CIGARETTE SMOKING, A FALSE ADDICTION

Addiction is a condition that results when a person ingests a substance (e.g. alcohol, nicotine) or engages in any activity (e.g. gambling) that can be pleasurable, but the continued use of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary life responsibilities such as relationships, or health.

There are different types of addiction

There is physical addition, which is a state in which the body adapts to a drug so that the drug no longer has the same effect. This is known as tolerance. As a result of tolerance, there is a biological reaction when the drug is withdrawn.

Another form of physical addiction is a phenomenon of overreaction by the brain to drugs (or to the cues associated with drugs).

Likewise, there is psychological addiction whereby people naturally pick up habits as a result of trying to deal with stress.

Cigarette smoking has been a cause for concern, but I would like to state at this juncture that I disagree with those that share the opinion that it is an addiction.

How often do smokers feel like smoking a cigar? 

How much cigar do they feel like smoking? 

When does the nausea set in? 

When do they hate the idea of puffing another stick?

The law of diminishing returns explains that we tend to want to discontinue the consumption of a commodity with time. Take for instance, a bottle of sprite. We cannot consume a commodity continuously; there is a point in time when we don’t want another for that moment. Likewise, I believe there is a point in time when smokers don’t feel like another stick.

People claim that there is usually an unstoppable craving, that there is little or nothing the craver can do to stop the want. Yes, that is what it is, a mere want.

Research has shown that cigarette smokers need to smoke a lot of packets of cigarette before they can be addicted, and people have different thresholds or tipping points of getting addicted.

The fact remains that beginners have to force themselves to smoke a lot of packets, not just a couple of sticks. During this period, there is no such thing as a craving for cigarettes.

So, it won’t be out of place to say that chain smokers actually wanted to get addicted, and cigarette smoking is just a peer pressure induced habit formed over time. The advent of electric cigars has gone a long way to prove that smoking is just a silly habit and not an addiction. Bad habits can be stopped by replacing them with good habits. Therefore, in my opinion, cigarette smoking is a false addiction.