Nicotine News and Research

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Nicotine is an alkaloid found in the nightshade family of plants (''Solanaceae'') which constitutes approximately 0.6–3.0% of dry weight of tobacco, with biosynthesis taking place in the roots, and accumulating in the leaves.

Pod-based e-cigarettes have higher potential to foster addiction than other devices

JUUL and similar pod-based e-cigarettes have been popular with teenagers and young adults since they came on the market in 2015, but little has been known about their health effects.

1 Jun 2020

Frog brain discovery may pave the way for repairing birth defects in humans

A team of researchers from Tufts University, Universitat de Valencia, and Harvard University has discovered that the brains of developing frog embryos damaged by nicotine exposure can be repaired by using “ionoceuticals” that can help in the recovery of bioelectric patterns in the embryo.

28 May 2020

Smokers at increased risk of severe COVID-19 according to a large population study

A new UK study available on the preprint server medRxiv screened 2.4 million users of a symptom reporting application during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, revealing that smokers are at higher risk of increased symptom burden and more prone to hospitalization.

24 May 2020

Smoking increases ACE2 protein in the lungs which may promote COVID-19 infection

Previous data from COVID-19 patients suggests that cigarette smokers are more likely to have health complications.

18 May 2020

Tobacco companies exploit UK’s menthol cigarette ban

Menthol cigarettes will be removed from shelves in the UK this Wednesday (20 May 2020), yet new research has found that tobacco companies failed to use the four-year phasing-in period (from 2016) to prepare for this week's ban.

18 May 2020

COVID-19 pandemic is taking toll on mental and physical health of smokers

The havoc wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic is twofold: in addition to suffering direct effects of the virus, the world is grappling with the challenge of social distancing.

13 May 2020

Study provides further insights into the relationship between smoking and COVID-19

A Canadian study available on the preprint server medRxiv* shows that current smokers are slightly more likely than never smokers to test positive for coronavirus disease (COVID-19), but cautions about the possibility of reverse causality where smokers actually quit to avoid the disease.

12 May 2020

New device fixed to e-cigarettes can unobtrusively monitor inhalations

A new device that attaches to e-cigarettes can unobtrusively monitor inhalations - yielding important information for research about when and where people vape, how deeply they inhale and how much nicotine they consume.

5 May 2020

Study: Chronic exposure to inhaled nicotine alone leads to pulmonary hypertension

A study conducted by a team of researchers at LSU Health New Orleans has shown for the first time that chronic exposure to inhaled nicotine alone increases blood pressure (hypertension), in both the body's general circulation and in the lungs that can lead to pulmonary hypertension.

4 May 2020

Hospitalized smokers six times more likely to quit with combination treatment, study finds

New research led by University of South Australia has found that smokers who receive the medication varenicline tartrate combined with Quitline counseling following a period of hospitalization due to a tobacco-related illness are six times more likely to quit smoking than those who attempt to stop without support.

2 May 2020

Fear of coronavirus propels some smokers to quit

In 40 years of smoking, Katie Kennedy has tried four times to quit but always went back to cigarettes. Today, she is summoning a new mental image when a craving comes on: rows of COVID-19 patients hooked to ventilators.

30 Apr 2020

Study: E-cigarettes damage vascular function much like traditional cigarettes

Using e-cigarettes damages the arteries and blood vessel function much like smoking traditional cigarettes, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access journal of the American Heart Association, and funded through the Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science of the American Heart Association, the leading voluntary health organization devoted to a world of longer, healthier lives.

29 Apr 2020

French scientists suggest nicotinic agonists could treat COVID-19

Contrary to the warnings issued by health agencies worldwide against cigarette smoking amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a new paper suggests the possibility that nicotine, a component of tobacco, could prevent coronavirus infection.

28 Apr 2020

Lactating mothers' nicotine exposure may put babies at risk for skull defects

Lactating mothers who use e-cigarettes or nicotine replacement therapies may be putting their breastfed babies at risk for skull defects, a new study in animals suggests.

27 Apr 2020

Vaping, opioid addiction accelerate coronavirus risks, says NIDA director

In 2018, opioid overdoses claimed about 47,000 American lives. Last year, federal authorities reported that 5.4 million middle and high school students vaped. And just two months ago, about 2,800 cases of vaping-associated lung injuries resulted in hospitalizations; 68 people died.

24 Apr 2020

Ohio State researchers to study health effects of e-cigarettes and nicotine on youth

Researchers at The Ohio State University will study the health effects of e-cigarettes and nicotine on youth and help develop vaping cessation programs after receiving a $5.5 million grant from the American Heart Association.

22 Apr 2020

AHA invests almost $17 million to speed up health impacts of e-cigarettes, nicotine on youth

The American Heart Association (AHA) is investing nearly $17 million in scientific research to be led by scientists from Boston University, the Ohio State University and Yale University to study the health impacts of e-cigarettes and other nicotine delivery systems on youth and young adults.

22 Apr 2020

Early smoking causes greater addiction

A new study shows that people who start smoking younger are more likely to continue to smoke daily as adults and find it much harder to quit. The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association in April 2020, is remarkable for having the most prolonged follow-up period of any similar study.

8 Apr 2020

Smoking in childhood and adolescence leads to adult smoking

The younger you start smoking, the more likely you are to smoke daily as an adult, even into your 40s, and the harder it will be to quit, according to new data from a long-standing, international study published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open access journal of the American Heart Association.