Nicotine
hideNicotine is an alkaloid found in the nightshade family of plants (Solanaceae) which constitutes approximately 0.6–3.0% of dry weight of tobacco, with biosynthesis taking place in the roots, and accumulating in the leaves. It functions as an antiherbivore chemical with particular specificity to insects; therefore nicotine was widely used as an insecticide in the past, and currently nicotine analogs such as imidacloprid continue to be widely used.
In low concentrations (an average cigarette yields about 1 mg of absorbed nicotine), the substance acts as a stimulant in mammals and is one of the main factors responsible for the dependence-forming properties of tobacco smoking. According to the American Heart Association, "Nicotine addiction has historically been one of the hardest addictions to break." The pharmacological and behavioral characteristics that determine tobacco addiction are similar to those that determine addiction to drugs such as heroin and cocaine. Nicotine content in cigarettes has actually slowly increased over the years, and one study found that there was an average increase of 1.6% per year between the years of 1998 and 2005. This was found for all major market categories of cigarettes.
For more information about Nicotine, read the full article at
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News tagged with nicotine
Vaccine being developed to help smokers quit
Medicine & Health / Medications
Nov 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Glaxo-SmithKline has joined forces with Nabi Pharmaceuticals to produce a vaccine to help smokers give up their addiction permanently.
Women can quit smoking and control weight gain
Nov 19, 2009 |
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Many women don't quit smoking because they are afraid of gaining weight. That's because nicotine suppresses the appetite and boosts a smoker's metabolism.
FDA warns Web companies not to sell flavored cigs
Nov 06, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that it has warned several companies to stop selling banned flavored cigarettes to U.S. consumers online.
Crushing cigarettes in a virtual reality environment reduces tobacco addiction
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Oct 27, 2009 |
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Smokers who crushed computer-simulated cigarettes as part of a psychosocial treatment program in a virtual reality environment had significantly reduced nicotine dependence and higher rates of tobacco abstinence than smokers ...
Scientists seek to manage dopamine's good and bad sides
Oct 07, 2009 |
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The good, the bad and the ugly: That's a quick summary of the effects of dopamine, a natural brain chemical that's linked to pleasure, addiction and disease.
Calling All Smokers: Cell Phones Could Help You Quit
Oct 07, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Hooked on your cell phone and cigarettes? Fortunately, your mobile device could help you kick the nicotine habit, according to a new review from New Zealand.
Cocaine Vaccine Shows Promise for Treating Addiction
Oct 05, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Immunization with an experimental anti-cocaine vaccine resulted in a substantial reduction in cocaine use in 38 percent of vaccinated patients in a clinical trial supported by the National Institute on Drug ...
Blocking signal molecule can prevent growth of large intestine and colon cancer
Sep 23, 2009 |
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By seeing what substances and molecules affect the development of our diseases, we can develop drugs that prevent or cure diseases. In her dissertation at Kalmar University in Sweden, Ann Novotny has found that the signal ...
Smoking: New research helps itch to quit
Sep 13, 2009 |
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European scientists said Sunday they could explain why nicotine patches designed to help smokers kick their habit can cause skin irritation.
Anti-smoking law helps waiters to quit smoking
Sep 10, 2009 |
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Researchers from the Catalan Institute of Oncology have studied the impact of the law banning smoking in public places such as bars and restaurants on those working in these places. The results are positive ...
Learning addiction: Dopamine reinforces drug-associated memories
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Sep 09, 2009 |
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New research with mice has provided some fascinating insight into how addictive drugs hijack reward signals and influence neural processes associated with learning and memory. The research, published by Cell Press in the ...
It pays to quit smoking before surgery
Sep 03, 2009 |
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People who start nicotine replacement therapy at least four weeks before surgery can halve their risk of poor wound healing. This is what the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) concludes in ...
Cigarettes, not Swedish snuff linked to increased risk of MS
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Aug 31, 2009 |
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While smoking cigarettes appears to significantly increase a person's risk of developing multiple sclerosis, using Swedish snuff does not, according to a study published in the September 1, 2009, print issue of Neurology, the me ...
Smokers have more options than ever in the fight to kick the habit
Aug 23, 2009 |
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Nina Ball regularly walks by a row of smokers outside the charter school in North Philadelphia where she helps youths find jobs and get into college. A year ago, she might have bummed a cigarette there.
New study expands the list of hazardous chemicals in smokeless tobacco
Aug 16, 2009 |
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Attention all smokeless tobacco users! It's time to banish the comforting notion that snuff and chewing tobacco are safe because they don't burn and produce inhalable smoke like cigarettes. A study that looked ...
