Why do I get dizzy when I smoke?

Feel Dizziness when smoking For the first time is not strange. In fact it is normal to have even other symptoms like nausea.

Usually, cigarettes contain a large amount of toxic substances that quickly enter our body, producing various harmful effects on it.

Cigarettes contain leaves from the tobacco plant. It is dried and fermented before being placed in them.

In addition to other harmful chemicals, tobacco nicotine , A substance that can cause a strong addiction . That is why there are so many smokers who have serious difficulties to quit this habit.

Smoking tobacco is one of the main causes of Lung cancer . Although it has also been linked to other health problems such as high blood pressure, heart attacks, coronary heart disease and Stroke .

But if you are smoking for the first time or because you do not smoke every day, it is common to feel dizzy with cigarettes.

Interestingly, smokers may also experience dizziness in periods of abstinence Or"monkey"tobacco. Although in the latter, dizziness can be more durable.

In this article I explain how your body reacts to tobacco and why you get dizzy when you smoke, as well as ways to prevent this from happening.

Reasons why you get dizzy when you smoke

Nicotine

Nicotine is naturally present in the tobacco plant. Is a Stimulant substance , That is, that increases the activity of some functions of the organism.

It is one of the most addictive drugs that exist today, coming to compare their addiction with the cause cocaine wave heroin .

Nicotine is responsible for tobacco addiction, and it causes the most dizziness.

When it is smoked, this substance enters the bloodstream through the lining of the lungs. It takes 7 to 10 seconds to reach the brain.

Once it enters the blood, nicotine immediately stimulates the Kidney glands . These glands consist of two small organs located just above the kidneys. They are used to produce hormones that maintain proper functioning of the body. For example, they mediate sexual development and responses to stress .

By stimulating these glands, they release epinephrine ( adrenalin ). This hormone is the same hormone that we segregate when we prepare to give answers of fight or flight.

When it enters the central nervous system, adrenaline increases blood pressure by tightening blood vessels. In addition, it increases the respiratory and heart rate.

Like cocaine and heroin, nicotine also increases the release of dopamine. This neurotransmitter stimulates the brain centers charged with the sensation of pleasure and reward.

On the other hand, other chemicals present in tobacco smoke can further enhance the effects of nicotine in our brain. One of them seems to be acetaldehyde.

Another noted effect of nicotine is that it slows the release of insulin from the pancreas. Insulin is a hormone that is responsible for eliminating excess sugar in the blood and serves to keep our body's sugar levels balanced.

When the pancreas fails and does not release enough insulin, glucose (sugar) levels rise in blood. This is what happens in some types of diabetes With very dangerous consequences for health.

Therefore, the first few times you smoke, nicotine prevents the release of insulin as it should. This results in a feeling of lack of appetite, nausea, and of course, dizziness.

Dizziness may be due to the rapid increase in heart rate and respiration that comes from poor insulin release.

That is why, when a smoker leaves tobacco, an important symptom of withdrawal is increased appetite.

This is due to the hypoglycemia that the organism suffers when abandoning the consumption of nicotine when already has adapted to her. In this case, lowering of sugar levels also produces slight dizziness.

Stimulation of nicotinic receptors

In our organism there are Nicotine receptors . When we smoke for the first time, nicotine goes into large amounts and binds excessively to these receptors on a long-lasting basis.

That is why you can feel a"petolazo"or"rush"after smoking, which leads to dizziness when you are not accustomed.

Carbon monoxide

Tobacco smoke also contains carbon monoxide. This substance, like nicotine, lowers blood oxygen levels. As a consequence, our brain does not receive enough oxygen.

This is because the carbon monoxide molecules join the hemoglobin Which circulates inside the red blood cells. Since these have more affinity with hemoglobin than oxygen. Therefore, once united, do not separate easily.

The result is a hypoxia or reduction of oxygen in the blood that leads to dizziness, tiredness and even fainting.

These symptoms will depend on how much tobacco we have smoked in a given time period and how we are accustomed to smoking. As we breathe oxygen again, the dizziness is disappearing.

While the prolonged periods of dizziness that usually occur in the phase of"monkey", are mainly due to the effects of nicotine in our brain.

Effects on the lungs

The dizziness also comes from the overload of smoke in our lungs. These are filled with carbon and other particles that prevent oxygen from flowing freely through the bronchioles And blood.

Finally, the smoke causes us to feel weak, asphyxiated and dizzy. Since our brain is struggling to get the oxygen it needs.

This also occurs with high amounts of nicotine, although its half-life is very short and these effects do not stay long.

In addition, not only smoking cigarettes causes lack of oxygen. The same happens with other ways of smoking like traditional pipes or water pipes (hookahs or hookahs).

The way of smoking

In the dizziness also influences the way in which the person smokes. This means the amount of nicotine that enters the body within a certain period of time.

Nicotine is absorbed into the blood through the mucosa of the mouth and lungs, reaching the brain in a few seconds. If they give more frequent and deep strokes, the amount of nicotine that reaches the body of blow is greater.

How long do the dizziness during smoking last?

Symptoms caused by poisoning with smoke or nicotine depend on each person, their use of tobacco and the sensitivity of their body. In some cases, people may become nauseated and vomit.

In general, dizziness usually disappears rapidly depending on the amount of tobacco that has been smoked. Normally disappears between a few minutes and a few hours.

Smoking Dizziness and Genes

It appears that genes have been found to be related to a wide variety of behaviors associated with smoking.

These genes mediate the development of nicotinic receptors in neurons in our body. In a study by Ehringer et al. (2011), we found relationships between the dizziness response to smoking and 226 SNPs ( Polymorphisms of a Single Nucleotide ) In neuronal nicotinic receptor genes.

