Nicotine addiction: what researchers say turns people into smokers

Not everything used to be better, but a lot of things were better for smokers. In offices, stress could be alleviated with chain smoking, thick clouds of smoke created a dim, intoxicating restaurant atmosphere everywhere, and even on planes, ashtrays were passed around to enjoy the view above the clouds. But the addictive Marlboro Man has lost some of its sexiness. Smoking is no longer a safe everyday companion; it is unhealthy. Undisputed.

For a long time now, anyone who still wants to ruin themselves by smoking has been banished into exile – outside the door, in disgusting corners, clearly demarcated squares of shame. Public life has become uncomfortable for smokers – despite this, there are more and more of them in this country. Why are so many young people, against their better judgment, unable to keep their hands off the fag? The answer to this could be found in our brain structure.

127,000 people die in this country every year as a result of tobacco consumption. And that ten years earlier than her non-smoking self would have actually had to live. Nevertheless, almost one in three people over the age of 14 in Germany currently smokes. The trend is increasing. An international team of researchers looked at brain scans of around 800 smoking and non-smoking teenagers, each taken at the ages of 14, 19 and 23, to find out what makes them smoke and what leads them to nicotine addiction. They claim to have found an answer in the gray matter. Gray matter is found in the brain and spinal cord and is an important component of the central nervous system. Their development is completed during puberty, whereas brain development continues into adulthood.

Two areas of the brain come into focus through the analysis. Both belong to the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex and are part of the so-called ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Among other things, this is involved in inhibiting negative feelings and processing risk and fear. The scientists at the University of Cambridge found that young people who started smoking at the age of 14 had, on average, significantly less gray matter in the left part of this brain area. How this happens is still unclear. This may be a “heritable biomarker” for nicotine addiction. Less brain mass in this area can lead to “disinhibition”: impulsive, rule-breaking behavior that results from a limited ability to consider consequences and increases the likelihood that teens will start smoking in the first place.

However, the fact that people develop an addiction to nicotine could be related to the other side of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. In this area too, the researchers found less volume among young smokers. The breakdown of the mass also seems to be linked to the start of smoking. According to the scientists, the smaller brain mass could have an influence on resistance and control over smoking behavior.

“The ventromedial prefrontal cortex is a key region for dopamine, the brain’s pleasure substance. It has long been suspected that dopamine not only plays a role in rewarding experiences, but also influences self-control,” says Barbara Sahakian, who worked on the study . Sahakian is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge. “Less gray matter in this brain region can limit cognitive function, leading to lower self-control and a tendency to engage in risky behavior, such as smoking.”

The research team is convinced that they have found evidence of a “neurobehavioral mechanism” that could lead not only to early nicotine consumption, but also to long-term dependence.