What is Nicotine?

   Nicotine is a poison. Small amounts, ingested or injected, cause tremors, very slow breathing, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, weakness, and headaches. A tiny amount of pure nicotine can paralyze the nerves and slow the central nervous system of a human adult so quickly that he would die within a few seconds.

    Nicotine in tobacco products acts as a stimulant. it speeds up a person's heart and central nervous system. The heart beats faster, blood vessels constrict or become smaller, and blood pressure increases. In turn, this decreases the amount of blood and oxygen that moves throughout a smoker's body.

    Nicotine also acts on the brain to produce addiction. Without addiction, tobacco products would not be very attractive. Nicotine is the cause of continued tobacco use by any person.

    Nicotine also affects the brain and nervous system in other ways. Some smokers are calmer and more relaxed after smoking. While other smokers get more energized. These different effects depends on how much nicotine is inhaled and which brain cells it affects. Nicotine's effects come on quickly. Inhaled nicotine takes just seven seconds to reach the brain from the blood stream. The average cigarette contains about 1.5 percent nicotine, or about six to eight milligrams of nicotine.

Where it is found? Nicotine is found in cigarettes or any tobacco products

How is it obtained? Nicotine is obtained from tobacco plants or leaves which are used in, for example, cigarettes.

Chemical Properties:A colorless, poisonous alkaloid, C₁₀H₁₄N₂, derived from the tobacco plant and used as an insecticide. It is the substance in tobacco to which smokers can become addicted.

Reaction tendencies: Nicotine is not a highly reactive compound. It is mainly used in cigarettes.

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