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Nicotine

What are the health effects of smoking?

There's no way around it; smoking is bad for your health. It harms nearly every organ of the body, some that you would not expect. Cigarette smoking causes nearly one in five deaths in the United States. It can also cause many other cancers and health problems. These include:

  • Cancers, including lung and oral cancers
  • Lung diseases, such as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
  • Damage to and thickening of blood vessels, which causes high blood pressure
  • Blood clots and stroke
  • Vision problems, such as cataracts and macular degeneration (AMD)

Women who smoke while pregnant have a greater chance of certain pregnancy problems. Their babies are also at higher risk of dying of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Smoking also causes addiction to nicotine, a stimulant drug that is in tobacco. Nicotine addiction makes it much harder for people to quit smoking.

What are the health risks of secondhand smoke?

Your smoke is also bad for other people - they breathe in your smoke secondhand and can get many of the same problems as smokers do. This includes heart disease and lung cancer. Children exposed to secondhand smoke have a higher risk of ear infections, colds, pneumonia, bronchitis, and more severe asthma. Mothers who breathe secondhand smoke while pregnant are more likely to have preterm labor and babies with low birth weight.

Are other forms of tobacco also dangerous?

Besides cigarettes, there are several other forms of tobacco. Some people smoke tobacco in cigars and water pipes (hookahs). These forms of tobacco also contain harmful chemicals and nicotine. Some cigars contain as much tobacco as an entire pack of cigarettes.

E-cigarettes often look like cigarettes, but they work differently. They are battery-operated smoking devices. Using an e-cigarette is called vaping. Not much is known about the health risks of using them. We do know they contain nicotine, the same addictive substance in tobacco cigarettes. E-cigarettes also expose non-smokers to secondhand aerosols (rather than secondhand smoke), which contain harmful chemicals.

Smokeless tobacco, such as chewing tobacco and snuff, is also bad for your health. Smokeless tobacco can cause certain cancers, including oral cancer. It also increases your risk of getting heart disease, gum disease, and oral lesions.

Why should I quit?

Remember, there is no safe level of tobacco use. Smoking even just one cigarette per day over a lifetime can cause smoking-related cancers and premature death. Quitting smoking can reduce your risk of health problems. The earlier you quit, the greater the benefit. Some immediate benefits of quitting include:

  • Lower heart rate and blood pressure
  • Less carbon monoxide in the blood (carbon monoxide reduces the blood's ability to carry oxygen)
  • Better circulation
  • Less coughing and wheezing

NIH National Cancer Institute

Nicotine FDA Approved Drugs

COMMIT [Nicotine Polacrilex]
OTC
-
eq 2mg base (oral troche/lozenge)
eq 4mg base (oral troche/lozenge)
Glaxosmithkline ConsOct 31, 2002
efficacy
0.0  (0)
side effects
0.0  (0)
danger
0.0  (0)

UNK

HABITROL [NicotineC10H14N2]
OTC
-
14mg/24hr (transdermal film, extended release)
21mg/24hr (transdermal film, extended release)
7mg/24hr (transdermal film, extended release)
Dr Reddys Labs SaNov 12, 1999
efficacy
0.0  (0)
side effects
0.0  (0)
danger
0.0  (0)

UNK

NICODERM CQ [NicotineC10H14N2]
OTC
-
14mg/24hr (transdermal film, extended release)
21mg/24hr (transdermal film, extended release)
7mg/24hr (transdermal film, extended release)
Sanofi Aventis UsAug 2, 1996
  • A method to reduce withdrawal symptoms, including nicotine craving, associated with smoking cessation.
efficacy
0.0  (0)
side effects
0.0  (0)
danger
0.0  (0)

UNK

NICORETTE [Nicotine Polacrilex]
OTC
-
eq 2mg base (buccal gum, chewing)
eq 4mg base (buccal gum, chewing)
GlaxosmithklineFeb 9, 1996
Glaxosmithkline ConsMay 18, 2009
efficacy
0.0  (0)
side effects
0.0  (0)
danger
0.0  (0)

