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Nicotine
What is Nicotine?
• Nicotine is a toxic colorless or yellowish oily liquid
that is the chief active constituent of tobacco.
• It acts as a stimulant in small doses, but in larger
amounts blocks the action of autonomic nerve
and skeletal muscle cells.
• Also, it is a chemical compound that is present in
tobacco. When tobacco is smoked, nicotine is
absorbed through the wall lining of the small air
sacs in the lungs. When sniffed or chewed, it is
absorbed.
Chemical structure of Nicotine
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How Nicotine looks like?
Chemistry of Nicotine
• Nicotine is a potent parasympathomimetic alkaloid
found in the nightshade family of plants (Solanaceae)
and a stimulant drug.
• It is a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist. It is
made in the roots and accumulates in the leaves of the
plants. It constitutes approximately 0.6–3.0% of the dry
weight of tobacco and is present in the range of 2–7
µg/kg of various edible plants.
• It functions as an ant herbivore chemical;
consequently, nicotine was widely used as an
insecticide in the past and nicotine analogs such as
imidacloprid are currently widely used.
• In smaller doses (an average cigarette yields
about 1 mg of absorbed nicotine), the
substance acts as a stimulant in mammals,
while high amounts (50–100 mg) can be
harmful. This stimulant effect is likely a major
contributing factor to the dependenceforming properties of tobacco smoking,
nicotine patches, nicotine gum, nicotine
inhalers and liquid nicotine vapourizers.
Harmful effects of Nicotine
• Tobacco harms every organ of the body. It affects lungs,
heart, kidneys, digestive system, liver, eyes and many other
vital organs in the body. Further, people who smoke
tobacco get their sense of smell and taste weakened.
• Also 'passive smoking' or 'secondhand smoking' harms nonsmokers.
• The tobacco smoke contains harmful chemicals. When
inhaled by non-smokers in the smoker's proximity, it causes
coughing, phlegm and decline in the functionality of the
lungs. Studies show that it can cause heart diseases even
among non-smokers who are subjected to secondhand
smoking.
Addictive effects
• Nicotine is absorbed into the body when an individual
smokes or chews tobacco. Nicotine causes elevation of
mood. This is the principal reason for nicotine causing
addiction.
• The nicotine absorbed by a smoker reaches the brain
via blood. This leads to numerous chemical reactions in
the brain and causes feeling of high. It lasts for a short
span.
• Once the nicotine level declines, there is no longer the
high-feeling. To have a similar feeling again, the smoker
has to smoke again, thus it causes addiction.
Statistics of using Nicotine in US
Race/Ethnicity
American Indian/Alaska Natives (NonHispanic)
Asians (Non-Hispanic)
Blacks (Non-Hispanic)
Hispanics
Whites (Non-Hispanic)
Cigarette Smoking Rate containing Nicotine
31.5%
9.9%
19.4%
12.9%
20.6%
How nicotine work on the brain?
• Once nicotine is absorbed, it enters the
bloodstream where it circulates throughout
the body and travels to the brain where it
crosses the blood-brain barrier.
• Once in the brain, it binds to and activates
receptors called the cholinergic receptors.
Nicotine can also be absorbed through the
skin.
• The nicotine in inhaled tobacco smoke moves
from the lungs, into the bloodstream and up to
the smoker's brain within 7 to 10 seconds. Once
there, nicotine triggers a number of chemical
reactions that create temporary feelings of
pleasure for the smoker, but these sensations are
short-lived, subsiding within minutes.
• As the nicotine level drops in the blood, smokers
feel edgy and agitated -- the start of nicotine
withdrawal.
• So, in order to relieve the discomforts,
smokers light up another cigarette...and then
another…and another. And so it goes -- the
vicious cycle of nicotine addiction. One
cigarette is never enough, a fact that every
smoker knows all too well.
Acute effect of Nicotine:
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Nicotine is found to cause :
high blood pressure
increased pulse rate and
cough.
It may also lead to oral causes. They are:
• Bad breath: Smoking tobacco or chewing tobacco
causes severe bad breath in the individual. Bad
breath is because the nicotine, tar and other
chemicals in tobacco get deposited in your oral
cavity. The chemicals in tobacco drastically
reduce the formation of saliva in your mouth,
causing dry mouth, thus leading to the growth of
odor causing bacteria.
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• •Increased heart rate and blood pressure:
Nicotine causes increased heart rate and
blood pressure. This is because nicotine
reduces oxygen supply to the heart and thus
makes it less functional. Further, it makes
blood vessels narrow because of the
formation of blood clots. It thus, causes
increased workload on the heart; hence, there
is increased heart rate. All these factors cause
increased blood pressure.
Chronic effect of nicotine:
• Long-term effects of nicotine include:
• addiction
• increased risk of heart diseases and decline in
insulin levels
• cancer
• Stained teeth
Increased risk of heart diseases:
• There is increased risk of heart diseases in the long-term due to nicotine
addiction. Nicotine causes narrowing down of the blood canals. It is
because nicotine gets attached to its receptor proteins in the blood vessel
and stays there and thus causes constriction of blood canals.
• Also, in the long-term, nicotine damages the lining of blood vessels that
leads to deposition of cholesterol in the blood vessels. This may ultimately
lead to a heart attack.
• Inhibits the release of insulin:
• Nicotine leads to reduction in the secretion of insulin that is essential in
absorption of carbohydrates in the body. Normally, when the glucose level
rises because of food intake, insulin comes to the rescue by reducing the
glucose levels. In smokers, this is not the case; insulin is released in less
quantity. When glucose levels are present in higher levels than required in
blood, it may cause harm to the heart and kidneys.
• May lead to cancer:
• Nicotine as a causative substance of cancer is debatable. The other
chemicals in tobacco like tar containing cyanide, benzene, formaldehyde,
etc. are said to cause cancer. These chemicals are released in the body
when tar enters because of smoking, over a long period.
• Premature aging:
• Smokers look older than they actually are. This is because of the effect of
nicotine on the production and functioning of antioxidants in the body responsible for fighting free radicals in the body formed due to
environmental pollution, stress, etc. Antioxidants make the skin and other
soft tissues look young.
• By all accounts, nicotine has destructive effects on every part of your body
- be in the short or long-term. Hence, a strict warning indeed to nonsmokers is to never experiment with it!
• By all accounts, nicotine has destructive
effects on every part of your body - be in the
short or long-term. Hence, a strict warning
indeed to non-smokers is to never experiment
with it !
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4c_wI6k
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Work Cited
• Mandal, Ananya. "Nicotine - What Is Nicotine?"
Nicotine - What Is Nicotine? N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar.
2014.
• Levin, Ed. "Nicotine." Nicotine. Psychompharmacology,
1 Jan. 1996. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
• Trimarchi, Maria, and Ann Meeker-O'Connell. "How
Nicotine Works." HowStuffWorks. HowStuffWorks.com,
02 Jan. 2001. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
• "Drug Abuse." : Short and Long-Term Effects of
Nicotine on Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
• "Drug Abuse." : Short and Long-Term Effects of
Nicotine on Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
• Hemelstine, Anne Marie. "Nicotine Chemical
Structure." About.com Chemistry. N.p., n.d.
Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
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