Is nicotine is bad for you? We hope that with our many years of experience in the smoking cessation industry, we can help you to make up your own mind on the subject by providing the answers you need in a balanced and non-biased way.
What is nicotine?
Is nicotine bad for you? Nicotine is a naturally occurring organic compound known as an Alkaloid that is found in the ‘nightshade’ variety of plants which includes potatoes, tomatoes and peppers as well as the tobacco plant and many others. Alkaloids are a class of compounds that play important roles in medical applications such as chemotherapy, pain killers, treatment of common colds (antitussive), muscle relaxants, malaria treatment and many more. Alkaloids also have many uses in the agricultural industry.
Alkaloids are also the core compound for the stimulants Cocaine, Caffeine & Nicotine, The hallucinogenic effects of Mescaline (peyote cactus), Psilocybin (‘magic mushrooms’) & DMT and the narcotic painkiller Morphine (Heroin).
It’s safe to say that it is part of a very powerful and useful family of organic compounds, but one that is also responsible for nearly all of the most addictive and high-dependency recreational drugs in the world.
The form that we are most familiar with comes from the tobacco plant and the nicotine contained within the plant is absorbed into the body through smoking the dried leaves.
Big companies have engineered their tobacco crops to yield much higher levels of nicotine than normal and additives are used in the production process which results in a nicotine absorption rate which is 14x higher than usual.
How much nicotine is in a cigarette?
If you are interested in finding out how much nicotine is in each cigarette that you smoke, for example; “6mg equal how many cigarettes?” we have written an article just for you…
Nicotine’s chemical composition is also now synthetically reproduced in laboratory environments so that it can be used in other solutions without the need for the organic extraction process. This form of the substance is chemically identical to the naturally occurring compound and is now commonly used in the vaping industry.
In summary, nicotine is a naturally occurring compound which can also be synthetically replicated and is commonly used as a highly-addictive recreational drug with intense withdrawal effects. It has a stimulating effect on the central nervous system and temporarily reduces anxiety.
How does nicotine work?
Nicotine that is inhaled through tobacco smoke or e-liquid vapour is absorbed into the blood-stream through the tissue in the lungs. This method takes effect even faster than drugs that are administered directly into the veins.
Once in the bloodstream, it interacts with the body’s central nervous system releasing the chemical messengers; hormones and neurotransmitters which communicate with the brain. This process releases epinephrine (also known as adrenaline) which stimulates the body creating a ‘buzz’, increasing blood pressure and heart rate, making you breathe harder. Nicotine also activates the release of the hormone ‘dopamine’, which is responsible for the pleasurable experience of smoking, including relaxation, and relief of anxiety or tension.
This whole process takes around 10 seconds from when you start smoking, but also wears off extremely quickly, which is why some people feel the need to ‘chain-smoke’ more than one cigarette in a row and combined with it’s addictive qualities, why people tend not to be able to go for very long periods of time between cigarettes.
How long does it take to get addicted to nicotine? Scientific evidence suggests that it takes just a few days or a handful of cigarettes to become addicted.
How long does it stay in the system exactly? The intense effect wears off almost immediately and after two hours, the body will have removed around 50% of nicotine (half-life) including any subtle effects on the body. It can take up to two weeks for the body to have completely removed any microscopic traces of consumption. That’s roughly how long it takes to leave your system.
With ‘nicotine rush’ explained, hopefully you are in a better position to understand why cigarettes and smoking alternatives feel so good to use.
Is Nicotine Bad for you?
It is very important to make this very clear as there are many common misconceptions about nicotine, especially when it comes to whether or not it is harmful in itself.
It is generally regarded globally that it is not a carcinogen. This means that it is not responsible for causing cancer. What this does mean is that it is the thousands of other chemicals created by smoking cigarettes that do cause many different cancers.
As an alkaloid it is very similar to caffeine and is a brain and body stimulant without known long-term negative health effects. There are even studies that suggest that nicotine could be used to inhibit the loss of cognitive function (memory, thinking and behaviour) with dementia such as alzheimer’s disease.
It is however highly-addictive and addiction to nicotine involves compulsive behaviour and relapse after abstinence. Addiction causes physical and psychological dependence. Withdrawal symptoms include depressed mood, stress, anxiety, difficulty sleeping and concentrating.
How long does nicotine withdrawal last? The intense period of nicotine withdrawal lasts just a few days and the majority of people find that most symptoms subside after two weeks. This does not mean that you will not experience any cravings after this period, but you will definitely be past the worst of it.
