How Smoking Affects Your Emotions

By Phil Conran

Nicotine is one of the fastest-acting drugs known to man. When a smoker inhales tobacco smoke, the nicotine is absorbed into the bloodstream and the effects are felt almost immediately. Conversely, levels of nicotine drop quickly to about one-quarter within one hour after finishing a cigarette, hence most smokers will think they need a cigarette every hour (on average).

I've heard many times of a relative who has smoked 40 cigarettes a day for over 50 years and lived to be 80. Indeed, my own grandfather was in that category and rarely had a day's illness in his life. He would never have entertained the idea of becoming a non-smoker. Do not be fooled into thinking that you'll get away with this too. Such people are the exception.

Excuses, Excuses

When you are a smoker it is extremely easy to find excuses for why you smoke and to believe that it is the answer to all your problems. When you are unable to concentrate, you are convinced that you will be able to concentrate when you light up a cigarette.

When someone irritates you, you are convinced that you will feel more relaxed when you light up a cigarette. When first you become a non-smoker, everything that goes wrong is blamed on the fact that you are not smoking. Your partner urges you to buy some cigarettes because you are irritable and no longer a pleasure to be with. Do any of these scenarios sound familiar?

The fact is, smoking never made anyone perfect. Even smokers get irritable, have trouble concentrating and are not always a pleasure to be with. You can't pin these or any other problems on the fact that you are a non-smoker. You have not changed, your personal circumstances have probably not changed, you will still get cross, but it is very easy to blame these emotions on being a non-smoker because we are constantly bombarded with information about how smoking relaxes you and releases stress. We tell ourselves that it does seem to be a consensus of opinion so it must be right!

Smokers are constantly on a roller-coaster with their emotions, agitated when they cannot get a cigarette if they want one and at the same time agitated when they smoke. This is due, to a large extent, by the very nature of the habit and the frustration caused by being controlled by an outside force, something that feels beyond your control.

Yet most smokers continue to find excuses to put off the day they'll become non-smokers. Smokers also act under the illusion that the innumerable statistics written about the dangers of smoking are overstated. But if you truly do your research, you will find alarming statistics that should frighten anyone who smokes. You might even think that these statistics alone are enough to frighten anyone into either becoming a non-smoker or never to start smoking in the first place. Well, smokers do not want to know about the statistics until they decide to become non smokers. If they really believed that cigarettes were going to kill them, give them cancer or be instrumental in the amputation of a leg, would they smoke another cigarette?

Author Details:
Phil Conran writes for various web sites including information portals such as Simply Top's Free Article Directory, information junkie and the A-Z of.com

Source: The A-Z of Smoking

NOTE: This article may be reproduced ONLY if this note, the author details, source and ALL links remain in place and active.

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