Physical and Emotional Causes of Drug Addiction
Nicotine Cravings and The Smoking Facts

The physical causes of drug addiction are related to chemicals called neurotransmitters.

The smoking facts reveal that nicotine cravings are really drug addiction symptoms that occur when receptor sites become empty.

You have hundreds of millions of brain cells called neurons. They communicate with each other all the time by sending out specific chemicals. This is how all those little cells can work as a team.

The chemicals they use for messaging are called neurotransmitters. They work just like a bicycle messenger that delivers paper information between offices.

Neurotransmitters are fired along the great assembly line of neurons sort of like a giant relay race.

Each neuron has receptor sites to carry a specific neurotransmitter. When the chemical docks at one end of the cell another identical neurotransmitter is fired off an the opposite end of the cell and so the relay continues.

Once the message has been communicated to all the cells that need it, that neurotransmitter is either metabolized and converted into some other chemical so it can be processed and excreted or it is taken back into the neuron essentially shutting off the chain reaction.

Empty Receptor Sites are the Main Causes of Drug Addiction Symptoms

So much for the physiology lesson. What does this have to do with smoking addictions?

The current evidence about the causes of drug addiction is that there are specific receptors on the neurons that need to have neurotransmitters on them or else you feel some quite unpleasant feelings and become compelled to seek a substance that will fill up that empty parking spot. A drug is addictive because the molecules of that drug have an affinity for those receptor sites. They dock on those spots and keep you feeling good. Highly addictive drugs have chemicals that have a great affinity to dock on these empty neurotransmitter spots. Nicotine happens to be one of those types of drugs.

However, as soon as you stop taking that substance you get drug addiction symptoms like cravings, because your body's own neurotransmitters are not produced fast enough to get onto those empty receptor sites, hence the compulsion to find the substance that keeps those bad symptoms from occurring.

Drug seeking is one of many drug addiction symptoms. You need to get some more of that drug to prevent the unpleasant feelings of empty receptor sites from driving you nuts! In the case of smoking addictions these unpleasant feelings would be called nicotine cravings.

Some addictive substances such as heroin shut down your body's ability to create it's own "feel good" substances such as endorphins so when there is an interrupted supply of the addictive drug there is no other naturally occurring neurotransmitter to take its place.

And those are the smoking facts about what causes drug addiction at the physical level.

Of course, this is the simplified version of "Your Brain on Drugs" and the causes of drug addiction. But it does explain why you experience nicotine cravings if you go without a cigarette.

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Emotional Causes of Drug Addiction

If you believe that cigarettes do good things for you then you are more willing to keep your smoking addiction. When you realize the smoking facts you will not need your cigarettes anymore.

Smoking Addiction Fiction

• Smoking a cigarette calms me down.
• Nicotine relaxes me.
• Stress makes me smoke.

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Smoking Facts

• Nicotine cravings are drug addiction symptoms.


• Going for a smoke is drug seeking behaviour.


• A cigarette is nothing more than a nicotine drug delivery system.


• Cigarettes don't relieve stress they create it. Your nicotine cravings cause you to be constantly seeking a fix to fill up those empty receptor spots so that your neurons are happy again.


• It is not your life that is creating feelings of panic and stress it is your nicotine addiction.


• Stress is not a reason to keep smoking, it is a good reason to give it up.

More Smoking Facts About Addiction, the Effects of Nicotine, and the Brain

Signs of Drug Addiction - Facts About Smoking Addictions and Cravings

The universal signs of drug addiction are recognizable through the behaviours that are brought about by smoking addictions and cravings. The facts about smoking addictions are clear, all the signs of a drug addiction are present.

Symptoms of Depression- Smoking Facts About the Effects of Nicotine and the Brain

Does smoking alleviate symptoms of depression? The smoking facts reveal that people who suffer with mental depression are more likely to be smokers than people who show no clinical depression symptoms. This may be because of the mood altering effects of nicotine and the brain neurotransmitters that affect your mood.

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