Does nicotine keep you awake? The answer is yes. If you consume it within 2hrs of your bedtime, the stimulant effects will not have had enough time to pass before it is time for you to sleep and this will affect your ability to fall asleep at the right time. The stimulant effects of nicotine may also affect the quality of your sleep if your brain is still active in ways it is not naturally supposed to be at your bedtime.
The effects of withdrawal can also have quite dramatic effects on your sleep. Nicotine withdrawal causes stress, anxiety and restlessness which can all affect your ability to get a good night’s sleep.
Nicotine withdrawal symptoms - how to cope
If you want to know more about nicotine withdrawal symptoms or how to cope with them, read our article on the subject.
How harmful is nicotine?
Nicotine is a toxic substance and overdosing does pose health risks. These most commonly include short-term effects including: nausea, vomiting, abnormal heart rate, dehydration, loss of appetite, extreme fatigue, dizziness, headache, gas, anxiety and hearing or vision changes.
Overdosing is historically quite rare, but it has become more common in recent years with the introduction of different forms or delivery methods including patches, gum, lozenges and vaping products where the dosage is less regulated.
People who use more than one form of nicotine, such as patches, vaping and cigarettes at the same time, should be most careful of overdose and should reduce their consumption if they start to feel any of the effects listed above.
Nicotine does pose a fatal risk if enough of it is ingested, but thankfully the common methods of inhaling with vapour or smoke make this virtually impossible to achieve.
Nicotine addiction can however have a detrimental effect on your behaviour and mental health, which can damage relationships and affect your concentration at work and other important responsibilities.
Is it safe for me to use nicotine?
It is generally regarded as safe to use in moderation when consumed with a safe smoking alternative such as vaping, patches, gum or lozenges.
Are nicotine sprays safe? Yes, as with any ‘next generation’ smoking alternative, they are 95% safer than smoking.
Using nicotine in moderation means being aware of any side-effects related to over-consumption and if you have any concerns at all about the effects that you are experiencing, you should stop and speak to your GP before continuing.
It is not safe when consumed through tobacco smoke as thousands of other chemicals produced through smoking are known to cause cancer. It is not safe to smoke.
The most dangerous element of nicotine use is it’s extremely addictive nature. Addiction and dependency cause psychological, physical and behavioural changes. No matter how strong willed or minded you are, it is very, very difficult not to become dependant and addicted, so please bear this in mind if you are thinking about starting to consume nicotine.
It is also very difficult to stop using it – the withdrawal symptoms are intense and people who smoke or vape for a long time develop complicated psychological attachment with nicotine becoming a coping mechanism for many of life’s challenges. This only makes it a more difficult relationship to end.
Once you are dependent, you will feel unable to focus, depressed and anxious if you cannot have it.
To summarise, nicotine is not harmful on its own, but it is extremely addictive and hard to stop and will affect your behaviour once you become dependent. As long as you are aware of this you can make up your own mind.
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Should I quit nicotine?
If you are smoking tobacco products, without question you need to try and convert your habit to a safer smoking alternative. Making this first step will remove the extremely dangerous and carcinogenic process of burning tobacco. Doing this could save your life.
If you are using a smoking alternative such as vaping, pouches, inhalers, patches, gum or lozenges we recommend that you have a plan to quit. Replacement therapies were designed to help with the withdrawal symptoms of quitting smoking and they do this extremely well, but you are only quitting smoking if you use them in a way that leaves you free of the addiction by the end of the process. So have a plan, stick to the process and aim to quit completely.
Nicotine pouches can replace smoking for an example, but only if you aim to quit by reducing and stopping your nicotine consumption with the cessation tool.
What are Nicotine Inhalers?
Inhalers are an effective form of Nicotine replacement Therapy that is available in local shops and pharmacies .
Vaping is a relative newcomer to the smoking alternative market and has not yet been marketed by the industry as a quitting aid. Although it is undoubtedly 95% safer than smoking, do not ignore the addictive or dependent nature of nicotine products.
Addiction and dependency will affect you. At certain stages of your life, these small behavioural changes become more or less important. When they noticeably affect the relationships with the closest people to you, it’s time to challenge whether or not you have room for this addiction in your life.
Whether or not you decide to quit nicotine is up to you, you have to think about how it affects your mind and body and fits into your everyday life. We hope this article helps you to make the best decision.
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