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Emboden, W..
“Tobacco, The Enigmatic Narcotic”.
From Narcotic Plants (book). -1;p35-43.
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Abstract
Although it is difficult to position tobacco with respect to other psychoactive
plants, the effects of large dosages suggest it to be a powerful narcotic capable of
causing delusions and hallucinations. The dilemma of characterizing tobacco is that
it may act as a stimulant, a depressant, a tranquilizer, or l hallucinogen. Lewin and
several subsequent writers have treated tobacco as a stimulant, but nicotine, the
pyridine alkaloid primarily responsible for tobacco's physiological action, has a
complex action releted to dosage levels. A typical cigarette provides enough
nicotine to act on the central nervous system to cause corticai arousal. In the
autonomtic nervous system it mimics acetylcholine, stimulating neurotransmission.
Nicotine, however, is not rapidly broken down, and less than two per cent of
all smokers are occasional smokers, or more precisely are non-habituated. Thus,
nicotine accumulates and acts as a neural block with respect to the transmission of
new information. Sensory receptors are stimulated and then blocked. Acute
nicotine poisoning causes tremors, convulsions, respiratory paralysis, coma, delusions,
and death.
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