Author: Teddy Lui
Nicotine awareness is important because nicotine is still common today despite its long history. Today, its use among teens is rising at an alarming rate. In our modern world, the primary factor for the rise of nicotine usage is e-cigarettes or vaporizer āvapeā devices. Studies show that before the popularity spike in vapes, exposure to nicotine products was on a decline until it started rising again due to vapes. When we hear of nicotine today, we often think of vapes, patches, or nicotine gum, however, those are newer products when compared to how long nicotine has been around for. Nicotine has been around for ages, it is the addictive component in tobacco which has an infamous reputation in society. Knowing the history behind nicotine, tobacco, and cigarettes can help us to make better decisions for the future as e-cigarettes and vapes share many similarities with cigarettes.Ā
Nicotine is an organic compound found in Nicotiana Tabacum leaves. Hence the name, tobacco, for the drug. Its leaves were harvested into tobacco, forming the drug. In its crude form, nicotine can be traced back to 1571, and the purified version of the compound was acquired in 1828. It was not until 1904 that nicotine was first synthesized in a lab, isolating nicotine from the tobacco plant is what allowed for modern-day tobacco-free nicotine products.Ā
Humans have been interacting with and using nicotine for centuries. One of the earliest recorded uses was eating the Nicotiana Tabacum leaves to be used as a stimulant. The tobacco plant is deemed a traditional gift by many American Indigenous and Alaskan Native communities. Tobacco was common in their practices as many species of Nicotiana are naturally
found in North America. Indigenous groups used tobacco for medicinal and spiritual reasons and it has been that way for centuries. Different groups had different ways of using tobacco such as mixing it with other ingredients to be eaten or burning it over their fires. This traditional tobacco use is unlike what we have in our modern world today, it is significantly less addictive and harmful. Traditional tobacco has no chemical additives which commercial tobacco contains, which is why modern commercial tobacco is so addictive and brings in many other side effects.Ā
Practices surrounding tobacco were picked up and noted by settlers leading to its use in Europe, this would be the first step that led to tobacco being viewed negatively as a harmful and addictive drug. After spreading across the world, beliefs about tobacco widely varied. Spanish doctor, Nicolas Monardes, claimed that tobacco could relieve one of the feelings of hunger, could be used as a painkiller, and even cure cancer. On the other hand, there was also a lot of mistrust within the public on the medical uses of tobacco. Europeans developed pipe smoking early on. A pipe was a small and simple clay device from which tobacco could be ignited and inhaled. This played a large role in the rapidly increasing use of tobacco. Different cultures developed their own forms of smoking tobacco. When tobacco fell into the hands of Arabic communities, hookahs were developed. A hookah is a waterpipe that is designed to smoke tobacco out of a chamber. When using hookahs, smoking became a social activity and was often paired with hangouts and drinks. Hookahs are still common as one can find a hookah lounge almost anywhere today. Asia also adopted the practice of pipe smoking, but they made their pipes out of high-quality materials such as jade and ivory making it more of an exclusive item. Similar to pipes in Asia, when cigars were introduced in Europe they were expensive and marketed towards elites and higher-ups. This is due to cigars containing high-quality tobacco which must be aged
and given tedious care. A lesser quality, smaller, and cheaper cigar known as a cigarette was also highly sought after. However, given its quick use and lengthy time to handmake, cigarette supply did not meet the demand. This was until the invention of the Bonsack machine in 1880 which allowed for the cheap mass production of cigarettes, leading to the mass adoption of the infamous cigarette we know today.Ā
With a combination of great business strategies by tobacco companies and a large proportion of young male smokers, cigarette usage skyrocketed. Cigarettes were a quick, easy, and disposable method for one to get their dosage of tobacco. They came in packs of multiple cigarettes and were cheap, so it was no challenge for people to feed their addictions. Around the 1890s to 1900s, there already were anti-tobacco movements. At their peak, these movements only led to a ban on cigarette sales to minors. However, in World War 1, cigarette usage among young people quickly shot back up and criticism quickly faded away. During wartime, cigarettes were very commonly used as they helped soldiers relieve pain and stress while being very easy to use in any environment. Through cooperation with the British army and cigarette companies, a constant supply of cigarettes was provided to soldiers. Following World War 1, over 50% of Britainās tobacco consumption was through cigarettes. The same thing happened to America after the Second World War. By the 1950s it was estimated that in all industrialized countries, over half the population smoked cigarettes.Ā
The culture in the 1940s to 1950s was fascinated with smoking. Before there was a guarantee that smoking was harmful, cigarette companies paid doctors to promote cigarettes in advertisements. Doctors were instructed to say things such as cigarettes have benefits or only
opposing brands of cigarettes cause throat irritation. However, during the 1950s, studies started developing showing the negative effects of smoking. Studies by German, British, and American physicians showed that smoking was linked to lung cancer and had serious harmful side effects. Initially, people did not take these findings seriously. It was not until 1978 that in America, adult smokers dropped to 33% of the population, from the over 50% that it was in the 1950s. Despite the drop in adult smoking rates, those who still smoked had an increase in average cigarettes perĀ
day, going from 22 in the 1950s to 30 in 1978. By the 1990s there were many public health campaigns against smoking, which were much more effective than the ones in the 1890s. They focused on smoking’s negative effects, more specifically its effects on babies, young children, and pregnant mothers. These health campaigns resulted in a variety of rules surrounding smoking, the most common being restricting where people can smoke. Smoke-free zones are commonplace today, for example in BC, smoking is banned in any enclosed public spaces.Ā
To aid in the downward trend of cigarette smoking, many anti-smoking products were invented to help people ease out of their nicotine cravings. Initially, these products came in the form of gum, nasal sprays, and patches containing nicotine. At first, these products had to be prescribed as nicotine was regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This was until 1984 when nicotine gum was approved to be sold anywhere. Chewing tobacco was also used to help quit smoking but it carried many negatives as it still contained tobacco, and increased the risk of mouth cancer by its nature of use. However in 2007 came the most common anti-smoking device, the e-cigarette or vape. They provide flavoured nicotine to their users through aerosol inhalation. Since 2014 they have been the most used nicotine product among American youth.
