Nicotine Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the world today, Nicotine is one of the most frequently used addictive drugs. The impact it has on society is like no other. It is one of more than 4,000 chemicals found in the smoke of tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. This addictive drug is the primary component in tobacco that acts on the brain.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tobacco can be found two ways, it can be dried brown leaves of various sizes or it can be a grown form of tobacco. When extracted from the leaves, nicotine is colorless, but quickly turns brown when exposed to air. It then becomes a poisonous, pale yellow, oily liquid with a pungent odor and acrid taste. The amount of nicotine contained in tobacco leaves ranges from 2% to 7%.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are four ways in which you can use tobacco. They are cigarette smoke, dry or wet snuff, and chewing tobacco. The cigarette smoke is inhaled through the mouth. Most cigarettes in the US contain 10 milligrams or more of the nicotine. Since most of the nicotine is destroyed by the heat of burning the actual concentration of nicotine in smoke is low. So, when inhaling the smoke you actually only take in 1 to 2 mg of nicotine per cigarette. Nicotine is absorbed through the skin, lining of the mouth and nose, or by inhalation in the lungs. Depending on how the tobacco is ta ken, nicotine can reach peak levels in the bloodstream and brain rapidly. Cigarette smoking, for example, results in quick dis...