Nicotine Facts

nicotine facts

There are many nicotine facts pertaining to the substance and how it interacts chemically with the human body. A drug that has shown use since approximately 6000 B.C., humans have adapted its use from a plants defensive mechanism to a widely used stimulant and relaxant.

Nicotine is a substance with qualities that make it highly addictive and cause a significant dependency from to its users. Most nicotine is derived from the tobacco plant Nicotiana tabacum, although there are over 60 other species of plants that contain the toxin. Nicotine belongs to a chemical group called alkaloids whose function in nature is have a bitter taste and dissuade animals from eating tobacco plant. Alkaloids are organic compounds that are composed of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and small traces of oxygen. An interesting nicotine fact is that it makes up about five percent of a tobacco plant.

The toxin works by tricking the body into releasing dopamine that controls the brains pleasure and reward center by acting as a stimulant and simultaneously as a relaxant. Individuals who smoke describe the feeling of being relaxed and more alert.

The human body can absorb nicotine in three different manners — inhalation, through the skin, and ingestion. When a smoker inhales a cigarette, the nicotine is brought to the lungs were quickly penetrates the blood-brain barrier as it is absorbed into the blood and delivered to the rest of the body. It takes approximately eight seconds from inhalation until it reaches the brain. A single cigarette contains 1.2 mg of nicotine, but most of this not inhaled; rather it becomes part of the emissions in the smoke.

Once nicotine is in the body it releases over a half dozen types of neurotransmitters and hormones. Smokers report higher concentration, alertness, and arousal as a result of the acetylcholine and norepinephrine released. Individuals who feel anxious often report feeling a calm after inhaling nicotine and this is because the beta-endorphin has been increased in the blood stream the same neurotransmitter that is released by morphine and opium use.

Nicotine has a very short life span in the human body and on average requires smokers to experience cravings every 40 minutes. Of all the nicotine facts, one of the most startling is its high toxicity rate, and although smoking alone could not cause an overdose, in combination with nicotine patches and nicotine gum could be deadly.

Nicotine is expelled from the body mostly by being broken up in the liver. Small traces are also excreted directly through urine, and the remainder passes through the kidneys before being passed through urine.

Nicotine is used in some treatments Alzheimers Disease and Tourette’s Syndrome to increase the function in the brain since both illnesses are a result of slow firing neurons. However, nicotine was created in nature to be a protective toxin and not a product ingested or inhaled by the human body, and as a result is linked to many health problems. One of the nicotine facts that cannot be overlooked is that significant use of nicotine is linked to increased levels of cancer, emphysema, heart disease and stroke.