Nicotine and Its Effect on the Body

First author: Rashid Al-Hitmi

Second Author: Rachel Klimetz My personal page - RachelKl

 Smoking is said to be the only intentional act that is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States. It is estimated that tobacco use kills more people every year than the annual death rate in the Vietnam War and Second World War. It is also estimated that use of tobacco kills around 440,000 people every year.^[1] The key ingredient in tobacco, which is named as the culprit of this phenomena, is nicotine.^[2]

The Definition of Nicotine:

Nicotine is highly addictive due to its mood altering effects including change in appetite and and pleasant feelings. Out of 35 million people attempting to quit smoking, only less than 7% actually succeed in quitting all throughout their lifespan.^[3]

What happens if you are exposed consistently to nicotine?

Consistent exposure to nicotine causes addiction to the smoker. As the nicotine is ingested through smoking, this chemical strikes the adrenal gland and results in the release of epinephrine, which is the main hormone of the adrenal gland. This will cause a rush of glucose, increase in respiration rate, increase in blood pressure, and increase in heart rate. This also results in the increase in dopamine releases, which enhances the feeling of pleasure and motivation, triggering the dependency and addiction.^[4]

This picture shows the effects of Nicotine

and how it helps in releaing Dopamine:

This shows the lungs of a smoker before and after quitting:   

What are some of the more serious diseases and negative effects of nicotine?

At the core, one important effect of continuous nicotine use is lung diseases such as bronchitis, emphysema and lung cancer. There are also other cancers associated with nicotine intake. Cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, pancreas, and cervix were also found to be related to smoking. In the 1940s, it was also estimated that nicotine intake through smoking also causes coronary heart disease. Stroke, heart attack, aneurysm, and other heart ailments are found to be related to smoking (“Nicotine”). It was estimated that 20% of heart failure deaths were caused by smoking alone.  This will show that nicotine use abuses the body significantly.^[5]

This is a video to show you more clearly:

What exactly is Nicotine, and what does it do?

Nicotine is an organic compound that is found naturally in the tobacco plant. It is composed of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen and belongs to a group of compounds called alkaloids. Plants usually produce these types of chemical poisons so that animals are deterred from eating them. In high concentrations nicotine acts as a nerve poison and it is used in insecticides. However, in small amounts, nicotine is a stimulant that enhances brain activity and concentration and improves cognitive processing as well as a person's memory. On the downside, nicotine increases blood pressure and heart rate, causes you to breathe faster and less deeply and it constricts the arteries. Nicotine also suppresses the appetite, which is one of the main reasons why many women are not keen on giving up smoking. They assume that they will eat more, which will consequently lead to gaining a lot of weight.  Once smokers become dependant on nicotine, they may experience strong physical and emotional withdrawal symptoms if they try to give up. These symptoms may include irritability, dizziness, anxiety, headaches, lack of concentration, disturbed sleeping patterns, feelings of anger, depression, tiredness as well as incredible cravings for more nicotine. These withdrawal symptoms are at their highest during the first 72 hours after giving up, after which they lesson slightly. Generally, after about 6 weeks these symptoms subside, although an ex smoker may still possess a desire to smoke 6 months or even a year after quitting. ^[6]