Thread by @psychidiaries

31st May is #WorldNoTobaccoDay
A🧵 on everything related to tobacco, how it leads to addiction, why it's difficult to quit, and what the options are! Request you to spare a couple of minutes!
1/n

About 4000 chemicals have been detected in tobacco smoke while around 3000 in smokeless tobacco. Nicotine is the main chemically active constituent present in tobacco.
Remember, Vaping isn't safe either!
2/n

After absorption into blood, nicotine travels rapidly & reaches the 🧠 within 7 seconds by crossing blood–brain barrier. The sudden burst of nicotine in the 🧠 & its action on receptors (mainly alpha 4, beta 2 receptors) leads to sudden rush of Dopamine in our reward pathway!
3/n

Nicotine not only leads to the release of Dopamine but also many other neurotransmitters, which can alter vigilance, arousal, concentration, and stress reactions, making the tobacco users more alert, confident and happy!.
4/n

You might wonder then if cigarette smoking does improve mood, attention & alertness then why are doctors against it!?
That's because the way tobacco products work - leading to rapid release of Dopamine followed by sharp decline, it causes a phenomenon called Neuroadaptation.
5/n

Neuroadaptation develops with repeated exposure to nicotine, resulting in tolerance to the effects of nicotine. When a smoker stops smoking, a nicotine withdrawal syndrome ensues, characterized by irritability, anxiety, increased eating, dysphoria & hedonic dysregulation
6/n

Wondered why there are 20 🚬 in a packet?
By the time 1 🚬 is finished by an avg smoker, all nictonic receptors are desensitised which then leads to craving. It takes ~ 45 mins for this one cycle.
Now if a person remains awake for 16 hours, he will need approx 20 🚬/ day
7/n

Of course, addiction is one aspect why you should avoid smoking.
There are many other more dangerous harms.
Cancer comes later.
If you are a man smoking a 🚬, it also leads to Erectile Dysfunction.
Think!
8/n

Out of 100 people consuming tobacco today, around 30 will become addicted to it.
Nicotine is one of the most difficult substances to quit!
Don't be overconfident that you won't become addicted!
We are all vulnerable to addiction thanks to our reward circuits!
9/n

How to quit tobacco?
Follow STAR method
S- Set a quit date
T- Tell friends and family about your resolve
A- Assess what are the roadblocks
R- Remove paraphernalia(all the cues like lighter, cigarette boxes, etc)
10/n

What could be the roadblocks?
Main thing is craving!
When you get this urge to smoke, use these 5Ds
D- Delay for 5 mins to begin with
D- Deep breathing
D- Drink water
D- Distract yourself with other things
D- Discuss with supportive friends, family, therapists
11/n

Visit a Psychiatrist near you/consult online
There are medical options available to reduce craving
1. Nicotine replacement therapy
Uses gums/ patches to deliver steady, controlled release of nictone, which doesn't cause a high but helps overcome withdrawal and craving.
12/n

2. Anti-craving medicines
Examples include Bupropion and Varenicline.
Your Psychiatrist is the best person to decide which medicine can be of help to you based on your history and pattern of use.
The medicines are safe and effective along with continuous therapy.
13/n

Bottomline-
The journey to quit tobacco can be filled with many relapses.
A relapse is not an end or a failure.
It's a part of the journey.
Relapse is expected.
Relapse provides an opportunity to understand the problems better, and solutions can be worked around.
14/n

If you ever wanted to give up tobacco, today's a good day to start! Consult a Psychiatrist at the earliest!
Develop healthy addictions which give sustained Dopamine release. 🙂👍
15/15

This is the start of the thread.
Kindly retweet if it helps even one person out there.😊👍

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