What harm does nicotine do to the human body?

As people's living standards continue to improve, they pay more and more attention to their physical health. But we can still see such a social phenomenon now. There are more and more smokers around us, and the age of smokers is getting younger. You may not be familiar with nicotine, but I believe everyone has heard of its other name - nicotine. As the main ingredient of cigarettes, what harm does nicotine do to the human body? Let’s find out together.

Nicotine is a colorless, transparent, oily, volatile liquid with a pungent smoky odor. The alkaloids in inhaled cigarette smoke only take 7.5 seconds to reach the brain, giving the smoker a gentle and pleasant feeling. It can first excite and then inhibit the central nervous system. The half-life of nicotine in plasma is 30 minutes. When nicotine is below the stable level, smokers will feel irritable, uncomfortable, nauseous, have headaches and crave a cigarette to replenish nicotine. The nicotine in one cigarette can kill a mouse. The nicotine in 25 grams of smoke can kill a cow. 40-60 mg of pure nicotine can kill a person. The nicotine content in a cigarette varies depending on the quality of the tobacco leaves and the processing technology, and generally contains 1.5-3 mg per cigarette. When smoking, about 25% of the nicotine is destroyed by burning, 5% remains in the cigarette butt, 50% diffuses into the air, and only 20% of the nicotine is actually absorbed by the human body. Therefore, some people can smoke a pack of cigarettes a day without showing any signs of poisoning. However, the irritating and damaging effects of nicotine on many organs of the human body are increasing day by day. Nicotine can cause stomach pain and other stomach problems; nicotine can cause high blood pressure, accelerated heartbeat, and even arrhythmia and induce heart disease; nicotine damages the bronchial mucosa and causes tracheitis; nicotine poisons brain cells and can cause central nervous system symptoms in smokers; nicotine can promote the formation of cancer.

Through the above introduction, we have roughly answered everyone’s questions about the harm of nicotine to the human body. We know that nicotine can temporarily paralyze the nerves, and people who are addicted to smoking may suffer more serious damage. Smoking is harmful to health. This is a truth that everyone can say and understand. However, I hope that more and more people can actually do it. Only by taking care of your own body can you have the time and energy to care for your family and friends around you.