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News tagged with nicotine

Non-smoking hotel rooms still expose occupants to tobacco smoke

Non-smokers should give hotels that allow smoking in certain rooms a wide berth, say the authors, and instead choose completely smoke free hotels.

Health created May 13, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Nicotine vaccine prevents nicotine from reaching the brain

If smoking a cigarette no longer delivers pleasure, will smokers quit? It's the idea behind a nicotine vaccine being created by MIT and Harvard researchers, in which an injection of synthetic nanoparticles ...

Addiction created May 02, 2012 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (14) | comments 9 | with audio podcast weblog

Genetics might determine which smokers get hooked, research says

Researchers have identified genetic risk factors that may accelerate a teen's progression to becoming a lifelong heavy smoker.

Psychology & Psychiatry created Mar 27, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Discovery of gatekeeper nerve cells explains the effect of nicotine on learning and memory

Swedish researchers at Uppsala University have, together with Brazilian collaborators, discovered a new group of nerve cells that regulate processes of learning and memory. These cells act as gatekeepers and carry a receptor ...

Neuroscience created Oct 07, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

New e-cigarettes affect users' airways

(Medical Xpress) -- E-cigarettes, or electronic cigarettes, are promoted as a safer alternative to smoking. However, a new study published in the journal Chest, shows that these e-cigarettes cause immediate change ...

Health created Jan 06, 2012 | popularity 3.2 / 5 (10) | comments 18 | with audio podcast report

Experimental drug found to reduce nicotine craving

(Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the Aptuit Centre for Drug Discovery and Development in Italy, have found that a drug called GSK598809 is able to block a type of dopamine receptor in the brain that has been ...

Neuroscience created Sep 13, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 2 | with audio podcast report

Nicotine replacement therapies may not be effective in helping people quit smoking, study says

Nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) designed to help people stop smoking, specifically nicotine patches and nicotine gum, do not appear to be effective in helping smokers quit long-term, even when combined with smoking ...

Addiction created Jan 09, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Researchers develop novel anti-body vaccine that blocks addictive nicotine chemicals from reaching the brain

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have developed and successfully tested in mice an innovative vaccine to treat nicotine addiction.

Medical research created Jun 27, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 7 | with audio podcast

Researchers propose a new approach to understanding common psychiactric treatments

(Medical Xpress)—Drugs for psychiatric disorders such as depression and schizophrenia often require weeks to take full effect. "What takes so long?" has formed one of psychiatry's most stubborn mysteries. ...

Psychology & Psychiatry created Nov 21, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Enzyme might be target for treating smoking, alcoholism at same time

An enzyme that appears to play a role in controlling the brain's response to nicotine and alcohol in mice might be a promising target for a drug that simultaneously would treat nicotine addiction and alcohol abuse in people, ...

Medical research created Sep 12, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Early morning smokers have increased risk of lung and head and neck cancers

Two new studies have found that smokers who tend to take their first cigarette soon after they wake up in the morning may have a higher risk of developing lung and head and neck cancers than smokers who refrain from lighting ...

Cancer created Aug 08, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Eliminating protein in specific brain cells blocks nicotine reward

Removing a protein from cells located in the brain's reward center blocks the anxiety-reducing and rewarding effects of nicotine, according to a new animal study in the July 27 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The fi ...

Neuroscience created Jul 26, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Invade and conquer: Nicotine's role in promoting heart and blood vessel disease

Cigarette smoke has long been considered the main risk factor for heart disease. But new research from Brown University in Providence, R.I., shows that nicotine itself, a component of cigarette smoke, can contribute to the ...

Cardiology created Feb 23, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Stimulating the brain blunts cigarette craving

Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths globally. Unfortunately smoking cessation is difficult, with more than 90% of attempts to quit resulting in relapse.

Psychology & Psychiatry created Apr 16, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

Smoking bans in public housing could save dollars, lives

(HealthDay)—Smoking bans in subsidized housing, including public housing and rental assistance programs, would save $521 million a year, according to new U.S. government research.

Health created Apr 17, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Nicotine

Nicotine is an alkaloid found in the nightshade family of plants (Solanaceae) which constitutes approximately 0.6–3.0% of dry weight of tobacco, with biosynthesis taking place in the roots, and accumulating in the leaves. It functions as an antiherbivore chemical with particular specificity to insects; therefore nicotine was widely used as an insecticide in the past, and currently nicotine analogs such as imidacloprid continue to be widely used.

In low concentrations (an average cigarette yields about 1 mg of absorbed nicotine), the substance acts as a stimulant in mammals and is one of the main factors responsible for the dependence-forming properties of tobacco smoking. According to the American Heart Association, "Nicotine addiction has historically been one of the hardest addictions to break." The pharmacological and behavioral characteristics that determine tobacco addiction are similar to those that determine addiction to drugs such as heroin and cocaine. Nicotine content in cigarettes has actually slowly increased over the years, and one study found that there was an average increase of 1.6% per year between the years of 1998 and 2005. This was found for all major market categories of cigarettes.

For more information about Nicotine, read the full article at Wikipedia.
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