What Makes Tobacco so Addictive?

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

Sorry if this has been answered before or its not ADD material but I can't find a definitive answer anywhere.

I know it increases levels of GABA, Serotonin, Norepinepherine, B-Endorphin, and of course the all-important Dopmaine and has MAOI-B inhibition but I heard that it only increases dopamine levels by ~25%. What is with this drug? Many so its the most addictive substance on the planet.

Also not ADD per-se but could one can of chewing tobacco theoretically cause addiction?

Thanks

 

[Privateer]

Try not to fall into the neuroscience determinism trap -- that brain chemistry is the sole determiner of addictiveness. Societal accessibility and subtle advertising (having to walk past the smokers at a club, eyeing the packs of smokes every time you need to fill up your car) can influence the user or ex-user just as much as neurochemical changes, or maybe even moreso. The pervasive integration of tobacco into our society means that it's hard for a new user to avoid making it a habit, a current user to give it up, or an ex-addict to remove themselves from the triggers that give them the impulse to relapse.

 

[sekio]

Privateer nailed it.

Habitual use of any tobacco product can be addicting.

 

[HCandKROD]

My father was an executive for a paper mill which supplied RJ Reynolds with cigarette paper. The cigarette industry is dying now but in the 50's,60's and 70's they hammered cigarettes into the public. If heroin were promoted as cigarettes were (and are) we would have a nation strung out on dope instead. Also chemicals are added to cigarettes to ensure addiction. Ammonia is added to increase absorption of nicotine for rapid delivery etc.
I myself was addicted for 33 years and am now in stage 4 throat cancer. If I'd known in 1977 what I know now I would have never touched a cigarette.

 

[ebola?]

I also find hammilton's hypothesis rather compelling. Rather than just being addictive in the classical sense, nicotine is also 'directly habit forming'. By agonizing nicotinic ACh receptors, nicotine activates circuits crucially involved in memory consolidation, so its use becomes engrained as a habit very enduringly.

ebola

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

That's interesting, ebola. I understand that there are social aspects as to its addictive nature which accentuate it but caffeine and alcohol are more widely used and their addictive nature is not nearly so "accounted for". And trust me, I know that any form can be addictive.

 

[neversickanymore]

Another really addicting thing about tobacco is its delivery systems.. cigarettes are designed to give instant jolts of nicotine all day long. The drug, how quick the rush, and how often you use it are all big factors of probability and depth of addiction.

 

[Captain.Heroin]

People get addicted to what's available. Just my 2 cents.

 

[St3ve]

Try not to fall into the neuroscience determinism trap -- that brain chemistry is the sole determiner of addictiveness. Societal accessibility and subtle advertising (having to walk past the smokers at a club, eyeing the packs of smokes every time you need to fill up your car) can influence the user or ex-user just as much as neurochemical changes, or maybe even moreso. The pervasive integration of tobacco into our society means that it's hard for a new user to avoid making it a habit, a current user to give it up, or an ex-addict to remove themselves from the triggers that give them the impulse to relapse.

The socializing aspect of smoking is in itself a rewarding activity, and hence reinforcing... Cigarettes produce their effect within seconds. The faster a drug hits the more likely it's going to be habit forming, as the association of reward is formed much more easily. On top of that, as Ebola said acetylcholine signalling is involved in memory consolidation. This is also true for noradrenaline and dopamine. Both of these facilitate late-phase long term potentiation between synapses, which means that strong memories are formed quite quickly with smoking and anything related to smoking (reward predicting cues).