What is "nicotine"

Nicotine \Nic"o*tine\ (? or ?), n. [F. nicotine. See Nicotian.] (Chem.) An alkaloid which is the active principle of tobacco ( C10H14N2). It occurs in tobacco plants ( Nicotiana tabacum and Nicotiana rusticum) to the extent of 2 to 8%, in combination with malic acid or citric acid. It is a colorless, transparent, oily liquid, having an acrid odor, and an acrid burning taste. It is intensely poisonous. The apparently addictive effects of tobacco smoking have been ascribed largely to the effect of nicotine, and the controlled administration of nicotine on various forms has been used as a technique for assisting efforts to stop the smoking habit.
--Ure.

poisonous alkaloid found in tobacco leaves, 1819, from French nicotine, earlier nicotiane, from Modern Latin Nicotiana, formal botanical name for the tobacco plant, named for Jean Nicot (c.1530-1600), French ambassador to Portugal, who sent tobacco seeds and powdered leaves back to France 1561. His name is a diminutive of Nicolas.

n. 1 (context chemistry English) An alkaloid (C₁₀H₁₄N₂), commonly occurring in the tobacco plant. In small doses it is a habit-forming stimulant; in larger doses it is toxic and is often used in insecticides. 2 (context lang=en figuratively) tobacco, cigarettes

n. an alkaloid poison that occurs in tobacco; used in medicine and as an insecticide

Nicotine is a chemical compound.

Nicotine may also refer to:

• Nicotine Caffeine, a video game character
• Nicotinic acid, otherwise known as niacin or vitamin B
• Nicotine (software)
• "Nicotine", a song from the album Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die! by Panic! at the Disco
• Nicotine (Metal Band), metal/heavy metal band from Indore, India

Nicotine is a Metal/ Heavy metal band from Indore ( Madhya Pradesh), India formed in December, 2006. Their current line-up consists of Digvijay Bhonsale on Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitars, Anniruddha Gokhale on Lead Guitars/Backing Vocals, Anuj Malkapurkar on Bass, and Shaleen Vyas on Drums. The band is widely known for being the 'Pioneers of Metal music in Central India', as they were one of the first bands to introduce Metal/ Heavy Metal music in the region. Their songs "Odium" and "Rein of Fire" were released for free downloading by the band on various websites.

Nicotine is a potent parasympathomimetic alkaloid found in the nightshade family of plants ( Solanaceae) and is a stimulant drug. Nicotine is a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonist, except at nAChRα9 and nAChRα10 where it acts as an antagonist. Nicotine is found in the leaves of Nicotiana rustica in amounts of 2–14%, the tobacco plant Nicotiana tabacum, Duboisia hopwoodii and Asclepias syriaca.

It constitutes approximately 0.6–3.0% of the dry weight of tobacco and is present in the range of 2–7 µg/kg of various edible plants. It functions as an antiherbivore chemical; consequently, nicotine was widely used as an insecticide in the past and neonicotinoids such as imidacloprid are currently widely used.

Nicotine is addictive. An average cigarette yields about 2 mg of absorbed nicotine, and in lesser doses of that order, the substance acts as a stimulant in mammals, while high amounts (50–100 mg) can be harmful. This stimulant effect is a contributing factor to the addictive properties of tobacco smoking. Nicotine's addictive nature includes psychoactive effects, drug-reinforced behavior, compulsive use, relapse after abstinence, physical dependence and tolerance.

Limited data is available on the health effects of long term use of nicotine. The general medical position is that nicotine itself poses few health risks, except among certain vulnerable groups. Nicotine in the form of nicotine replacement products is less of a risk than compared to smoking. Nicotine is associated with a range of harmful effects, including potential birth defects and at high enough-doses, poisonings. In vitro studies have associated it with cancer, but carcinogenicity has not been demonstrated in vivo. There is inadequate research to demonstrate that nicotine is associated with cancer in humans. As medicine, nicotine is used to help with quitting smoking and has good safety in this form. During pregnancy, there are risks to the child later in life for type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, neurobehavioral defects, respiratory dysfunction, and infertility. At high enough doses, nicotine is potentially lethal. It is unlikely that a person would overdose on nicotine through smoking alone. The use of electronic cigarettes, which are designed to be refilled with nicotine-containing e-liquid, has raised concerns over nicotine overdoses, especially with regard to the possibility of young children ingesting the liquids.