Tobacco comes from a large-leafed nightshade, or Solanaceae, plant. It is one of a few plants that contain the psychoactive alkaloid, nicotine. Tobacco causes joint pain in some people; this seems correlated to the theory that arthritis is in part a result of an allergy to the nightshades, which also include potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers.

Nicotine has been widely used throughout history, first in North America. Supposedly, Columbus and other visitors were interested in it and carried some tobacco and seeds back to Europe, where its use caught on rapidly and eventually spread to Africa and the Orient. Tobacco was outlawed by several countries during the early 1600s, but to no avail; then the governments eventually found ways to profit from its use. This seems fair, since it costs them in the long run with lost health and productivity of their people. The addictive nature of nicotine has been clear for hundreds of years, as people have found ways to smoke during poverty, famine, and war.

Sigmund Freud was fascinated with tobacco and obsessed with cigars (smoking more than 20 a day). He fought his addiction to nicotine (and apparently to cocaine) through much of his life, though he experienced mouth cancer, angina pain, and multiple surgeries. Freud’s dance with death and his inability to get off tobacco probably generated his theory of Thanatos, our deep subconscious longing for death, manifested in part by our destructive habits.

Smoking is clearly a deadly pastime. Its addictive nature is revealed by the fact that many strong-minded and strong-willed people cannot stop smoking, even if they are otherwise health conscious or faced with death. And most smokers, over 80 percent, declare that they want to stop smoking, and plan to at some time. In my years working in hospitals, I saw the most bizarre smoking phenomena, such as lung cancer or emphysema patients smoking between ventilator treatments or patients who breathed through tubes in their necks after tracheostomies, actually putting cigarettes into the tubes to inhale. Our passion for puffing is persistent. Nicotine is the addictive drug found in tobacco. Even though some people start smoking for the image or the ritual, they may easily become hooked. The "up" feeling that smoking produces is likely correlated with the increased blood pressure and heart rate, as well as the production of fatty acids, steroids and possibly other hormones or neurotransmitters. Nicotine mimics acetylcholine, which then improves alertness, memory, and learning capacity. Other neurotransmitter stimulation of norepinephrine and endorphins by nicotine may help balance moods and increase energy. The liver’s increase in glycogen release gives a satisfying lift in the blood sugar. The addiction to nicotine is probably stronger than addictions to most other drugs. The initial irritating effects progress to chronic irritations, yet these are covered by the physiological and, in many instances, the psychological need (although the latter is usually secondary). Heroin addicts and people addicted to other powerful drugs have commonly referred to nicotine as the hardest drug to kick. The American Psychiatric Association has described smoking as an "organic mental disorder." Their statistics suggest that around 50 percent of people cannot stop when they try to and that, of the people who do stop, about 75 percent of them begin again within one year.

Are There Benefits in Smoking?
There obviously must be a few, or so many people would not smoke, but it is very clear that the risks outweigh the pleasures by far. Many people find smoking relaxing, but this may be a result of calming the hyperactive withdrawal symptoms. People do experience mental stimulation and improvement of hand-to-eye coordination and work activities, probably as result of nicotine’s vascular-neurological stimulation. The benefits that smokers experience were well described in Dr. Tom Ferguson’s book, The Smoker’s Book of Health, from his interviews with hundreds of smokers. They felt better able to deal with stress and to unwind and relax. Smoking helped control their moods, improve concentration and energy levels, especially with fatigue, and reduce withdrawal symptoms, obviously. Social comfort, work breaks, reduced pain and anxiety, increased pleasure, and less boredom were also correlates for some who smoked. Smoking also usually reduces the appetite and taste for food, so it may help people to reduce food intake, a positive step for the weight conscious. The average smoker weighs six to eight pounds less than the nonsmoker. In Life Extension, Sandy Shaw and Durk Pearson note that nicotine seems to reduce distraction by outside stimuli in people working in highly stimulating environments—that is, it desensitizes people. I see this as creating a smoke screen that protects us from relating to others and keeps us in our own world. It is clear that people who work in crowded, noisy, busy offices with other workers, computers, machines running, and lots of hustle and bustle tend to smoke more frequently than do workers in more private situations.