It's a very interesting concept.
I've been doing some research on dopamine last night and this morning.
It would appear the release of dopamine influences everything we do even to the point of our choosing what we are going to have for dinner ("Oh that sounds good" associating a memory from the past to the pleasure we remember that food gave us.)
The two most driven animal instincts are food and sex which are both necessary for the survival of the species. Those two instincts are dopamine driven on purpose. That's how we are wired to survive.
Next time you go somewhere outside your space, be aware of where you glance when you enter a new space. Your eyes will automatically seek out the first place danger may come from, then 2 and then 3 before you've fully surveyed the space you are entering for surprises. We do this automatically. So automatically that we don't notice we are doing it. I point this out for obvious reasons.
They say the brain releases more dopamine before sex or a meal than after and that in fact dopamine level's crash afterwards.
When we overdo an addiction such as food or meth amphetamines, cocaine or heroin, we can destroy the dopamine receptors.
Nicotine hijacked our dopamine release system. Pleasure is associated with smoking because of the dopamine release the nicotine caused.
A major requirement to becoming free of nicotine addiction would be to find other ways to stimulate its release until our system can regulate itself back to normal.
So, A hobby, music, exercise would be the more healthy alternatives to drugs or food.
Find your reward, that something that gives you a sense of satisfaction and replace the nicotine need cycle with something more healthy.
