Nicotine is a powerful drug that can cause brain damage. It affects the way your brain works by interfering with neurotransmitters, blocking receptors in neural pathways, and changing gene expression. The good news is that some of these effects are reversible when you stop smoking.
Nicotine Interferes With The Brain’s Ability To Release Dopamine
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centers. It’s released when you do something pleasurable, such as eating food or having sex. It also plays a role in risk-taking behavior by making risky situations more appealing than safe ones–the same way that drugs like cocaine work by increasing dopamine levels in your system.
If you have high levels of dopamine at all times, then it becomes harder for you to get excited about anything because everything has become just “okay.” Your motivation will be lower than normal because there isn’t much incentive for doing things when they don’t feel special anymore (or maybe even boring) due to being numbed out by too much stimulation from nicotine use over time!
Chronic Nicotine Use Damages Blood Vessels In The Brain
Nicotine use can lead to blood vessel damage says Dr Bruce Grossinger, which can cause stroke or hemorrhage. This is because nicotine causes the blood vessels in your brain to narrow.
Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor, meaning it makes your blood vessels smaller by causing them to contract. When you smoke cigarettes and other tobacco products that contain nicotine, this constriction of the arteries in your brain causes them to become less flexible and more prone to rupture when they’re stretched out during exercise or stress–or even just standing up quickly after sitting down for too long!
Nicotine Is An Excitotoxin That Kills Brain Cells
Nicotine is a neurotoxin. It acts as an excitotoxin and kills brain cells, causing oxidative stress and inflammation. The nicotine in tobacco products can also make normal cells cancerous by increasing cell division, causing genetic mutations, and activating growth factors.
Nicotine Causes Oxidative Stress And Inflammation In The Brain
Nicotine is a very potent oxidant, meaning that it can cause oxidative stress in the brain, according to Dr Bruce Grossinger. Oxidative stress occurs when there are too many free radicals floating around and damaging your cells, which can lead to inflammation. Inflammation can cause brain cells to die or become cancerous–and that’s something you want to avoid!
Nicotine Can Make Normal Cells Cancerous
Nicotine is a carcinogen that can cause cancer in the brain, lungs, pancreas, liver, and stomach. Nicotine is an oxidant and increases inflammation in your body. When you inhale or ingest nicotine it increases cell division which leads to genetic mutations that can lead to cancerous growths in your body.
Nicotine also disrupts blood flow and oxygen delivery throughout your body by constricting blood vessels while increasing heart rate and blood pressure. This prevents oxygen from reaching cells properly causing them to die off faster than they should have if they were given adequate amounts of oxygen through normal metabolic processes like respiration (breathing).
