Nicotine is one of the most heavily used addictive drugs in the United States.
Cigarette smoking has been the most popular method of taking nicotine since the beginning of the 20th century.
Cigarette smoking has been linked to about 90 percent of all lung cancer cases.
Nicotine is composed of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen and belongs to a group of compounds called alkaloids. Plants usually produce these types of chemical poisons so that animals are deterred from eating them.
Nicotine in cigarette causes such decease as chronic bronchitis and emphysema, and it has been found to exacerbate asthma symptoms in adults and children.
Smoking substantially increases the risk of heart disease, including stroke, heart attack, vascular disease, and aneurysm.
At higher doses, such as the nicotine that can be found in some insecticide sprays, nicotine can be extremely toxic, causing vomiting, tremors, convulsions, and death.
Second-hand smoke is estimated to cause approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths per year among non-smokers and contributes to as many as 40,000 deaths related to cardiovascular disease.
Children are also at risk from the effects of nicotine as it can enter their systems also; it can lead to an increased risk of them developing asthma or even put young babies at risk of sudden infant death syndrome
