Smoking Effects On Brain

Smoking can alter your brain activity. Smoking has been found to affect the brain in a similar way as heroin by triggering the release of the chemicals in your brain known as opioids.

Opioids play a role in soothing pain, increasing positive emotions, and giving a sense of reward. As smokers smoke the activity in these chemical receptors increases, causing the smoker to easily become addicted.

Unfortunately, studies show that after a smoker has been smoking for awhile the chemical receptors for those opioids can lose 20 to 30% of activity which contributes to the nicotine withdrawal that so many smokers suffer from.