Why Don’t Smokers Quit?

It is global knowledge that smoking is bad for you. Despite how widespread this is, there are around 1 billion people worldwide who smoke. Obviously the smokers know how damaging it is to their bodies, 70% say they want to quit, so why don’t they? Try to cut them a little slack because it's not nearly as easy as it seems. 

Usually it is not a matter of why they won’t quit, but why they can’t, so you first have to understand why smoking is so addictive. Although most everybody knows that nicotine is what keeps people coming back, not as many know that the nicotine itself is not what makes it addictive, but the effect nicotine has on your body. When your body receives nicotine in any form, either through inhalation or ingestion, your brain releases dopamine. 

Dopamine is a mood booster, and as you continue to feed nicotine to your brain, you increase your tolerance for it, meaning you need more nicotine to release the same amount of dopamine. Quickly your brain starts to recognize that you are causing it to release dopamine, so it stops doing it automatically. This means that when you try to quit and you stop intaking that nicotine, you begin to experience withdrawals because you don’t release dopamine without it. 

The lack of dopamine means very negative withdrawal symptoms. This can include increased anger and irritability, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and, obviously, nicotine cravings. I can assume that, like those in my family, smokers try over and over to quit, but it is so hard to be successful. So, in the words of Mark Twain, “Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I’ve done it a thousand times.”

Despite this challenge, there are some people who are successful. 7 out of ten smokers attempt to quit, and of those 1 out of ten are able to quit. By three months of not smoking, people are able to overcome their nicotine addiction. Although it is a challenge, it is always possible to be part of that 10%.