The rise of e-cigarette or vape products fell on a similar path to cigarettes, as they became more readily available they were rapidly adopted by the youth. Vape usage in American middle and high school students from 2011 to 2015 increased by 900%. A 2022 Canadian showed that 30% of youth (ages 15 to 19) and 48% of young adults (ages 20 to 24) have used vape devices. However, only 10% of youth and 27% of young adults in the same study have smoked cigarettes. This shows that vape use is straying from its intended purpose of quitting smoking, people are vaping regardless of their status as a smoker. Rather, they vape for the feeling and rush that nicotine provides. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), flavouring in nicotine products and the perception of being less harmful than tobacco products are main factors that attract the youth. Of the people who do vape to aid in quitting smoking, according to Harvard, only 9% to 14% succeed and other methods like nicotine pouches or gums have even less success.Ā
Although vapes do not contain tobacco, they still contain nicotine. Nicotine is the addictive component of tobacco and can be isolated from the tobacco leaf for vapes. First-time nicotine users with no tolerance such as youth who havenāt smoked, trying vapes may result in several immediate and temporary side effects on top of the desired feelings. Side effects include nausea, cramps, and vomiting. Once one builds up a tolerance, they begin to feel more of the desired effects, but they may start to need more nicotine to feel it. People use nicotine, primarily through vapes, for a feeling of relaxation, increased concentration, and mild stimulation. These effects combine for a feeling known as a āhead rushā, the same thing people used to smoke cigarettes for. The short feeling and calmness and relaxation comes from a surge of endorphins in the body which is forced by the nicotine. Endorphins relieve pain and lower stress, leading to
improved moods. This is an addictive feeling which causes people to come back to nicotine. When one vapes, dopamine levels are raised in the body, causing them to link nicotine to feelings of pleasure which may lead to dependency. Common usage of nicotine changes the way people function in terms of stress management. When dependency forms, withdrawals can easily begin. Nicotine withdrawals result in trouble sleeping, anxiety, constant irritation, and an increased appetite. Furthermore, nicotine does not mix well with other drugs, such as contraceptive pills. When combined there is an increased risk of blood clots forming.Ā
This article focuses on vapes for a reason. When it comes to ingesting nicotine in the modern day, there are many devices for it. Yet in terms of popularity, one outshines all others. As mentioned before e-cigarettes and vapes have been rapidly adopted by the youth; For North America In 2023, they were the most used nicotine products by middle and high school-aged teenagers. Two of the most commonly used vape brands in 2023 were JUUL and Elf Bar, according to CDC surveys. In Canada, nicotine is approved for replacement therapy to help people quit smoking by easing withdrawal symptoms. Approved methods for this include nicotine patches and nicotine gum, vaping has not been approved for replacement therapy. This is despite vape usage rate being much greater than the usage rate of the approved methods.Ā
Vaping works by inhaling aerosol from burned liquids infused with nicotine among other chemicals. Other chemicals include glycerol and propylene glycol, these chemicals are approved for use in other items such as cosmetics. However, the current level of research has not provided an official determination that inhalation of these chemicals will not induce long-term negativeĀ
effects. Another harmful chemical present in vapes is diacetyl which is used for flavouring, when
inhaled it is linked to a serious lung disease known as popcorn lung. Popcorn lung (Bronchiolitis Oblierans), is a type of lung inflammation which causes shortness of breath and coughing. It leads to scarring within the air sacs of the lungs as well as a narrowing of the airways. Its name comes from workers in microwave popcorn factories who felt these symptoms as a result of the diacetyl in the popcorn. Another lung disease linked to vaping is lipoid pneumonia, which develops because of fatty acids entering the lungs. This happens when vaping because of the inhalation of the burned oily substances, resulting in inflammation in the lungs. This causes shortness of breath, recurring coughs, and the possibility of coughing out blood. Currently, research surrounding vaping only deals with the immediate effects and what we can infer from past research such as the effects of diacetyl. Vape devices have not been around long enough to truly understand the long-term effects. It is likely that as time goes on more research will develop that shows the long-term negative effects, similar to how it happened with cigarettes.Ā
After exploring nicotines long intertwined history with human culture, we can see that we have strayed far from its traditional use and that its history can teach us lessons. Its traditional uses were cultural and had few negative effects. Unfortunately, that no longer remains true in our modern age of commercial tobacco. Since nicotine became marketed, there have always been companies profiting from its addictiveness. After cigarettes fell in popularity, e-cigarettes and vapes came in. Both cigarettes and vapes were heavily adopted by the youth despite a lack of research on long-term negative effects. Knowing the history of nicotine should teach us that the same thing that happened with cigarettes could very well happen with vapes and people should start paying more attention to the negative effects. Understanding the past can help us make better decisions for the future.
