dizziness

the bottom line

Your inner ear has two different functions: in addition to being responsible for hearing, it's also responsible for your sense of balance. If you have a problem in your inner ear, you may lose your balance easily or feel dizzy.

The nicotine in cigarette smoke can disturb the functioning of the part of the inner ear that is responsible for balance. This is especially likely to happen in people who are not accustomed to nicotine. Many people feel dizzy the first few times they smoke cigarettes; this is due to smoking's effect on the inner ear.