Nicotine Addiction Paper

Addiction does not discriminate on age, gender, or social status, but there are well-known risk factors that researchers have pinpointed to attempt to explain addiction. Nicotine addiction and dependency has many factors that play into why and how someone is addicted. Addiction to any substance is similar in a way affects your brain chemistry, as well as behaviorally. Socialization factors at a young age, familial genetics, and environmental influences work together to set the addiction cycle for many. The majority of the non-smoking public always speculate about why people who smoke continue, even after warning and extensive research finds smoking will cause cancer or disease. Nicotine, as a chemical, yields psychological and physical effects

If individuals have a history of nicotine addiction in their family and were surrounded by people who were tobacco users, then these people are more likely to begin smoking and turn into a nicotine addict. Family is the primary level of socialization in a child’s life, so the family becomes key in a child’s early development. It has been extensive studied that if someone begins to smoke at a young age then they are more likely develop this addiction. It’s less prevalent for adults to start smoking tobacco and develop a nicotine addiction than compared to teenagers or young adults. (American Society of Addiction Medicine, 2013). Peer pressure is largely harped on by anti-smoking campaigns, and is an important aspect for many people who start to smoke. Socioeconomic status is significant attribute that can provide insight to the peer pressure a young person may feel. Many young people, are influenced by their peer groups and by the media’s perception of smoking. The marketing of smoking has played a significant role in branding and targeting young people to smoke, because when you make them an addict at a young age, you have them for a lifetime. Recently, there has been an increase in anti-smoking advertisements aired on television and the internet that try to combat cigarette smoking. The interaction of these social and genetic factors can increase the likelihood of addiction and give reason to why people become addicted to substances, such as nicotine. Addiction is a multifaceted disease and one aspect in particular can be attributed to