Chemistry in Tobacco
Tobacco involves many different chemicals. There are at least ten alkaloids in tobacco, the major one being nicotine. Nicotine is important because it links tobacco very far into past thresholds such as threshold 3, new chemical elements. Nicotine consists of hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon, which were all created billions of years ago during the formation of stars. The content of nicotine in tobacco leaves varies from two to eight percent. In very small doses, nicotine is a stimulant of the central nervous system and heart, but eventually, or with larger doses, it is a harmful depressant. Nicotine is a lethal poison in large doses. It is so lethal that 50 milligrams of nicotine can kill an adult in just a few minutes, depending how it enters the body. Lastly, this major chemical in tobacco is a natural insecticide. In the 1940s and 1950s, many millions of pounds of nicotine were produced for use as a natural insecticide.
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