Kafli 7. Nicotine – The World’s Antidepressant
If I cannot smoke cigars in heaven, I shall not go.
- Mark Twain
It is now proved beyond doubt that smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics.
-Fletcher Knebel
My smoking might be bothering you, but it’s killing me. - Colette
By increasing the availability of dopamine (evoking pleasure) and acetylcholine (enhancing
memory and mental alertness), nicotine and other ingredients in tobacco set the stage for rapid
onset and extremely high rates of dependency.
Tobacco is the créme de la créme of addictive
drugs: it is one of the most widely used
substances in the world, yet also the most
damaging voluntary ingested substance the world
has ever seen - and insidious weapon of mass
destruction.
According to the World Health Organization
“Tobacco kills up to have of its users...Around 6
million people each year. Nearly 80% of the
world's 1 billion smokers live in low- and
middle-income countries.
A Gift from the Gods, or the Devil?
The tobacco plant is native to the Western
hemisphere and the use of its leaves to produce
psychoactive effects states back millennia to
people living in South America. In those days, tobacco was smoked via pipes or cigar
specifically by men. It was also considered unacceptable for women to smoke, especially in
public!
Tobacco companies promoted their products and lobbied to get nicotine removed from
the US Pharmacopoeia in 1905. Their success in these efforts set the stage for the rice of nicotine
1
, addiction in the US marketing strategies and new products geared toward specific demographics
increased the popularity of smoking, while nicotine's removal from the list of recognized drugs
meant that tobacco products were not subject to regulation under the pure food and drug act (the
law which created the food and drug administration). Over the next few decades, smoking rates
rose, along with lung cancer deaths - which were extremely rare prior to 1900.
Today, In the US, cigarette smoking causes an estimated 480,000 deaths or about 1 of
every 5 deaths each year. This estimate includes approximately 42,000 deaths secondhand smoke
exposure.
Self-Administration: Choose Your Method
There are many different product types to choose from – cigarettes, pipes, chew, snuff, electronic
cigarettes/e-cigarettes, and nicotine replacement products. Chew and snuff allow nicotine to be
absorbed through mucous membranes. Recent survey data indicate that teenagers are more likely
to smoke e-cigarettes (“vape”) than to smoke regular cigarettes. A little over 5% of 12th graders
reported daily cigarette whereas over 15% of those same 12th graders reported vaping nicotine.
Effects on the Brain • Nicotine is one of the main active
The VTA Initially enhances GABA released ingredients in tobacco products
• Nicotine affects the brain by –
(Producing calming effect) To moderate increase of
– Directly increasing the flow of DA in
DA produced by nicotine. However, within a few the NAc
minutes’ nicotine kicks in to inhibit the release of – Stimulating the release of glutamate
which further triggers the release o
GABA. Inhibiting the DA releasing inhibitor DA
(GABA) Results in high DA levels in the NAc. – Increasing then inhibiting GABA in
the VTA
The combination of these effects, is: – Binding and activating acetylcholine
1. Direct stimulation of DA release receptors (increases feelings o
mental alertness and increase
2. inhibiting the inhibitory effects of GABA on
memory)
DA, Results in an increase in DA in the NAc
and the amplification of the rewarding properties of nicotine.
There appear to be substances in cigarette smoke that block the action of monoamine oxidase
(MAO).
2
If I cannot smoke cigars in heaven, I shall not go.
- Mark Twain
It is now proved beyond doubt that smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics.
-Fletcher Knebel
My smoking might be bothering you, but it’s killing me. - Colette
By increasing the availability of dopamine (evoking pleasure) and acetylcholine (enhancing
memory and mental alertness), nicotine and other ingredients in tobacco set the stage for rapid
onset and extremely high rates of dependency.
Tobacco is the créme de la créme of addictive
drugs: it is one of the most widely used
substances in the world, yet also the most
damaging voluntary ingested substance the world
has ever seen - and insidious weapon of mass
destruction.
According to the World Health Organization
“Tobacco kills up to have of its users...Around 6
million people each year. Nearly 80% of the
world's 1 billion smokers live in low- and
middle-income countries.
A Gift from the Gods, or the Devil?
The tobacco plant is native to the Western
hemisphere and the use of its leaves to produce
psychoactive effects states back millennia to
people living in South America. In those days, tobacco was smoked via pipes or cigar
specifically by men. It was also considered unacceptable for women to smoke, especially in
public!
Tobacco companies promoted their products and lobbied to get nicotine removed from
the US Pharmacopoeia in 1905. Their success in these efforts set the stage for the rice of nicotine
1
, addiction in the US marketing strategies and new products geared toward specific demographics
increased the popularity of smoking, while nicotine's removal from the list of recognized drugs
meant that tobacco products were not subject to regulation under the pure food and drug act (the
law which created the food and drug administration). Over the next few decades, smoking rates
rose, along with lung cancer deaths - which were extremely rare prior to 1900.
Today, In the US, cigarette smoking causes an estimated 480,000 deaths or about 1 of
every 5 deaths each year. This estimate includes approximately 42,000 deaths secondhand smoke
exposure.
Self-Administration: Choose Your Method
There are many different product types to choose from – cigarettes, pipes, chew, snuff, electronic
cigarettes/e-cigarettes, and nicotine replacement products. Chew and snuff allow nicotine to be
absorbed through mucous membranes. Recent survey data indicate that teenagers are more likely
to smoke e-cigarettes (“vape”) than to smoke regular cigarettes. A little over 5% of 12th graders
reported daily cigarette whereas over 15% of those same 12th graders reported vaping nicotine.
Effects on the Brain • Nicotine is one of the main active
The VTA Initially enhances GABA released ingredients in tobacco products
• Nicotine affects the brain by –
(Producing calming effect) To moderate increase of
– Directly increasing the flow of DA in
DA produced by nicotine. However, within a few the NAc
minutes’ nicotine kicks in to inhibit the release of – Stimulating the release of glutamate
which further triggers the release o
GABA. Inhibiting the DA releasing inhibitor DA
(GABA) Results in high DA levels in the NAc. – Increasing then inhibiting GABA in
the VTA
The combination of these effects, is: – Binding and activating acetylcholine
1. Direct stimulation of DA release receptors (increases feelings o
mental alertness and increase
2. inhibiting the inhibitory effects of GABA on
memory)
DA, Results in an increase in DA in the NAc
and the amplification of the rewarding properties of nicotine.
There appear to be substances in cigarette smoke that block the action of monoamine oxidase
(MAO).
2
