NICOTINE DERIVED FROM TOBACCO PLANT HELPS SOME

NICOTINE DERIVED FROM TOBACCO PLANT HELPS SOME

Tobacco was “discovered” in the Americas along with the indigenous peoples.  Columbus and other sailors carried the tobacco seed along with dried tobacco leaves back to Europe.  In Europe, it became all the rage to smoke dried tobacco in pipes newly manufactured just for that purpose.  A new industry had begun.  Later on, the upper class of society in Europe began dipping snuff as an alternative to smoking tobacco through a pipe.  Americans in the United States became enamored with cigars, especially Cuban Cigars in the nineteenth century.  The years between 1900 and 1950 cigarettes became popular.  When Shebolith began smoking in the mid 60s, ‘decent’ women were not allowed by society to smoke in public.  We hid behind closed doors to feed our newly found friend, called addiction.

Big Pharma claimed nicotine, the psychoactive ingredient found in the Tobacco Plant, in the 1980s.  It was known even then that nicotine played a big role in the stimulation of release of neurotransmitters, serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain.  Low levels of these neurotransmitters cause symptoms of depression.  Dr. Christopher Dattan confided in us in the mid 80s that smoking cigarettes would interfere with his prescribed medication protocol and its ability to regulate these neurotransmitters.  We have long since learned that manipulation of these neurotransmitters controls behavior in the human research subject.

Research on mice (and humans, Shebolith suspects), indicates nicotine is especially protective of the neurotransmitter, dopamine.  A lack of dopamine causes expression of the symptoms of Parkinson disease.  In our experience, some of the anti-depressants used in the 80s and still in use today cause Pseudo-Parkinson disease.  When the uncontrollable shaking began, we were terrified.  Doctors tried to control these symptoms with Ativan, the drug used by emergency technicians for gran mal seizure.  We believe our smoking addiction saved us from a lifetime of tremors caused by prescription drugs that manipulate neurotransmitters.

New research into nicotine and nicotine-like DRUGS will encourage the development of new treatments for all kinds of brain maladies, including, depression, schizophrenia, attention deficient hyperactivity disorder, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Another positive to come out of earlier research is that nicotine enhances learning and memory.  The fact remains that people with depression are self-medicating by smoking cigarettes.  It is established that people prone to depression are twice as likely to be smokers and are less likely to succeed in quitting smoking.

There has been a complete reversal of some research findings.  Earlier research indicated that nicotine prevented or at least limited the formation of new blood vessels.  New research indicates that the opposite is true; nicotine actually causes new blood vessels to form.  This information should be extremely useful to people who have restricted blood flow to any part of their body.  Nicotine will grow new blood vessels to reroute and improve blood circulation.  The down side to this is if you have a cancerous tumor, nicotine will generate new blood vessels in the tumor and cause it to grow.

About the time ‘Big Pharma’ began its endeavor to take control of the Tobacco Plant; ‘organized religion’ began a crusade against cigarette smokers.  Our son was 12 years old when he came home from a non-denominational church revival; he burst through our front door and said, “Mom, you are going straight to hell”.  I was slightly startled and even more amused at my son’s edict. I asked him why I was going to hell.  He said because I smoke cigarettes.  It was not long after that when as was his habit he went next door to catch a ride to the local church.  One of the other boys told him that he stank of his mother’s cigarette smoke.  He still thinks his mother stinks after all these years.

Nicotine is poison.  Shebolith’s grandparents used the juice or tea made from tobacco to make a spray that would destroy unwanted garden pests.  Nicotine is also a medicine.  They used a saliva soaked wad of tobacco for a poultice to relieve the burning and stinging caused by encounters between insects and grandchildren.  If one of us became unlucky enough to be stung by a scorpion, we would run to grandpa and his magic healing poultice. 

Shebolith does not encourage the use of tobacco in any of its forms.  However, she does advocate moderation in all things.  She also advocates tolerance between smokers and non-smokers. Be courteous and thoughtful of the needs of others.  There is no excuse for rude behavior.

Reference Sites:

http://dukechronicle.com/article/duke-study-nicotine-may-reduce-depression

http://www.fasebj.org/content/25/8/2563.abstract

http://www.jneurosci.org/content/30/41/13808

http://articles.sfgate.com/2001-07-03/news/17610335_1_nicotine-new-blood-blood-vessels

This last website has the most exhaustive chronological history of tobacco from its discovery in the Americas to the full-blown battle against its use that is taking place today.

http://www.tobacco.org/resources/history/Tobacco_History20-2.html