Most cases of nicotine poisoning have been the result of its use as an insecticide; however, such use is less frequent now than previously. Every year many children go to the emergency room after eating cigarettes or cigarette butts. Sixty milligrams of nicotine will kill an adult, which is about the amount of nicotine in three or four cigarettes or half a cigar, if all the nicotine were absorbed. This figure is higher in regular smokers. Consuming only one cigarette’s worth of nicotine is enough to make a toddler severely ill. In some cases children have become poisoned by topical medicinal creams which contain nicotine.
Nicotine Poisoning presents with the following symptoms:
- Vomiting and nausea
- Tremors
- Convulsions
- Headaches
- Difficulty breathing
- palpitations
- Stomach pains/cramps
- Seizures
- Weakness
- Increased drooling
Advanced neuroimaging technologies further assist in the managing of tobacco poisoning by allowing researchers to observe changes in brain function that result from smoking tobacco. Researchers have also identified new roles for genes that predispose people to tobacco addiction and predict their response to smoking cessation treatments. These recent research accomplishments are affording us unique opportunities to discover, develop and disseminate new treatments for tobacco addiction, as well as scientifically based prevention programs to help curtail the public health burden that tobacco use represents.
