Nicotine is a substance that is present in cigarettes. Smoking cigarettes is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States. A tolerance to nicotine develops with long term use. Thus, when nicotine exposure is stopped, within a few hours, the user begins to experience withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal often conjures up feelings of anxiety and a perception of increased stress. These negative feelings coupled with the loss of the reward response makes nicotine highly addictive. Untreated withdrawal has several side effects which can lead to feelings of the following: Irritability Depression Restlessness Anxiety Difficulty getting along with others Difficulty concentrating Increased hunger and eating Inability to sleep Tobacco cravings Difficulty sleeping Tobacco cravings Hedonic dysregulation (or the inability to feel pleasure from activities that use to be enjoyable) Smoking Cessation One solution that has been proposed is nicotine replacement therapies. These are treatments that administer nicotine in ways other than through tobacco products and smoking to reduce the harmful effects of ingesting tobacco products while still addressing the addiction to nicotine. However, because these methods introduce nicotine into the bloodstream more slowly than smoking, most smokers are not satisfied with them. A preferred treatment would be a method of smoking nicotine other than using a cigarette.

Approximately one in every five deaths in the United States is due to complications related to smoking. The harmful effects of smoking are due to several factors, including the smoke from nicotine. Nicotine is a basic alkaloid, or a naturally occurring chemical, that has strong psychological effects. Predisposition to Nicotine Dependence Nicotine is metabolized by liver enzymes called CYP2A6, CYP2B6 and CYP2E1. It is converted into a substance called cotinine. There are several different forms of CYP2A6, which is the predominant metabolizer of nicotine. Different forms metabolize nicotine at different rates. The concentration of the forms differs between races and sexes, causing different races to breakdown and remove nicotine at different rates. Caucasians and Hispanics breakdown nicotine more slowly than African Americans and Asians. Women also metabolize nicotine faster than men, especially women taking hormonal oral contraceptives or during pregnancy. Individuals that breakdown nicotine more quickly often smoke more in order to maintain the same level and effect of nicotine as those that break it down slower. Thus, those that metabolize nicotine more slowly are less dependent on cigarettes and can quit more easily than fast metabolizers. The half-life of nicotine is approximately 2 hrs. Comorbidity with psychological disorders Several psychological disorders are associated with addiction.

Nicotine is a substance that is present in cigarettes. Smoking cigarettes are the number one cause of preventable death in the United States. There are several immediate effects that are experienced following smoking that promotes continued use. These include: Improved concentration Improved reaction time Improved performance at specific tasks Reduced anxiety Reduced stress Immediate Effects of Nicotine Within the first moments following ingestion of relatively pure nicotine, several effects can be experienced including: Increased blood pressure Increased pulse rate Mouth and through burning and irritation Increased salivation Nausea Abdominal pain Vomiting Diarrhea Gastrointestinal effects Other effects include Hyperglycemia (high blood sugar levels) High level of catecholamines (hormones, modulators of the nervous system) in the blood High fatty acid levels in the blood Since nicotine affects chemicals that modulate the nervous system (neuromodulators), it can have extreme effects when taken in relatively high doses. These include: Tremors Prostration (or bowing over) Discolored skin due to reduced oxygen exposure (cyanosis) Shortness of breath Convulsion Fainting Coma Nicotine may also be fatal by stopping respiratory failure when taken at large doses (30-60 mg for adults or 10mg for a child).

Smoking is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States. Approximately one in every five deaths is due to complications related to smoking. The harmful effects of smoking are due to several factors including the smoke from tobacco, nicotine, and other non-tobacco substances that are included in a cigarette. What is Nicotine? Nicotine is a basic alkaloid, or a naturally occurring chemical, that has strong psychological effects. In its pure form, it is a clear liquid with a strong odor that turns brown when exposed to air. Nicotine can be absorbed through various membranous tissues including the lungs, skin, stomach, or mucus membranes lining the mouth. Its ability to pass through these membranes depends on its pH. The higher or more basic the nicotine is, the easier it can pass through the tissue. It primarily targets the nervous system. Mechanism of Nicotine Action When smoking a cigarette, nicotine travels into the body through smoke particles into the lungs. There it is absorbed into the pulmonary veins, which are blood vessels that collect oxygen from the lungs and displace the blood in the left atrium of the heart. The nicotine enriched blood is then pumped into arterial circulation which allows it to reach the brain.

Cataracts are the clouding of the eye due to protein build up. It is commonly associated with the aging population, however, it can also be associated with a variety of different medical conditions other than aging. In order to better understand cataracts, it is essential to understand the anatomy of the eye and how the progression of cataracts occur. Anatomy Of The Eye: Each eye has a lens that is located behind the iris (the colored portion of the eye). The lens has three segments which include; the outer capsule, the cortex, and the inner nucleus. Cataracts can form in any of these layers of the lens. When a cataract forms in a specific layer of the lens it impedes an individual’s vision. Cataracts form in the lens of the eye and cause vision changes such as blurred or double vision by inhibiting light from entering the eye normally. Because it does not affect the retina when the cataract is removed the patient’s visual acuity becomes immediately better. If there is damage to the retina in addition to cataracts then even if the cataract is removed, a person’s vision will not change very much. Cataract removal will only improve the person’s vision if the cataract is impeding the light through the lens to the retina.