How does nicotine affect the brain, and why is it considered addictive?

Nicotine is a stimulant that triggers the release of dopamine and other neurotransmitters in the brain, creating pleasurable sensations that make smoking highly addictive.

Describe how smoking affects blood vessels and increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Smoking causes constriction of blood vessels and damages their endothelial lining, restricting blood flow. This leads to thickening of blood vessel walls and enhances blood platelet stickiness, increasing the likelihood of clot formation, heart attacks, and strokes.

The Health Risks of Vaping

8th Grade•45 minutes

Learning Objective

I can explain the negative health effects of vaping.

Key Concepts

Tar from cigarettes can damage tooth enamel and cause decay, while smoke damages nerve endings in the nose, leading to loss of smell.

Nicotine in cigarettes reaches the brain in about 10 seconds, triggering the release of dopamine and other neurotransmitters, which makes smoking highly addictive.

Quitting smoking can lead to almost immediate and long-lasting physical benefits, such as heart rate and blood pressure returning to normal within 20 minutes and improved lung health within about one month.

Practice Questions

This lesson includes 10 practice questions to reinforce learning.

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1. What is tar, and how does it affect the body?

2. How does smoking affect the cilia in the airways and lungs?

3. Explain how carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke affects the body's ability to transport oxygen.

...and 7 more questions

Educational Video

How do cigarettes affect the body? - Krishna Sudhir

TED-Ed

Learning Objective

Key Concepts

Practice Questions

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