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DISCUSSION
Tobacco
Next
to caffeine, nicotine is the most widely used stimulant
in the United States. In the past few years, there has
been a major shift in public attitudes about smoking.
Although the Surgeon General's reports on smoking have
labeled it a major public health problem for years, only
recently has the mystique of smoking and the power of
the tobacco industry lobby been broken.
 Cigarettes,
the most common delivery method of nicotine, contain
over 1200 potentially toxic substances such as tars,
benzpyrene, phenols, and carbon monoxide, that cause
the serious health consequences, but it is nicotine which
is addictive and keeps the smoker hooked long after she/he
wants to quit. Nicotine is a central nervous stimulant,
and many people report smoking when they need to concentrate,
when they need a lift, or when they feel restless or
irritable. In short, smoking becomes a coping mechanism
for life's stressors for many people, making it doubly
hard to quit.
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