Nicotine
Nicotine is in both cigarettes and vapes. Nicotine is addictive, but it is the thousands of chemicals produced by burning tobacco that cause most of the harm from smoking, such as cancers, heart disease and lung diseases.
Nicotine addiction
Nicotine affects the brain by creating a feeling of pleasure. When nicotine levels drop after a few hours, people can feel uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms such as:
- anxiety
- irritability
- difficulty concentrating
- depressed mood
- cravings.
To stop these feelings, they want more nicotine. This is how repeated use of cigarettes or vapes can lead to nicotine addiction.
Nicotine can have side effects. It can increase heart rate and long term use can lead to:high blood pressure and damage to blood vessels.
Nicotine can make people feel sick, especially if they are new to using it. People who smoke are more used to nicotine and can handle higher amounts without feeling sick.
People who do not smoke should not use nicotine.
Pregnancy and nicotine
Nicotine can affect a baby’s development during pregnancy. Ideally, pregnant women should not smoke or use nicotine. But quitting smoking can be hard. Nicotine replacement products like gum or lozenges may be used to help pregnant women quit. These are not completely risk-free, but they are much safer than smoking. Your midwife, doctor or a stop-smoking service can provide advice.
Children, teenagers and nicotine
High doses of nicotine can be dangerous, especially for children. E-liquids have child-proof lids, but they should always be stored safely out of reach of children and animals.
Using nicotine regularly may affect brain development in teenagers. Nicotine can impact sleep, concentration, and behaviour due to cravings and withdrawal.
Vaping and young peopleNicotine and vaping
Vaping should only be used by people who want to quit smoking.
Vaping gives you nicotine with less toxins than smoking cigarettes. Vaping may be an option for you if you have tried other ways to quit that did not work for you.
You will still be dependent on nicotine if you switch to vaping. Vaping is not harm free. You should aim to quit vaping when you feel confident you will not go back to smoking. For many people this is around 12 weeks after completely stopping smoking.
Nicotine replacement therapy
Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) can help people stop smoking. It gives you a small amount of nicotine slowly to help reduce cravings and withdrawals from smoking.
Most people can stop using NRT without feeling dependent on it because it reaches the brain slowly and is a lower dose than in cigarettes.