02-17-2009, 10:31 PM
I quit smoking about a 1 ý years ago. I smoked for 33 years. One of my favorite brands was American Spirit because they are a 100% chemical additive-free cigarette. I started smoking them when they came out in the 80s. Today I was shocked to learn that American Spirit contains the highest amount of free-base nicotine. Now I realize why they were so hard to quit. I went through a few months of hell before I finally started feeling right. I thought Iââ¬â¢d pass this info on to any American Spirit smokers out there. icon_smoke
Crack nicotine
What may be the most dangerous additive of all -- by reinforcing the addiction with a deadly stronghold -- is nicotine itself, says James Pankow of Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. Nicotine occurs naturally in tobacco, but cigarette manufacturers have banked on nicotine's allure by encouraging a form known as "free-base" nicotine in the final product.
Nicotine, Pankow explains, occurs naturally in tobacco plants as either an acid or a base. The acidic form is more stable, and therefore more concentrated. The basic form, known as "free-base" nicotine, is volatile, especially when smoked. As a result, it is absorbed quickly and efficiently into the lungs when a person smokes, where it quickly reaches the brain. Acidic nicotine, conversely, clings to the particles of smoke as they settle into the lungs, and is slowly absorbed before it is transported to the brain.
The difference, Pankow says, is analogous to the difference between powder and crack cocaine, the latter of which is smoked in a similar free-base form and is considered to be the most addictive form of the drug.
Tobacco companies have learned how to maximize the amount of free-base nicotine in commercial cigarettes by carefully blending different tobacco varieties and by directly converting the existing acidic nicotine into the free-base form. The result, researchers think, is a more addictive, and thus more deadly, cigarette.
"In the 1990s, the courts demanded the release of tobacco company documents, which are now available. There's much about converting more nicotine into the freebase form to get more nicotine into the smoke and so that the nicotine in the smoke becomes more available," says Pankow.
Pankow and his team recently compared the levels of free-base nicotine found in the most common brands of American cigarettes (see "Percent Free Base Nicotine.." in the bibliography). They found that some -- including the famously popular Marlboro -- contain 10 to 20 times higher percentages of free-base nicotine than other brands. But the brand with the most free-base nicotine? The "Natural American Spirit" cigarette, marketed here as "100% Chemical Additive-Free Tobacco." American Spirit cigarettes contain 36 percent free-base nicotine, compared with 9.6 percent in a Marlboro, 2.7 percent in a Camel, and 6.2 percent in a Winston.
Nicotine for health nuts?
As most conscientious consumers know by now, the all-natural label doesn't always translate to all-healthy. But as anti-tobacco ads flood the airwaves and health warnings abound, the market for "alternative" cigarettes is swelling noticeably. Enter the era of the concerned smoker, who passes up additive-laden cigarettes issued by corporate giants in favor of "clean" tobacco.
In response, a whole new crop of products has emerged from the tarpool. American Spirit is one of them. As for the rest, take your pick:
Read the rest here:
http://whyfiles.org/183smoking/2.html
Crack nicotine
What may be the most dangerous additive of all -- by reinforcing the addiction with a deadly stronghold -- is nicotine itself, says James Pankow of Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. Nicotine occurs naturally in tobacco, but cigarette manufacturers have banked on nicotine's allure by encouraging a form known as "free-base" nicotine in the final product.
Nicotine, Pankow explains, occurs naturally in tobacco plants as either an acid or a base. The acidic form is more stable, and therefore more concentrated. The basic form, known as "free-base" nicotine, is volatile, especially when smoked. As a result, it is absorbed quickly and efficiently into the lungs when a person smokes, where it quickly reaches the brain. Acidic nicotine, conversely, clings to the particles of smoke as they settle into the lungs, and is slowly absorbed before it is transported to the brain.
The difference, Pankow says, is analogous to the difference between powder and crack cocaine, the latter of which is smoked in a similar free-base form and is considered to be the most addictive form of the drug.
Tobacco companies have learned how to maximize the amount of free-base nicotine in commercial cigarettes by carefully blending different tobacco varieties and by directly converting the existing acidic nicotine into the free-base form. The result, researchers think, is a more addictive, and thus more deadly, cigarette.
"In the 1990s, the courts demanded the release of tobacco company documents, which are now available. There's much about converting more nicotine into the freebase form to get more nicotine into the smoke and so that the nicotine in the smoke becomes more available," says Pankow.
Pankow and his team recently compared the levels of free-base nicotine found in the most common brands of American cigarettes (see "Percent Free Base Nicotine.." in the bibliography). They found that some -- including the famously popular Marlboro -- contain 10 to 20 times higher percentages of free-base nicotine than other brands. But the brand with the most free-base nicotine? The "Natural American Spirit" cigarette, marketed here as "100% Chemical Additive-Free Tobacco." American Spirit cigarettes contain 36 percent free-base nicotine, compared with 9.6 percent in a Marlboro, 2.7 percent in a Camel, and 6.2 percent in a Winston.
Nicotine for health nuts?
As most conscientious consumers know by now, the all-natural label doesn't always translate to all-healthy. But as anti-tobacco ads flood the airwaves and health warnings abound, the market for "alternative" cigarettes is swelling noticeably. Enter the era of the concerned smoker, who passes up additive-laden cigarettes issued by corporate giants in favor of "clean" tobacco.
In response, a whole new crop of products has emerged from the tarpool. American Spirit is one of them. As for the rest, take your pick:
Read the rest here:
http://whyfiles.org/183smoking/2.html
