Lecture 16: Nicotine

Nicotine

A stimulant found in tobacco plants.

Nicotiana tabacum

The scientific name for the tobacco plant.

Beedi

Thin, flavored Indian cigarettes wrapped in tendu leaves.

Cigarettes

Rolled tobacco products inhaled through smoke.

Cigars

Tightly rolled bundles of dried and fermented tobacco.

Dokha

High nicotine Middle Eastern tobacco smoked through a pipe.

Heat-not-burn products

Tobacco heated to create an aerosol.

Hookah

Water pipe used for smoking flavored tobacco.

Roll-your-own

Cigarettes made from loose tobacco and papers.

Snuff

Ground smokeless tobacco inhaled through the nose.

Chewing tobacco

Orally consumed tobacco leaves, often sweetened.

Creamy snuff

Tobacco paste marketed mainly to women in India.

Gutka

Crushed betel nut and tobacco preparation from India.

Kreteks

Cigarettes made with tobacco and cloves.

Pituri

Nicotine-containing substance chewed by Indigenous Australians.

Snus

Moist powdered tobacco placed against gums.

Tobacco chewing gum

Gum containing nicotine or tobacco for chewing.

Tobacco edibles

Infusions or spices containing tobacco.

Vaping

Electronic heating of tobacco mixtures to vaporize.

Nesbitt's paradox

Nicotine's calming effects despite stimulating properties.

Cotinine

Primary metabolite of nicotine with psychoactive properties.

Half-life of nicotine

Time nicotine remains in blood serum, about 2 hours.

nAChR

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, primary target of nicotine.

Pentameric structure

Five subunit arrangement of nicotinic receptors.

Dopamine release

Nicotine promotes dopamine release via nAChR activation.

Long-term nicotine effects

Withdrawal alters nAChR function and dopamine activity.

Craving

Desire for nicotine linked to insular cortex.

Nucleus Accumbens

Brain region involved in craving and reward.

Carboxyhaemoglobin levels

Measure of carbon monoxide in blood from smoking.

Second-hand smoke

Exposure equivalent to smoking three cigarettes daily.

Bioavailability of nicotine

Extent and rate nicotine enters systemic circulation.

Withdrawal symptoms

Physical and psychological effects after nicotine cessation.