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Substance Abuse during Pregnancy
Published in “Bert” Bertis Britt Little, Drugs and Pregnancy, 2022
Native Americans grew and smoked tobacco in pre-Columbian times. However, tobacco native to North America is not the tobacco used today because it was too bitter to be smoked or chewed alone, and was mixed with a variety of other substances for use, including willow bark, mushrooms, and wild lettuce. The tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum, is widely used by smoking, chewing, or dipping, and is a hybrid of South and North American species. Tobacco smoke comprises several-hundred different chemicals, including nicotine and carbon monoxide in greatest abundance. There are several thousands of publications on the risks of tobacco use during pregnancy, including extensive reviews (Fredricsson and Gilljam, 1992; Landesman-Dwyer and Emanuel, 1979; McIntosh, 1984a, 1984b; Nash and Persaud, 1988; Rosenberg, 1987; Stillman et al., 1986; Streissguth, 1986; Surgeon General, 1979).
Substance Use Disorder, Intentional Self-Harm, Gun Violence, and HIV/AIDS
Published in Amy J. Litterini, Christopher M. Wilson, Physical Activity and Rehabilitation in Life-threatening Illness, 2021
Amy J. Litterini, Christopher M. Wilson
Nicotine, a naturally or synthetically produced stimulant and strong parasympathetic alkaloid, is a highly addictive organic compound found in the leaves of certain plants, most notably the family of tobacco plants within the Nicotiana genus. Nicotine is delivered to the body in various forms including cured tobacco leaves for smoking (e.g. cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and hookahs), smokeless tobacco (e.g. loose-leaf chewing tobacco, loose powder pouches, or grains [snus]), and/or synthetic forms such as transdermal patches, gums, and lozenges. New delivery devices growing in popularity worldwide include heated tobacco products (which produce aerosols containing nicotine), and electronic nicotine delivery systems (e.g. e-cigarettes and vaporizer [vape] pens).
Stimulants and psychedelics
Published in Ilana B. Crome, Richard Williams, Roger Bloor, Xenofon Sgouros, Substance Misuse and Young People, 2019
Nicotine is a potent parasympathomimetic alkaloid found in the Solanaceae (‘nightshade’) family of plants such as the tobacco plant (nicotiana tabacum) (Mohlenbrock, 1990). Nicotine is primarily a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonist, but acts as an antagonist in the nAChRa9 and nAChrRa10 receptors (Lester et al., 2009; Dani, 2015). It has been postulated that ‘it is unique in comparison to most drugs, as it generates normally incompatible physiological and psychological effects, namely increased arousal with decreased stress’ (Nesbitt, 1973), this is termed Nesbitt’s Paradox (Schachter, 1973). However, these changes are dependent upon various factors and, particularly, the degree of nicotine deprivation. Thus the relaxant properties of smoking reflect the relief of irritability, which develops between cigarettes (Parrott, 1998). Although, it has genuine stimulant properties, due to repeated abstinence effects, the average arousal level of smokers is generally similar to non-smokers. Nicotine constitutes approximately 0.6–3 per cent of the dry weight of tobacco and is present in the range of 2–7 μg/kg in various edible plants (Heiser and Heiser, 1987). It functions as an anti-herbivore chemical. Consequently, it was widely used as an insecticide in the past and some neo-nicotinoids are currently widely used (Arnason and Philogène, 1991). Nicotine is highly addictive and is the main contributor to the physiological dependence properties of tobacco smoking (D’Souza and Markou, 2011).
Cigarette smoking and its toxicological overview on human male fertility—a prospective review
Published in Toxin Reviews, 2021
R. Parameswari, T. B. Sridharan
Different types of cigarettes are available worldwide based on make, quality, price, location. Generally, cigarettes are made up of Nicotiana tabacum along with vaporized drugs and harmful substances. The major composition of cigarette smoke is, carbon monoxide, tar, elements including arsenic, acetone, ammonia, cyanide, dielxdrin, formaldehyde, nicotine, nitrobenzene, nitrous oxide phenols, toluene, vinyl chloride, lead battery pieces, cadmium paint particles, and many other substances (Taha et al. 2014). It releases more than 1000 toxic chemicals, among that roughly about 25 are metals, and including cadmium, lead, and arsenic, which have noticeable effects on male fertility. In addition to this, large numbers of chemical compounds in a cigarette are released during cigarette smoking by a series of manners like oxidation, decarboxylation, hydrogenation and pyrolysis (Mostafa 2010).
Evaluation of oral mechanical and gustatory sensitivities and salivary cotinine levels in adult smokers
Published in Acta Odontologica Scandinavica, 2020
Mariana Belardinelli Rosa, Mariana dos Santos Fernandes, Leonardo Rigoldi Bonjardim, Maria Beatriz Duarte Gavião, Leandro Augusto Calixto, Paula Midori Castelo
Nicotine is the largest constituent of tobacco of the genus Nicotiana tabacum; chemically speaking, nicotine is a tertiary amine composed of pyridine and pyrrolidine rings. Only 10–20% of all inhaled nicotine is excreted unchanged and among the main nicotine biotransformation products is cotinine [3], which can be measured non-invasively in saliva for purposes of tobacco use and tobacco cessation evaluations [4,5]. There is evidence that nicotine may influence the perception of various sensory stimuli through neural mechanisms [6,7] and studies suggest that the longer the time and cigarette consumption, the worse olfactory and taste performances [8], and the effect of alteration on taste perception ability (gustation) would be related to the amount and duration of smoking, and not just after the consumption of a single cigarette [9].
Green tobacco sickness: mecamylamine, varenicline, and nicotine vaccine as clinical research tools and potential therapeutics
Published in Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology, 2019
Nicotiana tabacum and Nicotiana rustica are the two types of nicotine-based plant that are grown and cultivated. The relatively low nicotine yield of Nicotiana tabacum is the preferred choice among most users, thereby creating the widespread popularity of tobacco worldwide. The higher nicotine yield of Nicotiana rustica is optimal for extraction, isolation, and purification of the nicotine that is added to replacement products used for smoking cessation and liquids that are now widely used in electronic nicotine delivery systems (i.e. e-cigarettes). Because nicotine’s popularity and widespread use appears stable for many years to come, and perhaps could be growing with newer and assumed to be safer methods of self-administration, farming and production of nicotine-based plants will remain attractive, especially for poor economies existing in hot and humid climate zones. Large numbers of farm workers will inevitably come into dermal contact with the relatively high amounts of nicotine that presumably cause green tobacco sickness. The reasons for exposure will be multi-factorial: lack of knowledge regarding the risk, lack of access to personal protective equipment, and improper use of such equipment. This article is written to not only highlight and increase awareness of green tobacco sickness, but also to generate the necessary clinical studies to improve health care options to prevent and attenuate green tobacco sickness.