|
Dear
Readers,
Being angry is no way to start a new year,
but I am. The New Jersey Senate lame-duck Budget
and Appropriations Committee just approved a bill
to CUT the present tax on cigars and other tobacco
products. If it becomes law, it will deprive the
state treasury of a few million dollars in annual
income. Far worse: the bill was approved inspite
of the well-known fact that higher tobacco taxes
discourage youthful smoking. 80-90% of smokers
started smoking in their teens...70% of smokers
age 17 or less say they regret starting...About
30% of youth smokers will continue smoking and
die early of a smoking-related disease....So,
why cut tobacco taxes?? Let me share some info
from the National Institute of Drug Abuse; much
of which was only recently discovered by leading
scientists. For centuries, people have chewed
and smoked tobacco. Why?.... Because it contains
the powerful drug, nicotine. When tobacco is smoked,
nicotine is absorbed by the lungs, moving rapidly
into the bloodstream and circulating throughout
the brain. The drug reaches the brain within 8
seconds after inhaling of tobacco smoke. It also
enters the bloodstream through the mucous membranes
of the mouth (if chewed) or nose (snuff); even
through the skin.
Nicotine
affects the entire body. It acts directly on the
heart, changing both rate and blood pressure.
It also acts on the nerves that control respiration.
In high concentrations, it is deadly ... one drop
of purified nicotine on the tongue will kill a
person. It's so lethal that it has been used as
a pesticide for centuries. People, particularly
vulnerable kids, smoke because nicotine acts in
the brain to stimulate feelings of pleasure The
brain is made up of billions of nerve cells, communicating
by releasing chemical messengers called neurotransmitters.
Each neurotransmitter is like a key that fits
into a special "lock," called a receptor,
located on the surface of nerve cells. When a
neurotransmitter finds its receptor, it activates
the receptor's nerve cell. The nicotine molecule
is shaped like the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine
which, with its receptors, is involved in muscle
movement, breathing, heart rate, learning, and
memory. They also cause the release of neurotransmitters
and hormones that affect your mood, appetite,
memory, and more. When nicotine gets into the
brain, it attaches to acetylcholine receptors
and mimics the actions of acetylcholine. Nicotine
also raises the levels of a neurotransmitter called
dopamine in the parts of the brain that produce
feelings of pleasure and reward. Dopamine (the
"pleasure molecule") is the same neurotransmitter
that researchers now believe plays a key role
in all addictions. Nicotine is almost as addictive
as cocaine... more so than heroin This is why
it is so hard for people to stop using tobacco.
If nicotine is used repeatedly, whether by smoking
or chewing tobacco, the body develops a tolerance
for it, rapidly causing addiction... making it
extremely difficult to quit. Kids who start smoking
before the age of 21 have the hardest time quitting,
and fewer than 1 in 10 who later try to quit smoking,
succeed. When nicotine addicts stop smoking they
may suffer from "withdrawal symptoms"
such as restlessness, hunger, depression, headaches,
and other uncomfortable feelings. Long-term smoking
can be much worse. It raises blood pressure, dulls
the senses of smell and taste, reduces stamina,
and wrinkles the skin.Eventually it can lead to
fatal heart attacks, strokes, emphysema, and cancer.
Tobacco use causes far more illnesses and death
than all other addicting drugs combined. One out
every six deaths in the United States is a result
of smoking.
Even
when faced with risk of death, many people keep
using tobacco because they are so addicted to
nicotine. Believe it or not, half of those who
have heart attacks or even oral cancers continue
using, even though their doctor warns them to
stop. That's a strong addiction! Who do the Senate
committee members owe more to, the tobacco industry
or our kids??
Happy
New Year!
|
