Michelle, I feel sorry for you and the fact that you honestly believe that cigarette smoke (an addiction) is not a disease.
Just like every other addiction (meth, heroine, cocaine, etc)- they cause changes in the brain and its chemistry.

If you have taken any kind of physiological class- you would already know this.

"All abused drugs increase dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens, including opiates, barbituarates, alcohol,thc,pcp, mdma, NICOTINE, and even caffeine. There is considerable evidence that this increase in dopamine level plays an important role in addiction."

If there are changes in the brain's neurochemistry- there is bound to mental health problems associated with quitting.
It also goes further than that because it is not just mentally. People get physically ill when they quit a drug- including smoking cigarettes. That would also show that there is some kind of change in the entire body.

According to "Brain and Behavior- an Introduction to Physiology," Smoking and other drug use IS A BRAIN DISEASE.

There are many studies that have proved that the changes in the brain are strong enough to be considered "abnormal" and therefore, a disease of the brain.

You shouldn't judge or say anything unless you have the facts behind you.

I am a smoker. My whole family smokes. I never knew not to smoke. (Which the book also says that smoking tendencies are inherited). I have tried to quit hundreds of times. I HATE HATE HATE smoking. Smoking disgusts me. But let me tell you, when I have tried to quit so many times, I almost feel like I am going crazy. The changes in my body, the withdrawals make me sick. I have to fight with "my mind" almost because every 2 seconds it feels as though I will DIE if I do not go smoke a cigarette. The last time I quit for a week. It was SO hard. But when I finally broke down and bought a pack of cigarettes, the first inhale of smoke completely relaxed my entire body and MIND. I was not sick anymore.

If a drug can do that to a person- it is most definitely a disease. It definitely causes MAJOR problems in the body and mind.

I cannot wait to try this vaccine. It is NOT a cure all. But it does help because if the nicotine cannot get into the brain- the changes in the brain will slowly revert back to normal. I think it is GREAT that they are coming out with this.

IF it actually works, the country will save trillions of dollars on health care bills because of all the damage smoking does to people.

PS. A prime example of how much of a disease smoking is... there are people that have holes in their throats because they got throat cancer from smoking. However, the drug addiction is SO strong, that they will smoke through that hole in their throat. They will tell you that they tried to quit and that they know that it is wrong and that they might die... but they feel they will die anyway without a cigarette. That is a very strong DISEASE of the mind.

Are you one of those people that does not think Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder are diseases either?