Around 10 million adults in Great Britain smoke. There are more than 4000 chemicals in cigarette smoke and it is the toxins found in cigarette, which cause the majority of harmful effects.
Cigarettes contain nicotine, which is a highly addictive substance causing feelings of pleasure and reduced anxiety by affecting the same areas of the brain and releasing the same substances produced when we are happy such as dopamine and noradrenaline. Nicotine acts very quickly, reaching the brain within 10-19 seconds. In addition to the physical addiction caused by nicotine, there is also an element of psychological and behavioral addiction towards cigarette smoking.