UNK

NICORETTE (MINT) [Nicotine Polacrilex]
OTC
-
eq 2mg base (buccal gum, chewing)
eq 4mg base (buccal gum, chewing)
GlaxosmithklineDec 23, 1998
efficacy
0.0  (0)
side effects
0.0  (0)
danger
0.0  (0)

UNK

NICOTINE [NicotineC10H14N2]
OTC
-
14mg/24hr (transdermal film, extended release)
21mg/24hr (transdermal film, extended release)
7mg/24hr (transdermal film, extended release)
AvevaOct 20, 1997
efficacy
0.0  (0)
side effects
0.0  (0)
danger
0.0  (0)

UNK

NICOTINE POLACRILEX [Nicotine Polacrilex]
OTC
-
eq 2mg base (buccal gum, chewing)
eq 4mg base (buccal gum, chewing)
Actavis Labs Ny IncDec 29, 2008
L Perrigo CoSep 16, 2004
Perrigo R And DApr 23, 2008
Watson LabsJul 8, 2009
efficacy
0.0  (0)
side effects
0.0  (0)
danger
0.0  (0)

UNK

NICOTROL [NicotineC10H14N2]
RX
-
0.5mg/spray (nasal spray, metered)
4mg/cartridge (oral inhalant)
Pfizer IncMar 22, 1996
Pharmacia And UpjohnMay 2, 1997
efficacy
0.0  (0)
side effects
0.0  (0)
danger
0.0  (0)

UNK

THRIVE [Nicotine Polacrilex]
OTC
-
eq 2mg base (buccal gum, chewing)
eq 4mg base (buccal gum, chewing)
NovartisJun 19, 2007
efficacy
0.0  (0)
side effects
0.0  (0)
danger
0.0  (0)

UNK

WARNING: Consult a licensed physician in the appropriate field for medical treatment and drug prescription. Do not self medicate.


WARNING: All medicines, drugs, plants, chemicals or medicial precedures below are for historical reference only. Many of these treatments are now known to be harmful and possibly fatal. Do not consume any plant, chemical, drug or otherwise without first consulting a licensed physician that practices medine in the appropriate field.

Felter's Materia Medica on Nicotine

LOBELIALOBEL
   The leaves, tops, and seeds of Lobelia inflata, Linné (Nat. Ord. Lobeliaceae). Abundant in the United States. Dose, 1 to 60 grains. Common... / ...tion of the muscles of volition, and the sympathetic nerve ganglia, and by some is classed with the nicotine group in pharmacological effects. It is a powerful gastro-intestinal irritant, producing em...1

RELATED MEDICINE
   Tobacco (Nicotiana Tabacum, Linné) and Nicotine. Tobacco was once used to a considerable extent upon painful inflammatory swellings and to ...... smoking it acts profoundly, causing vomiting and great depression; toleration is soon established. Nicotine is of toxicological interest chiefly, but rarely it is used to subdue pain. A solution of t......t is used to subdue pain. A solution of the combined alkaloids of tobacco, containing 1 per cent of nicotine, is on the market as Dynamyne, a preparation devised by Lloyd and Howe. It is a greencolore...1

SPIGELIA
   The dried rhizome and roots of Spigelia marilandica, Linné (Nat. Ord. Loganiaceae). Southern United States; less plentiful in northern parts of... / ...a Pink, Worm-grass. Principal Constituents.—A volatile alkaloid, spigeline (resembling coniine and nicotine), volatile oil, resin, and a bitter body. Preparations.—1. Specific Medicine Spigelia. Dos... / ...Medicine Spigelia, 10-15 drops; Water, 4 fluidounces. Mix. Sig.: One teaspoonful every two hours. Large doses are said to debilitate the heart.1


References

1) Felter, Harvey Wickes, 1922, The Eclectic Materia Medica, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Cincinnati, Ohio.