Nicotine
A.K.A: Smokes, Ciggies, Durries, Darts, Vaping, Nic
Nicotine is a drug made from the leaves of the tobacco plant. It is the active ingredient in cigarettes, chewing tobacco and vapes. Nicotine can also come in the form of patches, lozenges and gums called Nicotine Replacement Therapy or NRT.
Nicotine can make you feel relaxed and decrease feelings of agitation or irritability. It can also make you feel nauseous, dizzy and cause headaches. If you use nicotine regularly, you may find yourself experiencing withdrawal symptoms and cravings if you try to stop or take a break.
Smoking cigarettes regularly can cause long term damage to your lungs, heart, and other parts of your body, and increase your risk of developing cancer.
How to be safer using nicotine
- Often smoked in the form of tobacco in cigarettes but can also be vaped, chewed as chewing tobacco or inhaled as snuff.
- Cigarettes cause the most physical damage when people use them regularly over a long period of time.
- Consider using nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) like patches, gum and lozenges if you want to cut down on smoking or vaping.
- Consider vaping instead of smoking cigarettes. Vapes are less harmful and allow you to control the amount of nicotine you use
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