Nicotine

[patrickspark]

i'm too ignorant to give you any facts but i often lunch with our medical officer (who also lectures in rcsi) and he never refuses a cigar from me !

[daverave999]

This is pretty far from the kind of thing I work with, and I would not describe myself as a scientist. So this all may be bullshit too.

I thought it sticks to your arteries and strangles your heart over time?...

There's several things at work that combine AFAIK.
Nicotine itself is not what sticks to the arteries.
As a stimulant nicotine will raise blood pressure, and it also constricts the blood vessels, both of which will put extra strain on the heart. These effects are by no means unique to nicotine though.
I'm under the impression that there is no clear picture either way (ie. no overwhelming body of evidence) whether pure nicotine affects fatty deposits in the blood, though I suspect if they are constricted then whatever is in there will have more harmful effects. The other substances in tobacco smoke will have a thickening effect on the blood, and clotting factor is raised, though I believe these have both been shown to NOT be due to the nicotine present.

All of this will of course be affected by diet, exercise, other recreational substances used, underlying health issues, blah, blah, blah...

[daverave999]

I am a happier man with a bit of seasoned nicotine than without.

Absolutely. Without mentioning the proverbial bus, stress is also a hazardous thing.

[rokkitsci]

I'm double-fooked regardless of how this discussion turns out since I inhale. But like the man sez: Ya pays yer money...

[ewipper]

How can a scientist say that? The effects of nicotine are well known, fully indexed, most cigar smokers have experienced them at some point…
May I respectfully suggest that your buddies try inhaling the smoke of a fresh Bolivar, or an Opus X?

Franck is 100% correct. It so happens that Havanas contain the lowest nicotine of any cigars by and large. But if you smoke a strong Havana through the nose, you will understand nicotine.

Also, cigars are an alkali, meaning with their high PH you will get virtually no nicotine benefit from inhaling, but rather through you nasal and oral membranes. Cigarettes are acidic, which is a low ph that is conducive to absorbing nicotine through the lungs.

There are numerous health risks associated with cigars. The general rule is that the effects are cumulative, so if you smoke in moderation you are at much less of a risk.

But cigarettes, which are loaded with chemicals are pure poison.

[captain duff]

This is pretty far from the kind of thing I work with, and I would not describe myself as a scientist. So this all may be bullshit too.

There's several things at work that combine AFAIK.
Nicotine itself is not what sticks to the arteries.
As a stimulant nicotine will raise blood pressure, and it also constricts the blood vessels, both of which will put extra strain on the heart. These effects are by no means unique to nicotine though.
I'm under the impression that there is no clear picture either way (ie. no overwhelming body of evidence) whether pure nicotine affects fatty deposits in the blood, though I suspect if they are constricted then whatever is in there will have more harmful effects. The other substances in tobacco smoke will have a thickening effect on the blood, and clotting factor is raised, though I believe these have both been shown to NOT be due to the nicotine present.

All of this will of course be affected by diet, exercise, other recreational substances used, underlying health issues, blah, blah, blah...

Yes, indeed there are of course the stimulant effects of nicotine that for some people with certain medical problems may not be wise, just as it is for things like caffine in coffee and tea (and of course it is the stimulant that makes it physically addictive), but as you say it is not the nicotine itself but other substances that appear to be dangerous.

Obviously as I said previously smoking produces the most cancer causing nasties because of the various poisons in the smoke, and this is why cigar smokers statistically suffer more mouth cancers than non-smokers. However, it is slightly more complex than that because in terms of mouth cancers non-smoking chewing tobacco would appear to be even more dangerous in the risks here. The reason though that I say that this is complex is that another form of tobacco is the powdered form known as snuff that you snort up your nose (I'm a bit of a fan myself - and yes, you can get a nicotine hit from this too) - and yet unlike tobacco that you chew there has never so far as I'm aware been any known link between snuff and cancer - in other words it appears to be the one 100% safe form of using tobacco, despite containing nicotine...

[Smallclub]

I've been told that the highest nicotine level lies in swedish "snus". It's chewing tobacco, very popular in Sweden. If used too often this stuff happens, in the long term, to pierce the gums of the user!

Any swedish member or expat in Sweden?