Is it normal to feel dizzy when smoking?

One of the effects of tobacco consumption is that some smokers feel dizzy.

Although in recent years tobacco consumption has been reduced in general, smoking is still a frequent action today and a habit that, although harmful and in the long term dangerous to health, is still carried out by a large number of people.

Most smokers find a certain pleasure and sense of tranquility in the consumption of this substance, and it is also something socially accepted and traditionally associated with maturity or virility/femininity. However, it is an exogenous substance to our body that will have different effects on the organism. For example, many people have reported on occasion that they have even feel dizzy when smoking.Is this normal and why does it happen? In this article we will try to answer these questions.

Nicotine: type of substance and effects on the organism.

One of the main substances that are part of tobacco (although a large number of other substances, many of them toxic, can be found in a cigarette) is nicotine.

This substance has psychoactive properties, and is the main substance responsible for tobacco's physical addiction. It is considered a psychostimulant substanceIt is considered a psychostimulant substance, even though continued consumption eventually causes depressant effects. That is why most regular smokers feel feelings of relaxation when consuming it and tend to smoke more frequently when they feel nervous.

The mechanism of action of nicotine is based on its action on acetylcholine receptors, specifically nicotinic receptors.specifically nicotinic receptors. It acts as an agonist of this substance, having an effect on the central nervous system (in the cortex, limbic system and basal ganglia, among others) and peripheral nervous system, as well as on the cardiovascular and adrenal systems. However, with long-term consumption it ends up having a blocking action of this neurotransmitter.

At low doses, it initially generates an increase in cholinergic activity, causing an increase in the level of activation and alertness. Higher doses generate feelings of pleasure by contributing to activate the limbic system through the synthesis of dopamine. It also has an effect in increasing the levels of cortisolACTH, prolactin, vasopressin and growth hormone. At the cardiovascular level, nicotine causes vasoconstriction, so that Blood passes at a faster rate and with greater pressure. This causes the heart to work faster, and at the same time it carries less oxygen, also increasing the inhalation rate.

In the adrenal cortex, nicotine acts by generating a stimulation that results in the release of adrenaline. Finally, it hinders the action of the pancreas, causing the release of insulin (which allows us to degrade blood sugar) to be reduced.

Dizziness when smoking: is it normal?

Smoking, as the different advertising campaigns that we can see today indicate, can have serious long-term harmful effects, especially at the respiratory level. Emphysema, lung lesions and diseases or different types of cancer (such as lung or tracheal cancer) have been significantly associated with continuous smoking. have been found to be significantly associated with continued tobacco consumption..

But in addition to these effects, it can also cause various discomforts and unpleasant effects during or after the act of doing so. These include the presence of nausea, vomiting and dizziness, the latter being relatively frequent.

Why do we feel dizzy when smoking?

Generally, the presence of dizziness is more common in people who begin to use tobacco for the first time or in people who start smoking again after a long time without doing so, as well as in those who quit smoking abruptly. These dizziness may occur due to different circumstances.

First of all, we must take into account the fact that smoking is, mainly, repeatedly inhaling a substance that is going to enter the lungs, being this substance an irritant and making it difficult for the respiratory system to integrate enough oxygen level in the brain. Likewise, the vasoconstrictor effect of nicotine causes the blood vessels to compress, causing blood to flow at a much faster rateThe vasoconstrictive effect of nicotine causes the blood vessels to be compressed, the blood flowing much faster than usual and can lead to hypertension. All these effects are some of the reasons why in the first consumptions or after long periods without smoking the organism reacts producing dizziness.

Other reasons can be found in intoxication if the amount consumed is excessive, or when other substances such as alcohol have been consumed that could interact with the effects of tobacco. The internal balance to which our body is accustomed our body suffers an alteration that can cause various symptoms to manifest themselves..

Likewise, dizziness due to the lack of oxygen does not necessarily occur only in smokers who have just started smoking. Taking into account that this substance damages the respiratory system, if a person suffers from lung disease for this or other reasons, tobacco consumption can generate these effects on a more regular basis.

Another moment when dizziness tends to appear is when a person who has acquired tolerance and dependence to nicotine abruptly stops using nicotine.. The body has become accustomed to a certain balance that suddenly undergoes a change. In this case, we would be faced with a symptom of withdrawal syndrome.

The blockage of the cholinergic action generated by long-term exposure to nicotine and the increase in the number of nicotinic receptors generated by habituation would be responsible in this case for the organism not being in balance and generating symptomatology.

Bibliographic references

• Pozuelos, J.; Martinena, P.; Monago, L.; Viejo, D. and Pérez, T. (2000). Pharmacology of nicotine. Integrative Medicine, 35 (9): 409-417. Elsevier