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Overcome nicotine dependence will help commercialism
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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As you know, quitting smoking is difficult, especially for some people. Often, one person who smoked a pack of cigarettes and more a day easily throws a disastrous habit, and the other, who smokes only a few cigarettes a day, almost fails to quit smoking. Scientists at a Pennsylvania university are interested in the question of why some people can easily cope with nicotine addiction, and others can struggle with addiction for years and not achieve any results. Usually this is explained by the willpower, which is different for each person, but willpower does not affect the physiological mechanisms that occur in the body with nicotine addiction.
American experts conducted a study in this area, and concluded that the whole thing is the individual properties of the brain. Scientists managed to develop an unusual way, thanks to which it is possible to say with high probability whether a person will be able to cope with his dependence or not.
In the experiment, 44 people participated (the age of participants was from 18 to 45 years). All volunteers during the past year smoked at least 10 cigarettes a day.
Before the experiment began, all participants were banned from smoking for twelve hours. As soon as the experiment began, during which participants had to guess the cards, the scientists said that they would have to refrain from smoking for at least two more hours. A few minutes later, the participants were informed of the error and those who want to smoke immediately can take advantage of the free minute, the same participants who will be able to refrain from smoking for a while will be able to earn an additional $ 1 for every five minutes that they can hold without a cigarette.
Thus, for 50 minutes it was possible to get 10 dollars. At the same time, scientists studied the activity of different parts of the brain with the help of a magnetic resonance tomograph.
As a result of the experiment, those participants who could not overcome their desire to smoke and refused monetary reward, the activity of the pleasure center in the brain was significantly lower than those participants who could spend an additional hour without cigarettes for the sake of money.
Experts suggest that mercantilism (the pursuit of profit) plays a major role in the process of quitting smoking. In some people, significant support in quitting is material stimulation, such as improving health or saving money, while others do not have money or health as a priority, so additional methods of action are required to overcome nicotine dependence.
According to experts, using such a simple method, it is possible to determine among those who stop smoking those who need additional methods to facilitate the process of quitting. This method is especially relevant for specialists who work with groups of people and help cope with bad habits.
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