Nicotine is one of the many chemicals found in tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, pipes and smokeless tobacco. Nicotine is readily absorbed, and once it enters the bloodstream, it quickly moves through the body and affects the organs. The use of nicotine products that contain nicotine results in many health consequences, including death. The Texas Heart Institute reports that nearly 400,000 Americans die each year from smoking-related illnesses.
Addiction
In 1988, the Surgeon General released a report on "The Health Consequences of Smoking: Nicotine Addiction" that concluded that tobacco products were addicting and that the drug nicotine in the tobacco causes the addiction. For some this was difficult to believe since tobacco products are legal and, at that time, were only loosely controlled. The report, as outlined by the American Heart Association, presented evidence that nicotine meets the criteria of addiction.
Nicotine has a pharmacological effect on the body that reinforces its use through reward. Nicotine affects the brain, altering mood and behavior. Those who stop using tobacco products experience withdrawal symptoms. Nicotine induces tolerance, meaning that with extended use it requires more of the drug to achieve the same intensity of the response.
Pregnancy Complications
Nicotine readily crosses the placenta where it causes damage to the developing fetus, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). In fact, the NIDA indicates that the concentration of nicotine in the fetal blood and amniotic fluid may be 15 percent higher than in the maternal blood. The nicotine, along with the other damaging effects of smoking including the ingestion of carbon monoxide, can cause spontaneous abortions, developmental delays, premature birth and low birth weights.
Heart Disease
Ingesting nicotine from tobacco products increases the risk for developing heart disease by 2 to 4 times, according to the American Heart Association. Nicotine triggers nearly immediate responses in the body, including an increase in heart rate, blood pressure and flow of blood from the heart. Nicotine also contributes to atherosclerosis, which is the build-up of plaque in the arteries. This causes the arteries to become narrower, interfering with the flow of blood. When the heart is deprived of oxygen-rich blood, the result is coronary artery disease--the most common form of heart disease.
Cancer
Nicotine, along with the thousands of other harmful chemicals found in tobacco products, causes lung cancer. The American Cancer Society reports that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States as well as the most preventable cancer since 8 out of 10 cases occur in those who smoke.
