Nicotine Side Effects

Nicotine is a poisonous alkaloid that can be found in several species of plants belonging to the nightshade family. Nicotine is also one of the active ingredients to be found in tobacco products. Nicotine is a drug which is highly addictive in nature and can cause a drastic change in the levels of chemicals in the brain like dopamine and norepinephrine which might lead to mood alterations and alteration in alertness and concentration levels in a person. Feeling of pleasure, comfort, concentration and alertness might be the excuses given by smokers without realizing the fact that these few minutes of pleasure that the evaporative nature of nicotine provides, actually leads to agonizing and severe side effects when into the body. Check out side effects of nicotine and its wider impact on the overall health of an individual.

Side Effects Of Nicotine

Addiction is considered to be a disease by the FDA. People smoking tobacco or consuming nicotine in any other form tend to get addicted to the drug without their knowledge. Once addicted, they will start thinking of the drug to be a necessity they can’t do without. There are only few people who stay away from any kind of an addiction to nicotine due to their genetics.
Nicotine targets certain parts of the brain that causes addiction to the drug. The drug targets and takes over the part of the brain which leads to severe addiction in people, because that part of their brain constantly ask for the drug input.
Consuming nicotine might be pleasurable via smoking and other means and might take you to an elevated state of mind, but continuous use of the drug makes a person dependent. The use of nicotine causes untold dependency in the user which might lead to slight shaking of the limbs or shivering and might even cause problem in people to perform ordinary tasks.
People who smoke or take in nicotine in any other drug form hardly have normal appetite. Nicotine causes loss of appetite in people making them eat for the sake of keeping their body alive. Loss of appetite will lead to loss of weight which might lead to other health issues. People who quit smoking often gain some weight due to increase in appetite and return of normal eating pattern.
Nicotine also makes a person suffer from compromised sense of taste and smell. This affect is closely related to the loss of appetite in a nicotine addict. Due to loss of sense of smell and taste, a nicotine addict faces lack of interest in food and drink.
Nicotine addicts who take in the drug through smoking will also suffer from embarrassingly bad breath. People who smoke or chew tobacco often suffer from periodontal disease which causes bad breath and other related problems.
Nicotine users will also face hair fall problem in the long run. People who smoke generally endure poor hair health because of the irritation caused by nicotine to the arteries whose function is to supply blood, oxygen and nutrients to the scalp.
Nicotine can also lead to increase in heart beats of a person. The drug is not healthy for people having heart related health complications. Nicotine is capable of making the heart beat 20 beats more per minute sending shock waves to an already weak heart. Some severe cases might even lead to heart attacks or cardiac arrest.
Nicotine is also capable of putting your blood pressure into over-drive. Nicotine can increase the blood pressure rate and can prove to be dangerous for people with heart diseases.
The worst possible side effect of nicotine will be any physical damage to a person. For instance, nicotine can stain the fingers of people who smoke a lot, making it embarrassing for them in social gatherings.

Side Effects Associated With Nicotine Overdose

Nausea
Seizures
Irregular racing heart beat
Vomiting
Headache
Dizziness
Confusion
Hearing and sight problems
Diarrhea
Stomach pains

How to Cite

Related Articles

See also

More in 'Health & Fitness'