Dangers of Nicotine

Nicotine is an alkaloid found in tobacco. It occurs in the tobacco roots and accumulates in the leaves. It constitutes between 0.6 and 3 percent of the tobacco's weight. In the past, nicotine was used as an insecticide because of its antiherbivore chemical functions. Even today, some insecticides contain nicotine or nicotine analogs.

Nicotine in high doses acts as an effective nerve poison and can have a number of potentially harmful side effects. It is extremely physically addicting, though estimates on the exact degree of addiction range wildly from very low levels to those rivaling that of heroine or cocaine.

Nicotine raises heart rate and blood pressure. The blood sugar level is elevated and the production of insulin is increased because of nicotine. Nausea, sweating and diarrhea may also occur. Inexperienced users might experience tremors, as nicotine stimulates the nervous system. In high doses, nicotine might even cause convulsions.

The dangers of mainstream and secondhand tobacco smoke have been well documented as a cause of cancer, cardiovascular disease and stroke, pulmonary disease and birth defects. Only recently, however, has the general public been made aware of the threats posed by third-hand smoke. The term was coined in a study that appeared in the January 2009 edition of the journal “Pediatrics,” in which it was reported that only 65 percent of non-smokers and 43 percent of smokers surveyed agreed with the statement that “Breathing air in a room today where people smoked yesterday can harm the health of infants and children.”

“The burning of tobacco releases nicotine in the form of a vapor that adsorbs strongly onto indoor surfaces, such as walls, floors, carpeting, drapes and furniture. Nicotine can persist on those materials for days, weeks and even months. study shows that when this residual nicotine reacts with ambient nitrous acid it forms carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamines or TSNAs,” says Hugo Destaillats, a chemist with the Indoor Environment Department of Berkeley Lab’s Environmental Energy Technologies Division. “TSNAs are among the most broadly acting and potent carcinogens present in unburned tobacco and tobacco smoke.”