Tobacco/Nicotine and E-Cigarettes/Vaping
Nicotine is a naturally produced alkaloid in the nightshade family of plants (most predominantly in tobacco and Duboisia hopwoodii) and is widely used recreationallyas a stimulant and anxiolytic. Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus Nicotiana of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. When using an e-cigarette, it is often called "vaping".
More About Smoking and Tobacco Use
For thousands of years, people have smoked or chewed the leaves of the tobacco plant. Even in its early days, people speculated that there might be a link between diseases like cancer and tobacco use.
Surveys have shown that the majority of smokers - at least 70% and perhaps as high as 90% - want to stop smoking. However, no more than 20% of those who try to quit succeed for as long as a year. Around 3% succeed using willpower alone. Smokers who have tried to quit before and not succeeded should not be discouraged. Most smokers make several attempts to quit before they finally succeed.
Further Reading
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released information on outbreaks of lung injury associated with E-Cigarette use, or Vaping.
- Also, the American College Health Association has released information on the recent e-cigarette/vaping lung injury outbreak as well.
More About Vaping
While nicotine/e-cigarette products and THC vaping products are legal for those over 21 in the state of California, and there are not currently wide reports of laced vaping products to date, there is still an illicit market for nicotine products and THC prodcuts that introduce risks associated with obtaining any drug off the illicit market.
Alert
The CDC and Surgeon General advised all people to STOP USING e-cigarettes and vape devices (both nicotine and THC products) until further notice due to serious health concerns and deaths.
The Benefits of Qutting Smoking
The first step may be to list reasons to quit smoking. Each individual may have a unique set of reasons that is meaningful to them. Below are a few common reasons to quit smoking.
- Each breath feels clean and refreshing
- More stamina, endurance, and confidence
- More cash in your pocket
- Clothes don't stink
- Anxiety level goes way, way down
- House and car smells good!
- General health improves
- Whiter teeth and fresher breath
- Sharper thinking
- Don't expose family and friends to secondhand smoke
One of the major barriers to smoking cessation is nicotine withdrawal. It results when a person is nicotine dependent and stops using products with nicotine. Nicotine withdrawal symptoms involve irritability, headache, and craving for cigarettes or other sources of nicotine. Other symptoms include dizziness, drowsiness, sleep disturbances, vivid dreams, mild hallucinations and depression.
For more information, please visit drugabuse.gov