When we use nicotine, it has an effect
on our pleasure center by activating the reward center, which is
one of the oldest parts of our brain, leading to the release of dopamine,
and other mediators that are responsible for the effect of nicotine.
When I'm sleepy, I can get awake with nicotine.
When I need more attention or creativity, there is also a positive effect of nicotine.
At least at the beginning, nicotine has positive effects on our brain.
That's the reason why our brain likes nicotine and why nicotine is so addictive.
In Europe we have a prevalence of male smokers around 40%,
female prevalence around 20%.
There are some differences:
There are countries, like Asia, for example, where the prevalence
of female smoking is much more reduced as compared to the European mean.
In Switzerland, we have around 22% of women who
are smokers, and around 30% of the male.
And that's really a pity because a woman who is a smoker lives as
a mean 11 years less than a woman same age who is a nonsmoker.
For the men the difference is 12 years.
Why does tobacco let us lose so many years?
At first, we can say that all cancer, not only lung cancer,
are more often diagnosed in smokers compared to nonsmokers.
All cardiovascular disease such as stroke, myocardial infarction, but
also rectal dysfunction and
vascular dementia are more often in smokers as compared to nonsmokers.
Chronic lung disease, diabetes, the eye is also involved, age-related macular
degeneration is much more often in people using tobacco as compared to nonsmokers.
As well as rheumatoid, arthritis and other diseases that
are due to changes in our immune system and reduced fertility.