SNPs are variations in DNA sequences involving a single base in the sequence of the Genome . These variations have to occur in at least 1% of the population for us to talk about a SNP. Since, if it is less than 1%, it would be considered a mutation.

The study sample consisted of 789 people dependent on nicotine and 811 people without this addiction. It was found that those who reported having experienced smoking dizziness belonged significantly to the non-addicted group.

Specifically, multiple SNPs in a region of the CHRNB3 gene (involved in the development of neuronal nicotinic receptors) were associated with the experience of dizziness when smoking the first cigarettes.

What form of tobacco is less harmful?

Industrial cigarettes, liqueur and other forms of tobacco have a very variable content of nicotine and chemicals. So, perhaps not all produce the same dizziness response.

An industrial cigarette carries approximately between 0.50 and 0.90 grams of tobacco. It can thus contain between 13.79 and 22.68 milligrams of nicotine per gram of tobacco.

On the other hand, a cigar may contain up to 21.5 grams of tobacco. Its nicotine content ranges from 6.3 to 15.6 milligrams per gram of tobacco. That is, between 5.9 and 335.2 per pure.

Other tobacco products are also harmful and addictive, even if they do not produce the same feeling of dizziness.

For example, chewing tobacco provokes addiction and mouth cancer. Pipes also increase the risk of lung, mouth, throat, laryngeal and esophageal cancer.

While pipes of water, hookahs or shishas, ​​contrary to what can be believed, produce effects as toxic as cigarette smoke.

The cigarettes Bidis , Of Indian origin, still possess even more nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide than traditional cigarettes. They are also associated with cancer of the mouth, throat, larynx, esophagus and lung. As well as heart attacks.

The same is true of Kreteks , Cigarettes manufactured in Indonesia composed of tobacco and cloves.

Can you overdose nicotine?

We must not forget that nicotine is a toxic substance, and although it is strange, it is possible to suffer a overdose .

This occurs when we take too much of a substance poisonous poison for our organism. And it leads to harmful symptoms that can be serious and even lead to death.

However, nicotine has a short half-life and is eliminated quickly, making it difficult for this overdose to occur.

Usually the few cases are seen in young children who accidentally ingest nicotine gums, electronic cigarette liquids or manipulate nicotine patches to stop smoking.

They have also been given in adults by filling electronic cigarette cartridges without gloves, or by smoking much in a short time if they are not accustomed.

Symptoms of a nicotine overdose include trouble breathing, dizziness, fainting, headache, weakness, and slowing or slowing heart rate.

Other symptoms are salivation, abdominal pain, and nausea. This is because the body wants to get rid of the toxic substances in some way, preparing the body to expel them.

If you ever notice these symptoms in someone who has used nicotine or in yourself, stop drinking and seek medical attention.

In certain cases, a tube will be inserted into the medical center to perform a stomach lavage. They can also use activated carbon to prevent the body from absorbing more nicotine.

What to do to eliminate dizziness?

Once you are experiencing dizziness from smoking, it is best to stay in the same position. If you are going to get up, do it carefully and do not be brusque for your body to adapt to changes in blood pressure.

On the other hand, you can try to breathe slowly and deeply to recover oxygen. Inhale as much air as you can and hold for 5 seconds. Then expel slowly by counting to seven.

Small light exercise can also improve blood flow to the brain and reduce mild dizziness. For example, take a walk. Although if the dizziness is strong, it is best to stay in the same position and drink water gradually in abundance.

If you smoke and feel dizzy, your body is wanting to tell you that that substance is hurting you. It is best that you listen to your body and stop smoking immediately. You probably still have no addiction, and leaving it will be very simple for you.

The substances contained in a cigarette

Tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals that enter the bloodstream at high speed.

In fact, and it appears that more than 250 substances have been identified as harmful. It is known with certainty that 69 of them can cause cancer.

This affects anyone who sucks in smoke, whether they are smokers or non-smokers. It seems that breathing tobacco smoke, even in small amounts, can also be harmful.

Some of the toxic products of tobacco are hydrogen cyanide, ammonia and carbon monoxide. On the other hand, the substances that can cause cancer are:

- Arsenic.

- Acetaldehyde.

- Aromatic amines.

- Benzene.

- Toxic metals such as cadmium, beryllium or chromium.

- Ethylene oxide.

- Formaldehyde.

- Nickel.

- Polonium 210, which is a radioactive chemical.

- Vinyl chloride.

- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons , etc.

References

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2. Ehringer, M.A., McQueen, M.B., Hoft, N.R., Saccone, N., Stitzel, J., Wang, J.C., & Bierut, L.J. (2010). Association of CHRN genes with"dizziness"to tobacco. American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part B, Neuropsychiatric Genetics: The Official Publication of the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics, 153B (2), 600-609.
3. Harms of Cigarette Smoking and Health Benefits of Quitting. (S.f.). Retrieved on March 27, 2017, from the National Cancer Institute: cancer.gov.
4. Is It Normal to Feel Dizzy After Quitting Smoking? (February 5, 2017). Retrieved from Verywell: verywell.com.
5. Signs of nicotine poisoning and what should you do. (September 5, 2013). Retrieved from"AustinPUG Health: austinpug.org."
6. Symptoms of high blood sugar. (S.f.). Retrieved on March 27, 2017, from NorthShore University Health System: northshore.org.
7. Smoking & Dizziness. (August 16, 2013). Retrieved from Livestrong: livestrong.com.
8. Why do first time smokers feel dizzy and tired? (S.f.). Retrieved on March 27, 2017, from Quora: quora.com.