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
Waterpipe tobacco smokers inhale same toxicants as cigarette smokers
Dec 02, 2009 |
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Smoking tobacco through a waterpipe exposes the user to the same toxicants - carbon monoxide and nicotine - as puffing on a cigarette, which could lead to nicotine addiction and heart disease, according to a study led by ...
Nicotine Levels Higher in Children Exposed to Secondhand Smoke in the Home
Dec 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- New research published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, supports the World Health Initiative’s efforts for a home smoking ban, according ...
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.
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 ...
How cigarettes calm you down
Apr 24, 2009 |
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The calming neurological effects of nicotine have been demonstrated in a group of non-smokers during anger provocation. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Behavioral and Brain Functions suggest that n ...
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 ...
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.
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 ...
Nicotine may have more profound impact than previously thought
Apr 03, 2009 |
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Nicotine isn't just addictive. It may also interfere with dozens of cellular interactions in the body, new Brown University research suggests.
Researchers find tiny genetic change keeps nicotine from binding to muscle cells
Mar 23, 2009 |
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A tiny genetic mutation is the key to understanding why nicotine--which binds to brain receptors with such addictive potency--is virtually powerless in muscle cells that are studded with the same type of receptor. ...
House approves FDA regulation of tobacco products
Apr 02, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The federal government would for the first time have regulatory powers over the tobacco industry under a bill the House approved Thursday after years of campaigning by anti-smoking forces.
Simple drug treatment may prevent nicotine-induced SIDS
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Jun 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study has identified a specific class of pharmaceutical drugs that could be effective in treating babies vulnerable to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), because their mothers smoked ...
Skin color clue to nicotine dependence
May 08, 2009 |
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Higher concentrations of melanin -- the color pigment in skin and hair -- may be placing darker pigmented smokers at increased susceptibility to nicotine dependence and tobacco-related carcinogens than lighter skinned smokers, ...
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.
