Physical and Psychological effects on smokers
Smokers report a variety of physical and psychological effects from smoking tobacco. Those new to smoking will experience nausea, dizziness, and rapid heart beat. The negative symptoms will eventually vanish over time, with repeated use, as the body builds a tolerance to the chemicals in the cigarettes, such as nicotine.
In many respects, nicotine acts on the nervous system in a similar way to caffeine. Some writings have stated that smoking can also increase mental concentration; one study documents a significantly better IQ on the normed Advanced Raven Progressive Matrices test after smoking.[29] Most smokers say they enjoy smoking, which is part of the reason why many continue to do so even though they are aware of the health risks. Taste, smell, and visual enjoyment are also major contributions to the enjoyment of smoking, in addition to camaraderie with other smokers. Paradoxically, chronic exposure to tobacco smoke inhibits one's sense of taste and smell, rendering them unable to enjoy this aspect of tobacco smoking.
Most smokers, when denied access to nicotine, exhibit symptoms such as irritability, jitteriness, dry mouth, and rapid heart beat.[30] Longer abstinence may lead to insomnia and even mild depression. The onset of these symptoms is very fast, nicotine's half-life being only 1 hour. Withdrawal symptoms can appear even if the smoker's consumption is very limited or irregular, appearing after only 4-5 cigarettes in most adolescents. An ex-smoker's chemical dependence to nicotine will cease after approximately ten to twenty days, although the brain's number of nicotine receptors is permanently altered,[citation needed] and the psychological dependence may linger for months or even many years. Unlike illicit recreational drugs and alcohol, nicotine does not measurably alter a smoker's motor skills, cognition, judgement, or language abilities while under the influence of the drug, but nicotine withdrawal symptoms such as irritability and incapacity to concentrate can have an influence on these aspects. Tobacco withdrawal has been shown to cause clinically significant distress.[31]
The majority of these effects are due to nicotine withdrawal,[30] and so smokers who are not addicted to nicotine will not suffer from them.
Some studies suggest that a link exists between smoking and mental illness, citing the high incidence of smoking amongst those suffering from schizophrenia[32] and the possibility that smoking may alleviate some of the symptoms of mental illness,[33] but these have not been conclusive.
