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 is an alkaloid found in the nightshade family of plants (Solanaceae) which constitutes approximately 0.6–3.0% of dry weight of tobacco, withbiosynthesis 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.
- Nicotine is named after the tobacco plant Nicotiana tabacum, which in turn is named after Jean Nicot de Villemain, French ambassador in Portugal, who sent tobacco and seeds from Brazil to Paris in 1560 and promoted their medicinal use. Nicotine was first isolated from the tobacco plant in 1828 by Germanchemists Posselt & Reimann, who considered it a poison. Its chemical empirical formula was described by Melsens in 1843, its structure was discovered by Garry Pinner in 1893, and it was first synthesized by A. Pictet and Crepieux in 1904.
- Nicotine is a hygroscopic, oily liquid that is miscible with water in its base form. As a nitrogenous base, nicotine forms salts with acids that are usually solid and water soluble. Nicotine easily penetrates the skin. The amount of nicotine inhaled with tobacco smoke is a fraction of the amount contained in the tobacco leaves.
- Nicotine’s mood-altering effects are different by report: in particular it is both a stimulant and a relaxant.
- Nicotine has very powerful effects on arteries throughout the body. Nicotine is a stimulant, it raises blood pressure, and is a vasoconstrictor, making it harder for the heart to pump through the constricted arteries. It causes the body to release its stores of fat and cholesterol into the blood.
- The primary therapeutic use of nicotine is in treating nicotine dependence in order to eliminate smoking with its risks to health. Controlled levels of nicotine are given to patients through gums, dermal patches, lozenges,electronic/substitute cigarettes or nasal sprays in an effort to wean them off their dependence.
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