Chemical Dependency Education

Nicotine:

Tobacco use can be traced to the year 900 A.D., as found in Mayan stone carvings. It was probably used long before that. Brought back to Europe, it was smoked in pipes and cigars, chewed and ground as snuff. In some cultures in Europe and Asia, tobacco use was punishable by mutilation or death.

Chewing tobacco and using snuff was the more popular means of using nicotine at the turn of the 20th century, but general disgust with the use of the cuspidor or "spittoon" as well as it being a factor in the spread of tuberculosis allowed smoking to become the leading way to obtain nicotine. The year 1884 saw the invention of the cigarette rolling machine. Smokers found that cigarettes were milder than pipes or cigars and the cigarette industry took off. By 1921,fourteen states had outlawed smoking but with the failure of the Volstead act, prohibition ended and with it, any state laws banning tobacco use, by 1927.

The first surgeon generals report, naming tobacco and nicotine as harmful substances, was issued in 1964. In 1985 the comprehensive Smoking Education Act was passed, requiring the tobacco companies to inform the general public about the hazards of smoking. Needless to say, this was a case of the fox guarding the chickens. Tobacco companies have billions of dollars at stake to keep people smoking.

In 1989 the Surgeon General called nicotine addictive.

An equal number of males and females tend to smoke in high school but more females tend to smoke in college. Statistically, more men than women quit the habit and correspondingly, the rate of cancer deaths for women is on the rise.

The development of low tar, low nicotine cigarettes has not been a great improvement because smokers tend to smoke more of them to get the same amount of nicotine. Tobacco companies still promote smokeless tobacco aggressively.

There are 3000 different substances found in burning tobacco. Forty-three of them are carcinogenic. Carbon monoxide is an additional toxin found ion burning tobacco. When a smoker inhales the smoke it is called mainstream smoke. Side stream is the smoke emanating from a burning cigarette. There is more carbon monoxide in sidestream smoke. Environmental, or second hand smoke is a combination of side stream smoke and the exhalations of mainstream smoke.

Nicotine stays in the body for a long time. Initially it improves mood and decreases stress. It releases the neurotransmitter dopamine and norepinephrine. When dopamine enters the part of the brain called the Nucleus Accumbens in the Limbic system, where pleasure is perceived. Nicotine also affects the medulla, the part of the brain that affects swallowing, vomiting, respiration and blood pressure. Heart rate is increased and blood vessels constrict, therefore blood pressure is usually elevated. Nicotine also produces acetaldehyde, a compound found when the liver breaks down alcohol. Acetaldehyde tends to have a sedative effect. Cigarette smokers require higher doses of pain killers and benzodiazepines for reduction of anxiety. Of those that experiment with cocaine, 3 to 20% go on to use addictively. It's been estimated however, that one third to one half of all smokers develop addiction to nicotine. Over fifty percent of addicts in treatment centers say they would rather give up their drug of choice than quit smoking.

Tobacco and nicotine contribute to cancers of the lungs, larynx, esophagus, bladder, pancreas, penis and colon. Smokeless tobacco is especially responsible for cancers of the mouth and for oral lesions in youths age 12-17. Nicotine is especially harmful to pregnant women and the unborn child. It may contribute to miscarriage, still birth, low weight birth, and sudden infant death syndrome. The children of smokers are more at risk for respiratory infections. Smokers are more at risk for stroke and heart disease. Those who smoke and drink have 38 times the risk of digestive and respiratory infections. Smokers are more at risk for stroke and heart disease. Those who smoke and drink have 38 times the risk of digestive and respiratory cancers.

When using nicotine gum, the smoker needs to stop smoking first. The nicotine levels will be approximately 1 to 2 thirds the levels obtained by smoking. It should be used 10-15 times per day and each piece chewed slowly for 20-30 minutes. A medication called clonidine is sometimes used to lessen withdrawal symptoms. A drug called mecamyline or "Inversive" has been developed to act as an antagonist to nicotine. It lessens the satisfaction a smoker gets from each cigarette but side effects have not yet been studied.

It's difficult to avoid the ads we see all over for cigarettes. "Joe Camel" is one of the most widely recognized pubic figures among cartoon characters. Smoking may look quite glamorous and sexy in the movies, but there is nothing glamorous about cancer or emphysema. The fact that smoking is legal for adults and sold in stores does not diminish it addictive nature or it lethality.

Reference and further reading:

Ethan Nebelkopf PH.D

Biochemistry of Alcohol and Drugs

Heartwood Institute, 1994

Alexander Magnus III

A Special Report on Vince Foster's death and his involvement with the Clinton's Whitewater Affairs.

Honest Citizens for Ethical Government, 1995 (Available in now in paperback edition, contact rothschild@dcia.com for order form)

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