Research Report: Nicotine
Nicotine is an organic compound with its molecular formula being C10H14N2. In low doses nicotine causes ganglionic stimulation in the nervous system and then in higher doses it causes a ganglionic blockage (Nicotine | C10H14N2 – PubChem). The physical properties of nicotine is a colourless, hygroscopic liquid and turns brown when exposed to air (Nicotine | C10H14N2 – PubChem).
In the past their was different uses for this product then we would think of using it for now. Currently we just see it as mostly a recreational product where most find it disgusting. However, this was not the case in the past. The use of nicotine goes back many millennia. Shown in South American temple carvings were Mayan priest smoking pipes and appeared to be apart of healing and other sacred rituals of the native people of the Americas (Nicotine – Introduction and History). Also, in 1763 nicotine was used as an insecticide. It has potent effects to the nervous system which deterred or killed the insects and is also responsible for the attraction to nicotine we see in people today. To be used as an insecticide nicotine was extracted from the leaves of tobacco plants by a treatment of solvents or by the use of steam. It was then sprayed onto the plants where it was then absorbed by the insects(Nicotine – Introduction and History). This use for nicotine however, is no longer permitted. Then, even farther back in the early 1600’s the tobacco plant, which is where nicotine comes from, became an important export from the new colonies of North America to Europe. It became an important product for local economies and national governments once they discovered they could tax the users (Nicotine – Introduction and History). It was finally in 1828 that nicotine was isolated from tobacco leaves, however the effects were already recognized as before the leaves of tobacco were used as a whole (Nicotine – Introduction and History).
Currently nicotine is used for different medical purposes but it also a byproduct of tobacco which is found in cigarettes used as recreational products that then become habitual due to nicotine’s presence. The nicotine that is found in cigarettes is what causes people to become addicted. However, nicotine can also be used to get over the addiction. With Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) controlled doses are given to the patient to relieve their withdrawal symptoms. This is administered through chewing gum, transdermal patches, nasal sprays, inhalers and lozenges (Abuse, National Institute on Drug). Although there is many negative effects due to nicotine there are some benefits. Like this therapy there are other medical uses that have been found. The nicotine in cigarettes protects the smoker from Parkinson’s Disease by the effect it has on dopamine neurons. Parkinson’s disease is due the increased loss of dopamine neurons and with nicotine motor function is stimulated and protects them from dying. In a pilot study on 6 patients high doses of nicotine delivered through patches over a course of 17 weeks had an improvement in their motor functions. In 4 of 6 patients the only side effects were nausea and vomiting which were able to be controlled with antiemetic drugs (Villafane G). For Schizophrenia patients the psycho-stimulant effects of nicotine may help them compensate their cognitive deficits, in particular their attentional processes (Ward PB). Also, their mood disturbances or negative symptoms, like apathy or lack of motivation, or the side effects of neuroleptics can be coped with nicotine (Koshe Anfang M).
When a person is asked to provide a cost for something the first thing that comes to mind would be the money value, however, the cost could also be the health effects as well. The biggest cost of is death. Cigarettes, mostly the tobacco found inside are responsible for more deaths than any other herb but is also one of the easiest deaths to prevent (U.S. Department). The nicotine that comes from the tobacco is what causes the addiction smokers have to tobacco and when in small doses it is lethal (Royal College). Worldwide cigarettes cause millions of deaths worldwide per year and if the current smoking trends continue the numbers will raise to approximately 20 million in 2030 (U.S. Department). Another way nicotine has cost lives would be nicotine poisoning. Nicotine poisoning occurs in young children who accidentally chew on nicotine gum, if they eat the nicotine patches or swallow e-cigarette fluid (Abuse, National Institute on Drug). Also it is found that maternal Smoking is associated with different cardiovascular diseases in postnatal life (U.S. Department). Monetarily though, nicotine is an expensive product in the long run. Because it provides that addicting effect when smoking people continue to buy cigarettes and cost themselves at least thousands of dollars a year. Also, economically for U.S. healthcare annually there are more than ninety-six billion dollars spent due to smoking (Abuse, National Institute on Drug). However, if the costs for smoking related fires, perinatal care and medical care are added in the economic burden that smoking has done is closer to two-hundred billion dollars annually (Abuse, National Institute on Drug).
Environmentally the smoke and the cigarettes themselves have become a large environmental problem. With nicotine being as addicting as it is brings people back for more. They continue to buy more cigarettes and they continue to harm the environment. The filters found in the cigarette are made up of cellulose acetate which in fact not biodegradable but instead photodegradable (Hon NS). So although they appear that they will degrade once thrown on the ground they truly will not. However, the nicotine itself is more biodegradable by itself. It has a half-life of three days in water and half a day in soil according to the Canadian Environmental Modeling Center level III model. Also when it is let out into the environment it is predominantly found in water and found the least in sediment (Seckar, J). Even though the nicotine will disappear from the environment the cigarette butts are seen laying around not degrading and accumulating in time.
Within society there are different perspectives on smoking. There are those who do not condone it at all, those who see why people do, also there are people who smoke just because of the scenario they find themselves in, the social smokers. They deny that they are even smokers and that nicotine has gotten to them and given them an addiction problem (Schane). They are also less likely to respond to any possible health problems they may come in contact with and ask to receive treatment or help for their nicotine addiction (Schane). Also, within different societies there are those adolescents who see smoking and want to try it because they are curios or they are pressured into it. However it is found that adolescents shortly after their first intake of nicotine are at a greater risk of dependence than those adults who start later in life (Dierker L). Tobacco is also used for cultural purposes as well. For the aboriginal societies use tobacco for healing and ceremonial purposes but they also do not condone smoking for recreational purposes so they are able to acknowledge a prevention of nicotine addiction and dependence (American Indian Tobacco). They know the risks if they were to smoke and do not want to undergo any problems that nicotine will bring to them in the future.
With the current trends that can be seen within society smoking cigarettes has become less and there appear to be more e-cigarettes. Which may be, in fact, more addicting but in a way less dangerous. They deliver nicotine without burning any tobacco so the cancers that smokers receive from the tar will no longer be there but the addiction is still present (Rigotti NA). Also, in the future it is said that possibly the nicotine levels found in tobacco products are to be possibly decreased to very low yields, to presumably non-addicting levels (Benowitz NL). Maybe this will, in time, decrease the amount of smokers. Therefore decreasing the amount of cigarette butts lying around and smoke going into the air and polluting our world even more.
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