Text File | 1992-01-24 | 1.2 KB | 9 lines | [04] ASCII Text (0x0000)
Nicotine is an extremely poisonous alkaloid found in tobacco leaves, roots, and seeds at a concentration of about five percent. It can also be manufactured synthetically. Valuable as an insecticide, nicotine when taken in a pure state can cause weakness, nausea, collapse, and even death.
Tobacco may not exhibit the same exact effects as pure nicotine; however, tobacco is deadly in its own right. Tobacco smoke contains noxious and cancer causing agents including nicotine, carbon monoxide, ammonia, and a variety of tars. Use of tobacco through smoking cigarettes, cigars, and pipes is associated with cardiovascular disease, lung and other cancers, chronic breathing problems, and premature births. Chewing tobacco and dipping snuff can cause cancer of the throat and mouth.
The body of scientific literature concerning the deadly effects of tobacco has grown immensely over the last forty years. We now know much more about tobacco's detrimental effects on the body. This has helped fuel a nation-wide outcry against smokers by non-smokers.
Currently, the Surgeon General of the United States warns:
Smoking by pregnant women may result in fetal injury, premature birth, and low birth weight.
