Smoking is a destructive and largely popular vice. Smoking is linked to medical problems such as heart disease, major and minor cardiac problems, lung cancer, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis (eHealthMD, 2010) . Quit Smoking Support states " Cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals including 43 carcinogenic compounds and 400 other toxins." The toxins in cigarette smoke include nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, ammonia, cyanide, and arsenic. Nicotine is the most addictive of these toxins and is to blame for cigarette cravings. Despite the health risks involved in smoking, many people continue to smoke and more start smoking daily.
Considering the harmful effects of smoking and the amount of toxins in cigarette smoke, what motivates individuals to continue smoking? Why don't individuals who smoke cigarettes quit? Swan and Lessov-Schlaggar (2007) says "Short-term administration of nicotine enhances several cognitive functions such as attention, working memory, and executive function." Unfortunately, nicotine is extremely addictive and long term administration of nicotine does not have any positive effects. Aside from the addiction to the nicotine, most smokers can be intrinsically or extrinsically motivated to quit.
[...] Motivation and the Brain Smoking is a destructive and largely popular vice. Smoking is linked to medical issues such as heart disease, major and minor cardiac problems, lung cancer, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis (eHealthMD, 2010) . Quit Smoking Support states Cigarette smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals including 43 carcinogenic compounds and 400 other toxins.” The toxins in cigarette smoke include nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, ammonia, cyanide, and arsenic. Nicotine is the most addictive of these toxins and is to blame for the individual craving a cigarette again. [...]
[...] Another intrinsic motivation to smoke involving the brain and the environment is if the individual's mother smoked while pregnant and continued to smoke after pregnancy. While maternal smoking does not prove that the child of that pregnancy will smoke, valuable research has proven that the child will become nicotine addicted if the child later begins to smoke (Mann, 2004). The chances of the child smoking later if the parents smoke are higher than in those children introduced to nicotine during gestation, but were not continually in contact with cigarette smoke by the cessation of smoking by parents. [...]
[...] The motivation to smoke is intrinsic and extrinisic just as the motivation to quit is intrinsic and extrinsic. Recent studies have been conducted to understand addiction and how it motivates behavior. These studies have pinpointed the important structure of the brain that plays an important role in addiction and motivating the reinforcement of addiction. This research will give humans a chance to create medicines and therapies strictly catered to addictions and give the individuals motivated toward quitting a helping hand. [...]
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