Tobacco and the BrainRecent surveys show that 25% of all American adults smoke despite the fact that tobacco is the No. 1 cause of death (430,000 per year) and diseases in this country (1) . The life of a thirty-year-old who smokes 15 cigarettes a day is shortened on average by more than five years (2). Why do people smoke even though it shortens their lives? Why has this practice of smoking tobacco existed for 1000 years? There must be something that the human body or mind gains despite the threat of premature death. I realize this craving for nicotine on a personal level because I smoke. Smokers' stated reasons for smoking include reducing stress and improving circulation (3). Sounds like my reasons. Plus smoking is like having a friend that I visit and have fun with, something I enjoy being with. Smoking cigarettes produces rapid distribution of nicotine throughout the body and reaches the brain within 10 seconds of inhalation (4). Nicotine causes a release of dopamine, neurotransmitters that carry information across synaptic clefts, into the dopamine circuit. This circuit, known as the brain's pleasure center, is an anatomically small cluster of cells. It has evolved over millions of years and appears to primarily reward activities that increase the likelihood of survival, such as sex and food. This group of cells may be small but they reach regions of the brain involved in a variety of tasks (4). . These dopamine release pathways extend from the older part of the midbrain to the hypothalamus and activate the activity of other cells, which extend from part of the midbrain to an area of ​​the forebrain known as the nucleus accumbens (2). It also branches out… center of paper… treatments further improve smoking cessation success rates (4). Considering the high mortality rate from smoking and the difficulty of quitting this deadly addiction, it's not a good sign that cigarette consumption among young Americans is on the rise. The prevalence of smoking among adolescents has increased dramatically since 1990, with more than 3,000 additional children and adolescents becoming regular tobacco users every day (1). WWW Sources 1) Quick facts about nicotine http://ctri.wisc.edu/sub_dept/quick_facts/2 ) Interesting science http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/home?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=03) Gleitman, H., Fridlun, A. and Reisberg, D. Psychology. Fifth edition. New York. W. W. Norton & Company. 19994) U.S. Government Research Reports, http://nida.gov/researchreports/nicotine/5) MSNBC News Website, http://msnbc.msn.com/news/263658.asp.