Nicotine a particularly tough drug to kick

Nicotine is a natural part of the tobacco leaf, and that is the only place nicotine has ever been found, according to the American Lung Association.

And nicotine is addictive.

Smokers, however, don't become addicted just to the nicotine. They get hooked on the taste, smell and feel of cigarettes. They link smoking with certain activities. Some smoke on the phone or in the car or while drinking coffee.

The combination of physical addiction to nicotine and mental addiction to the role cigarettes play in everyday life makes smoking one of the hardest habits to break, according to the American Lung Association.

Physically, here is how nicotine works on the brain and other parts of the nervous system:

While a person is smoking, nicotine reaches the brain faster than drugs that enter the body through the veins. For example, the brain feels the effects of nicotine faster than it feels the effects of a shot of heroin in the arm.

When smokers breathe in smoke, they draw nicotine into their lungs which is picked up in their bloodstream and is quickly pumped by the heart right to the brain within 7 seconds. The sudden burst of nicotine causes an instant high.

John Markham, who has been leading a group at St. Peter's for years, said he's seen just about every withdrawal symptom anyone can go through.

"Forgetfulness is common. People, when they quit smoking, will often remark that they'd be driving down the road and forget where they're supposed to turn," he said. "A lot of people want to eat all the time, so a lot of people gain weight."

Jeanne Guill said the first three days without a cigarette were the worst for her.

"I always had a bad taste in my mouth, a lot of sweating, anxious feeling, headaches and I couldn't concentrate," she said.

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