Nicotine is a poisonous alkaloid found in tobacco. People smoke or chew tobacco because of the nicotine, its chief addictive ingredient. Smoking is one of the most expedient ways to get nicotine into the bloodstream. Statistics show that about nine out of 10 lung cancer patients are smokers, according to Mayoclinic.com. Nicotine abuse also contributes to the development of other respiratory problems, such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
Asthma
Nicotine can worsen bronchospasm, an abnormal constriction of the smooth bronchial muscles, in patients with preexisting mild to moderate asthma, according to Drugs.com. The symptoms of asthma can occur right away because the air passages of asthma patients are hypersensitive to things like smoking. Smoking also makes asthma worse over time. The use of tobacco snuff or nicotine nasal spray or inhaler has also been found to be harmful for asthma patients.
Lung Cancer
Nicotine has been found to induce lung cancer cell lines, clinically known as non-small cell lung carcinoma, or NSCLC, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information. But the metastatic link between nicotine and lung cancer is not completely understood. It's known that nicotine helps proliferate lung carcinomas by inducing fibronectin, any of a group of glycoproteins that promote important cellular processes such as cellular adhesion and migration, adds the NCBI.
Protecting Lung Cancer Cells
Nicotine isn't carcinogenic itself, but it has been found that nicotine could protect lung cancer cells from apoptosis, or programmed cell death, by standard chemotherapy drugs, such as gemcitabine, cisplatin and taxol, according to MedicalNewsToday.com. Nicotine contains two distinct proteins that exert antiapoptotic effects, thereby protecting lung carcinoma and reducing the effectiveness of chemo drugs in lung cancer patients.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Nicotine Dependence, Definition
- Drugs.com: Nicotine Side Effects
- National Center for Biotechnology Information: Nicotine stimulates human lung cancer cell growth by inducing fibronectin expression)
- Medical News Today: Nicotine Prevents Chemotherapy From Working For Lung Cancer Patients
