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Nicotine

What is nicotine?

Nicotine is the drug in tobacco leaves. Whether someone smokes, chews, or sniffs tobacco, he or she is delivering nicotine to the brain. Each cigarette contains about 10 milligrams of nicotine. Nicotine is what keeps people smoking despite its harmful effects. Because the smoker inhales only some of the smoke from a cigarette and not all of each puff is absorbed in the lungs, a smoker gets about 1 to 2 milligrams of the drug from each cigarette. A drop of pure nicotine would kill a person-in fact, nicotine can be used as a pesticide on crops.




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Nicotine

Lungs Design And Purpose »

What are the lungs?

The lungs are a pair of organs in the chest, which are primarily responsible for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the air we breathe and the blood.

What does breathing accomplish?

The cells in the body constantly need a new supply of oxygen to produce energy. With lack of oxygen, cellular function is impaired and damage or cell death may occur. As energy is utilized, waste products are created, one of which is the gas carbon dioxide. Eliminating carbon dioxide from the body is just as important as breathing in oxygen from the air. If carbon dioxide builds up in the blood it will lead to headaches, drowsiness, coma, and eventually even death.

What is the structure of the respiratory system?

Air enters the body via the nose (preferably) or the mouth. The air enters the main windpipe, called the trachea, and continues en route to each lung via ...

Read the Lungs Design And Purpose article »




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