Something I find puzzling is how misunderstood nicotine is. Some people say it is carcinogenic, some say
it is unique to the tobacco plant, some say it is the reason why people
smoke. In actual fact, none of these
points are true. Nicotine is not
carcinogenic, besides it being in foods like tomatoes, a food which many experts
believes protects against cancer, it is also in products such as Nicorette – if
it were carcinogenic, such products would not have been approved. As I stated in chapter 2, nicotine is in no
way unique to tobacco – it is present in a range of foods. I will now show that nicotine is not the
reason people choose, or continue, to smoke.
Firstly, there is now a fair bit being said about ‘freebase nicotine’. BUPA, a private healthcare organisation in
the UK, states on
its website
“Freebase nicotine is the term
used to describe a potent form of nicotine that is rapidly absorbed by the lungs
and brain, causing a faster "hit"Freebase nicotine is absorbed in a
similar way to drugs such as crack cocaine. For this reason it is believed to be
more addictive than normal nicotine.”
and:
“According to new research from
America,
some cigarettes may be more addictive than others because they release more of a
particularly potent form of nicotine, called freebase nicotine.”[1]
James Pankow, of Oregon Health and
Science
University in
Portland, is someone who believes
freebase nicotine is the most dangerous additive in a cigarette. He states that nicotine occurs naturally in
tobacco plants in two ways, either an acid or a base, and that the acidic form
is more stable and more concentrated whilst the basic form is known as
“freebase” nicotine, and is more volatile.
Subsequently, when it is smoked it is absorbed quickly and then quickly
reaches the brain. Note how Pankow
thinks freebase nicotine is an additive, because he then says that he and his
researchers found the most freebase nicotine was in American Spirit – a brand of
cigarettes that have no additives or chemicals whatsoever. In fact, American Spirit are so intent on
keeping smoking true to how the Indians used it that they only use 100% leaf,
and no reconstituted sheet tobacco or stem either. Apparently, though, American Spirit contains
35% freebase nicotine compared to 9.6% in Marlboros.
[1]
http://www.bupa.co.uk/health_information/html/health_news/060803nicotine.html
This is just a chapter sample. The full chapter is not available to read online