Two broad debating positions exist on this front, the "pro-smoking" argument suggesting that heavy smokers generally do not live long enough to develop the costly and chronic illnesses which affect the elderly, reducing societys healthcare burden, and the "anti-smoking" argument suggests that the healthcare burden is increased because smokers get chronic illnesses younger and at a higher rate than the general population. Data on both positions has been contested. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published research in 2002 claiming that the cost of each pack of cigarettes sold in the United States was more than $7 in medical care and lost productivity. The cost may be higher, with another study putting it as high as $41 per pack, most of which however is on the individual and his/her family. This is how one author of that study puts it when he explains the very low cost for others: "The reason the number is low is that for private pensions, Social Security, and Medicare — the biggest factors in calculating costs to society — smoking actually saves money. Smokers die at a younger age and dont draw on the funds theyve paid into those systems." Other research demonstrates that premature death caused by smoking may redistribute Social Security income in unexpected ways that affect behavior and reduce the economic well-being of smokers and their dependents.
These nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are located in the central nervous system and at the nerve-muscle junction of skeletal muscles; whose activity increases heart rate, alertness, and faster reaction times. Nicotine acetylcholine stimulation is not directly addictive. However, since dopamine-releasing neurons are abundant on nicotine receptors, dopamine is released; and, in the nucleus accumbens, dopamine is associated with motivation causing reinforcing behavior. Dopamine increase, in the prefrontal cortex, may also increase working memory.When tobacco is smoked, most of the nicotine is pyrolyzed. However, a dose sufficient to cause mild somatic dependency and mild to strong psychological dependency remains. There is also a formation of harmane (an MAO inhibitor) from the acetaldehyde in tobacco smoke. This may play a role in nicotine addiction, by facilitating a dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens as a response to nicotine stimuli. Using rat studies, withdrawal after repeated exposure to nicotine results in less responsive nucleus accumbens cells, which produce dopamine responsible for reinforcement. Demographics
As of 2000, smoking was practiced by around 1.22 billion people. At current rates of smoker replacement and market growth, this may reach around 1.9 billion in 2025.Smoking may be up to five times more prevalent among men than women in some communities, although the gender gap usually declines with younger age. In some developed countries smoking rates for men have peaked and begun to decline, while for women they continue to climb.As of 2002, about twenty percent of young teenagers (13–15) smoked worldwide.