flavoring agent seeing that it's mainly known as something used for cleaning. Ammonia however is used to flavor baking dough, ice cream, pudding and gravies. Researchers discovered that ammonia in cigarette smoke works with nicotine to help the body absorb cigarette smoke easier. In 1996, a Wall Street Journal reporter revealed records from Brown & Williamson. The company's scientists had been examining Marlboro cigarettes to find out why they were so successful. Brown & Williamson's scientists discovered "ammonia technology" as the process is known in the business.
Marlboro had a big sales rush in the 1960s and was the best-selling brand in the world by 1979. Was its success achieved by giving smokers more of a nicotine kick?
To no surprise, Philip Morris wouldn't answer questions about the article, although they had earlier denied using ammonia to boost nicotine. Brown & Williamson also refused to comment on the story, claiming that its research records were a "trade secret." They also denied that ammonia increased the amount of nicotine a smoker received.