Does nicotine affect height?

by   |   Jun 12, 2024

The prevalence of smoking has surprised many people these days, especially the increased adolescent initiation of nicotine use and its long-lasting effects on their behaviors in the future. The question “Does nicotine stunt height?” has been raised in recent years as a result, leading to the need of delving deeper into the latest research findings and seeking to understand whether nicotine imposes severe impacts on your vertical growth journey. Whether you are a parent, an adult, or a teenager, do not hesitate to leave this question unanswered because these facts can empower your development and knowledge!

What is Nicotine and its impacts on the human body?

What is Nicotine?

According to Australia’s Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF), nicotine is a stimulant that contains chemical compounds and can be found primarily in tobacco products, such as cigarettes, cigars, pipe and chewing tobacco, wet and dry snuff.

Besides, research from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) also revealed that 99% of the Electronic Cigarettes or the so-called Vape sold in the United States is not an exception but surely an addictive property containing nicotine as well.

How does Nicotine affect your body?

When consumed, nicotine can generate various effects on the human body both in short- and long-term periods. Below is the overview of the impacts:

Right after exposure to nicotine, there is a rapid increase in your heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, and adrenaline levels which are caused mainly by the drug’s action on the adrenal glands on the central nerve system and are responsible for the discharge of epinephrine (adrenaline). Indeed, the surge of adrenaline will also result in a temporary state of alertness, increased energy and a sense of relaxation and pleasure. This phenomenon contributes greatly to the nature of smoking addiction.

Obviously, the “positive” impact of nicotine only lasts for a while, and its long-term detrimental side effects are the ones that should be taken into consideration.

High risk of cardiovascular diseases

The more cigarettes that a person smokes per day will have a strong correlation with the higher risk of cardiovascular diseases. Even the lower level of tar or nicotine contained in cigarettes cannot lower the risk of heart-related issues. In fact, nicotine causes blood vessels to be constricted or narrowed and restricts the amount of blood that flows to other organs in the body, interfering with their normal functions. As a consequence, nicotine can lead to heart attack and stroke.

Impact on brain development

Highly addictive substances, like nicotine, can cause damage to the development of the adolescent brain, which is believed to keep growing until the age of 25. Specifically, people usually become addicted to nicotine due to the alluring effects of nicotine on their brains, such as the enhancement of accuracy, attention, and short-term memory.

Yet, the long-lasting impacts cause many detrimental effects on your brain’s cognitive functions, such as learning, attention, mood disorder, permanent lowering of impulse control, and so on. Nicotine’s good treat can be extremely dangerous since you will find it hard to quit smoking or nicotine consumption because of the tremendous comfort it brings. Another reason is the withdrawal symptoms, which occur when your brain is dependent on the intake of nicotine and the practice of stopping nicotine usage will lead to temporary problems. A person might appear to suffer from signs of irritability, anxiety, depression, relentlessness, focus issues, trouble sleeping, and so on, which trigger their tobacco use as a relief.

Does nicotine stunt growth in the height of adolescents?

The topic of whether there is a possible relationship between nicotine and the normal progress of height development in teens sparks a highlight for many researchers, both in the past and in the foreseeable future. Examining the potential link between these two entities is crucial, especially among adolescents and young adults to be able to reduce tobacco-related healthcare costs, and future deaths as well as diminish the possibility of nicotine addiction in them.

Research carried out in the early 2000s by the University of Montreal revealed that boys between the age of 12-17 who smoked approximately 10 cigarettes on a daily basis appeared to have an eventual adult height of 1 inch shorter than their non-smoking peers.

Again, how about the second-hand smokers or passive smokers in this case? Even though there is limited empirical evidence about the link between smoking and human growth, one study sought to convince people that nicotine exposure is closely connected to delayed skeletal maturation.

A reasonable explanation for this would be blamed for the loss of appetite caused by the incessant consumption of nicotine. Accordingly, nicotine is a major appetite-suppressing component delivered via tobacco, its role can play as a behavioral alternative to eating or a distraction from hunger and the feeling of cravings. Indeed, this process is dictated to curb the body’s nutritional absorption  in an adequate way. From there, nutrient deficiencies inevitably have a significant impact on the overall skeleton formation and growth.

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Unveiling the reasons: Why Do Teens Start Smoking?

Besides teenagers who have to inhale a certain amount of nicotine passively from their parental smokers, there is a group of teenagers who try to take up smoking as their habitual practice. Many reasons are listed to take into account, typically the practices of children who start smoking can be seen as a behavioral reflection of smoking adults in their living backgrounds where they try to mimic their parent’s actions unknowingly. Research also showed that children with parents who quit smoking are considerably less likely to kick off tobacco uptake than their counterparts.

In the meantime, stress is also said to hinder the possibility of successful tobacco cessation. Because people experiencing a disproportionate amount of stress or tension are reported to show higher rates of smoking. In general, stress is the crucial factor contributing to smoking prevalence of all times, making people tend to consume more tobacco when they feel stressed.

Conclusion

Having investigated the mentioned question “Does nicotine affect height?” evidence indicates that nicotine inhalation in the early days of adolescence may interrupt their normal skeleton growth process. Quitting smoking is relatively challenging, especially when it comes to the first-time trials. However, as long as being equipped with the right methods and a solid state of mind, one can accelerate their nicotine dependency elimination journey.

Research articles

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