Nicotine
Nicotine is an alkaloid found in plants of the nightshade family, predominantly in tobacco. In cigarettes, nicotine makes up anywhere from 1 to 3 percent of the dry weight of the tobacco.
Nicotine Facts
| Chemical formula | C10H14N2 |
| Effects | Stimulating. |
| Legal status | Legal. Often not sold for underage people. |
Plants containing nicotine have been chewed and smoked for thousands of years. Nicotine was thought to relieve Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and to improve memory on elder patients. However, modern studies have refuted these claims.
In the body nicotine is distribute quickly through the bloodstream. Nicotine when inhaled reaches the brain in about seven seconds. In addition to smoking, other popular way to consume them is to use tobacco snuff. The snuff is held in the mouth between the lip and gum. Compared to smoking, this way the amount of nicotine released in the body is much greater.
Nicotine acts on the brain and advances the excretion of adrenaline, thus being a mild stimulant. Besides the mildly stimulating and addictive properties, nicotine also causes the heart to beat faster and narrows the blood vessels in the legs leading to a lack of oxygen.
The addiction level of nicotine is very high. It is on the same level with drugs such as cocaine and heroine. Despite decades of research there still is no easy way to cure nicotine addiction. However, anti-smoking drugs have become a large business and the media is hyped up with drugs that can cure nicotine addiction.
Controlled levels of nicotine have been incorporated in patches, gums, lozenges and sprays for treating nicotine dependence. The essence of the treatment is to reduce these controlled levels of nicotine while one quits smoking.