There are numerous well-trodden ways for modern people to be distracted from their stress by external measures. Alcohol, chemical drugs, cigarettes, marijuana, the Internet, TV shows, video games, and many other legal and illegal forms of diversion can alleviate stress – if not only temporarily. Many of these occupations cause heavy addiction, though. The strongest instances of addiction occur when individuals intake illegal drugs. Almost all of them are extremely dangerous for human physical and psychological health. Back in the 1990’s, cocaine was treated as the most dangerous drug, but recent studies reveal a surprising fact that nicotine can be considered the most addictive drug of the 21st century (Lawrence, 2002).
A drug, in a general sense, is a substance with certain chemical properties that has the ability to disrupt the functions of an individual’s body. It can be used for treatment, diagnosis or for recreational activities. Some kinds of drugs can also affect the nervous system of a person’s body and prove to be quite dangerous; the most hazardous are those which are listed under the category of psychoactive drugs. These are substances with chemical properties that affect or modify brain functions and result in changed behavior, frame of mind, and deviations in thought processes. One of such psychoactive drugs is the well-known and legal nicotine.
People can take in nicotine from many natural sources, mostly in doses which are not malignant for human health. However, consuming nicotine through cigarettes, cigars, or by smoking pipes is quite different. Doctor Richard Lawrence observed that numerous harmful effects of nicotine were consumed by farmers through tobacco leaves (Lawrence, 2002). Nicotine can be found in many food products, and in small amounts it do not cause harm; however, despite being legal, nicotine is extremely addictive, and leads to strong psychological and physical addiction (Shaw, 2001). Research on popular addictive drugs also place nicotine on the top of the most dangerous drugs list. Nicotine is on the same alignment with the harmful effects caused by cocaine, morphine or alcohol (Michaelshouse.com). The most common symptoms attributed to nicotine’s abuse are anxiety, sleeping disorders, lack of concentration,