Nicotine is the part of the cigarette that hooks us into the habit, but it's the other substances in tobacco smoke that are much worse for us.
The effect of nicotine is very misleading. It fools us into thinking it's relaxing us, when in fact it's raising our heart rate, which feels like a 'rush'. Our heart rate calms down as the rush wears off, usually within twenty minutes, but then we start craving the rush again.
All of this puts massive pressure on our hearts, over and over each day. No wonder so many of us get coronary heart disease, one of the three main killers in Camden. But what else goes on inside us?
