Sigmund Freud once said, “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.” By extension, nicotine cravings are just desires for chemical stimulation and the other times, they are something else.

Cigars, cigarettes, pipe tobacco and chewing tobacco all share the common chemical of nicotine. Nicotine is a powerful stimulant. When ingested, it stimulates the nervous system. Since it stimulates both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems at the same time, nicotine produces both stimulation and sensations of relaxations at the same time as well.

Nicotine is chemically similar to the natural occurring neurotransmitter (e.g. a brain chemical) called acetylcholine. Part of the danger with smoking is that the nicotine fits into the acetylcholine receptors of the brain. When those receptors are satisfied, the body reduces its production of that chemical, thinking that the body already has enough.

Once the part of the brain that has experienced stimulation has been ‘turned on’ with higher levels of chemicals than it had previously, it begins wanting more. The brain craves stimulation. Nicotine provides a fast way to obtain that stimulation. Nicotine improves recall and short term memory. The relaxation feeling that also accompanies its use adds to the enjoyment of the jolt of nicotine stimulation in the brain.

Externally, some people enjoy the experience of smoke and fire. They find something relaxing about fire and smoke. The burning of a substance and calming effect of the smoke make the smoking experience enjoyable both internally and externally.

With all addictions, there is often secondary gain as well. There are sensations and factors that are associated with smoking. Since many businesses have forced smokers into small areas, they have developed an enjoyable social network related to smoking. There is the stimulation of smoking and the added stimulation of social interaction. In order to smoke a person has to stop what they are doing and take a break. The added benefit of having a break gives some smokers added reason to ‘light up’.

Besides the secondary social gains, when people grow up in families where there was smoking, there is a higher likelihood that they will smoke. There is some debate whether the behavior is learned from being around and watching others, or whether their brains need the added stimulation that smoking provides. When an individual has had loving family members smoke, they may partake to ‘connect’ with those loved persons.

Since smoking is an activity banned until adulthood, it is one of the taboo behaviors. Engaging in such behavior gives the user a “bad boy” or “bad girl” image. Since some people consider such an image means that they are a “man” or a “woman”, there is a desire to smoke for that aspect of secondary gain. Since smoking plays a prominent role in many movies, there is a social pressure placed on viewers to smoke through role modeling.

Smoke and anger have gone hand in hand for many years. One of the triggers that smokers use to ‘light up’ is anger. The calming effect of the smoke is used to help them regain a semblance of being in control.

Another phenomena in the smoking world is how elderly people and psychiatric populations are often drawn to smoking. There is some speculation that they may actually be needing stimulation like that of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. The nicotine ingestion provides them with their dose of stimulation. With these populations, there is debate over whether the smoking has more benefits or dangers.