The present study was aimed at elucidating the protective effect of ferulic acid (FA), a natural polyphenol against nicotine-induced tissue damage, including lung, liver and kidney of experimental rats. Female albino rats of Wistar stain were used for the experimental study. Lung toxicity was induced by subcutaneous injection of nicotine at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg body weight (5 days a week, for 22...

The abuse liability of nicotine is comparable to or greater than that of a variety of addictive substances. However, the reinforcing and/or rewarding properties of addictive substances other than nicotine far outweigh the reinforcing and/or rewarding effects associated with nicotine use. These data suggest that, in addition to the intrinsic reinforcing effects of nicotine, other factors may con...

OBJECTIVES Smokeless tobacco (SLT) use is popular among black South African women and children. The study sought to determine the nicotine delivery capability of popular industrialised and traditional SLT brands in South Africa, and to provide information for policy action by regulatory authorities. DESIGN Laboratory chemical analysis of four industrialised and one traditional SLT products co...

BACKGROUND A fast acting, clean nicotine delivery system might substantially displace cigarettes. Public health consequences would depend on the subsequent prevalence of nicotine use, hazards of delivery systems, and intrinsic hazards of nicotine. METHODS A spreadsheet program, DEMANDS, estimates differences in expected mortality, adjusted for nicotine delivery system features and prevalence ...

Smoking is a widespread health problem. Because the nicotine withdrawal syndrome is a major contributor to continued smoking and relapse, it is important to understand the molecular and behavioral mechanisms of nicotine withdrawal to generate more effective smoking cessation therapies. Studies suggest a role for calcium-dependent mechanisms, such as L-type calcium channels and calcium/calmoduli...

Nicotine evokes pain in the skin and oral mucosa and excites a subpopulation of cutaneous nociceptors, but little is known about the central transmission of chemogenic pain. We have investigated the responses of lumbar spinal wide dynamic range (WDR)-type dorsal horn neurons to intracutaneous (ic) microinjection of nicotine in pentobarbital-anesthetized rats. Nearly all (97%) units responded to...

Nicotine enhances cognitive performance, and in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), which is a well-established model of cognition, the effects of nicotine on song production have been reported. Nicotine and cotinine plasma levels were assessed in vivo after subcutaneous injection of 0.18 mg/kg nicotine, a dose that elicits changes in song production. The half-life of nicotine elimination wa...

Avoidance of the negative affective (emotional) symptoms of nicotine withdrawal (e.g., anhedonia, anxiety) contributes to tobacco addiction. Establishing the minimal nicotine exposure conditions required to demonstrate negative affective withdrawal signs in animals, as well as understanding moderators of these conditions, could inform tobacco addiction-related research, treatment, and policy. T...