Nicotine, like other addicting substances, exerts psychoactive effects, is used compulsively and repeatedly, and requires increasingly higher doses to achieve the same effects. Nicotine's ability to improve a person's mood and performance creates a powerful hook to the continued cycle of smoking. The dopamine reward pathway creates a sense of pleasure and satisfaction when a smoker uses nicotine. Like alcohol and marijuana use, nicotine use has a significant associated social component. Many smokers say they smoke more at social gatherings and when they try to quit are more likely to relapse at social settings.
Conditioning plays an important role in nicotine addiction.
Nicotine's rapid onset of action provides instantaneous positive reinforcement and the smoker begins to associate the positive effects of nicotine with certain moods and situations. Over time these moods and situations become powerful cues for smoking that can lead to smoking behavior that becomes automatic. For example, when an individual who feels relief by smoking encounters a stressful situation, he or she is likely to associate that situation with a strong urge to smoke. In addition, smokers who frequently light up after meals, during social activities, or with alcohol may find it difficult to engage in those activities without experiencing an urge to smoke. These addictive characteristics interact with the physical addiction to nicotine, making cigarette smoking extremely difficult to stop.