Some smokers deliberately inspire themselves with the information that cigarettes contain exclusively vegetable raw materials. They prefer not to take into account the fact that in fact their smoke brings irreparable harm to the body. The main danger is nicotine. To verify its harmful effects, as well as to determine the lethal dose of nicotine, it is necessary to analyze the composition of this substance and determine the level of toxicity.
Nicotine definition
Tobacco is the most common herb, which in itself does not harm a person. However, when it is smoked, tobacco smoke appears, which contains many harmful elements. They cause irreparable damage to the human body. One of the most dangerous substances in tobacco smoke is nicotine. It is a real addictive drug. The lethal dose of nicotine for humans (in mg) varies from 50 to 100milligram. This plant poison can cause a lot of harm to the body. The bronchi, lungs, esophagus, stomach, liver and kidneys suffer from nicotine. Smoking increases the risk of cancer. The longer the experience of a smoker, the more susceptible he is to this disease.
Chemical properties of nicotine
No cigarette company makes them from the purest tobacco. If the only ingredient in cigarettes were pure, dried tobacco, they would not be able to smolder on their own. The cigarette would then quickly burn out like dry grass. It is the complex chemical composition that makes it burn very slowly, while releasing nicotine and other harmful substances. Because of this, the process of smoking can stretch for a long time, giving this person a fake feeling of pleasure and enjoyment.
By its chemical composition, nicotine belongs to the group of alkaloids. This substance is composed of nitrogen, hydrogen and carbon. Its basic form mixes easily with water and is almost equal in density to it. For nicotine, it has a mark of 1.01 g/cm3. According to its structure, it is a transparent liquid of oily consistency. It has a bitter taste and an unpleasant smell. The nicotine molecule contains pyridines and pyrrolidines. Therefore, when reacting with an acid, this substance forms s alt compounds.
Nicotine toxicity
This substance belongs to the category of nerve poisons. It is nicotine that producesa person is highly addicted to cigarettes. Penetrating into the body along with tobacco smoke, it settles in the kidneys, lungs and liver. The destruction of this substance occurs in the same place. The decay products are then partially excreted from the body (this process lasts 15 hours). A lethal dose of nicotine is considered to be 50-100 mg of the active substance. A lot depends on the weight of the person and the state of his he alth. If we take drops into account, then only 2 or 3 small drops are enough for a lethal outcome. This dosage penetrates the circulatory system after smoking 25 cigarettes. A person can smoke that many cigarettes in a few hours. There will be general malaise, nausea, headache. However, such a state will not lead to death. This is explained by the fact that the lethal dose of nicotine in this case will be introduced gradually.
Poisoning the body with poison
Few smokers know exactly how nicotine acts on the body immediately after it enters the respiratory system and blood. Every smoker notes that after the first days of smoking he has a feeling of euphoria and a pleasant relief from the next cigarette. However, after a few weeks, only a strong desire to smoke remains, which is more like withdrawal. In fact, this is the real drug withdrawal. A lethal dose of nicotine in cigarettes can lead to severe poisoning, as well as mental breakdown. A person no longer feels pleasure from cigarettes, they are disgusting and unpleasant to him, but the dependence becomes so deep thata smoker can unknowingly smoke even a lethal dose of poison.
The effect of nicotine on the nervous system
All internal life-support systems of the body suffer from the influence of nicotine. The smoker's nervous system is in constant agitation due to the harmful effects of cigarette smoke. A lethal dose of nicotine for a person can lead to severe intoxication. There is a spasm of the cerebral vessels, which interferes with the normal flow of blood. The oxygen needed to keep the brain active also begins to flow in much smaller quantities.
Even those small doses of it that manage to seep through the decay products of nicotine are not fully consumed by brain cells. Because of this, the smoker's mental abilities are significantly reduced, memory deteriorates, and the will also weakens. In addition, a person becomes irritated, aggressive, overly emotional. People who have such an addiction rarely get enough sleep due to frequent bouts of insomnia, suffer from periodic headaches. That is why everyone should know what a lethal dose of nicotine can greatly harm the body or even lead to death.
Nicotine and the respiratory system
Since it is through the respiratory system that tobacco smoke enters the human body, the entire respiratory system suffers from this. Nicotine, as well as many other harmful substances, affects the mouth, nose, larynx, trachea and bronchi. Themmucous is irritated under the influence of this poison. This process affects the development of chronic inflammation of the respiratory tract, so smokers are more likely than other people to suffer from infectious diseases, colds and sore throats.
Even twenty minutes of smoking slows down the action of eyelashes that envelop the mucous membrane. These small cilia flicker very quickly, expelling harmful substances that enter the body from the outside by this process. Long-term smoking irritates the vocal cords and narrows the glottis, which, in turn, changes the timbre of the voice. It ceases to be sonorous, clear and beautifully sounding. That is why a smoker is quite easy to distinguish by a hoarse and hoarse voice.
Another sign of a smoker is a cough. It is especially strong in the morning. In this case, dark and thick mucus may be released from the mouth. It is also considered a sign of respiratory involvement. Coughing fits are invariably accompanied by shortness of breath, heavy breathing and a feeling of lack of air. Some smokers believe that knowing the lethal dose of nicotine (in milligrams) prevents the possible harmful effects of tobacco. However, even the use of several cigarettes a day causes irreparable harm to the body.
Symptoms and effects of nicotine
Mostly, people start smoking for company or because of boredom and stress. However, the nicotine contained in cigarettes only temporarily relieves unpleasant emotions. In this case, an additional irreparable blow is applied to the body. In addition to the harmappears from experienced stressful situations, to it is added the aggressive effect of nicotine on all internal organs. The person becomes even more irritable and gloomy, and various respiratory diseases are added to the emotional stress, which inevitably accompany every smoker.
A moment of weakness and craving for a cigarette can cause a strong addiction, which is not so easy to get rid of in the future. Such dependence can lead to the use of a lethal dose of nicotine. Fortunately, it will be almost impossible to die from it, due to the gradual distribution of the poison in the body.
When nicotine is ingested, its toxins affect brain activity, and this provokes a feeling of euphoria. It is this symptom that is the most important sign of the onset of addiction. It is very important to identify the danger in time and stop smoking cigarettes. Other symptoms may also include the following sensations:
- hyperexcitability;
- slight burning sensation in the throat;
- hearing loss;
- appearance of tinnitus;
- feeling of lack of air in the lungs.
What happens to the body when you smoke?
Having found out what the lethal dose of nicotine is for a person, as well as determining its effect on all vital systems of the body, it is necessary to highlight what happens immediately after smoking the first cigarette.
It is not necessary to smoke for many years for nicotine to harm the nervous system, stomach, andas well as the respiratory tract and other internal organs. Just one smoked cigarette starts the following process in the body:
- After the first puff, tobacco smoke enters the respiratory system, and then penetrates into the bloodstream.
- First of all, the heart reacts to the ingestion of nicotine, starting to beat faster.
- Heart rate appears due to the narrowing of the walls of blood vessels, which also affect the increase in pressure.
- Because the heart begins to work several times faster, the heart muscle is greatly overstrained, which is not the best effect on its condition.
From the above, we can conclude that not only the nervous and respiratory systems suffer from nicotine, but also the most important organ of the human body - the heart.
