Nicotine Essay

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Nicotine (C10H14N2) is one of the most common and addictive of substances used in daily life worldwide. Chemically, it is a yellow-brown, soluble liquid that has a peculiar fish-like odor and a “MSD hazard diamond classification of 3 for health, 1 for flammability, and 0 for reactivity”(ScienceLab.com, 10/10/05). It is a chemical most commonly found in cigarettes, which combines the nicotine with tobacco. The nicotine in the cigarettes is what causes them to become addictive. Addiction is described as “a dependency or chemical imbalance in the brain that cause people to have no control of their actions where the addiction is involved” (Nordqvist, March 2009). A person can get addicted to anything such as gambling, alcohol, and nicotine. In 2011, it was collected that “38.1% of American adults smoke, with 21.6% being adult men and 16.5% being adult woman” (According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention). In a whole, Nicotine can have harmful effects on your nerves and senses like addiction, but can also make you feel happy, assertive, and concentrated. So is it worth the risk? Or does Nicotine do more harm than good?
As mentioned before, people get addicted to nicotine mainly by smoking cigarettes, or other products like chewing tobacco, cigars, and smoking pipes. As predicted, becoming addicted to a substance has side effects. “Positive side effects of nicotine include euphoria, increased concentration, reduced anxiety and even an urge to eat less, resulting in weight loss”(Schwartz-Bloom, Gross de Nunez, October 2001). In addition to these, nicotine can also give people, particularly adolescents, a sense of belonging or fitting into a certain group or clique. A more neurological effect was discovered rece...

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...e compulsive disorder, antisocial disorders and paranoia have all been linked to those who are nicotine dependant” (Grant, Hasin, Chou, November 2004). Those are all mental side effects of nicotine. Physical side effects of nicotine are anywhere from increase in blood pressure to cancers of the heart and lungs. It impairs particularly your senses of taste and smell. In fact, “smoking is the largest cause of preventable death in the United States” (Grant, Hasin, Chou, November 2004), with “1 out of every 5 deaths caused by it” (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, June 5, 2013).
In a whole, nicotine has positive and negative side effects that come with the consumption of this chemical, especially effects on the nervous and sensory system. It’s important to know that with the good side effects come bad ones and to make a careful decision to take it or not.

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