Smoking nicotine is addictive because it is delivered so quickly to your brain. Patches aren't addictive. When you inhale, you get full-strength smoke. One in two smokers will die from their habit, losing an average of 15 years of life. Together, these decrease the delivery of oxygen to every part of the body including discs in the spine.
Smokers have more back pain than non-smokers, and heal slower.
The nicotine is absorbed through the skin inside your mouth, not through your stomach. Too much nicotine is released too quickly and swallowed if the gum is chewed too much. Once in the stomach, the nicotine causes nausea and is then absorbed to the liver where it is broken down. Each year in the United States second-hand smoke causes an estimated 284 to 364 deaths in children from house fires and lung infections. Also, it causes between 354,000 and 2.2 million ear infections in children, as well as 260,000 to 436,000 episodes of bronchitis and 115,000 to 190,000 episodes of pneumonia.