Nicotine Safety and Toxicity

Nicotine has been developed as a medication to assist smoking cessation, and is being considered as a possible drug for long-term maintenance of non-smoking. It is also undergoing evaluation as a possible treatment for several medical disorders, including ulcerative colitis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Tourette's syndrome, attention deficit disorder, spasticity, and sleep apnea. Understanding its safety and toxicity is essential for drug developers, drug regulators, and clinicians making risk/benefit decisions about long-term nicotine therapy. Research on nicotine toxicity is also relevant to ongoing research on tobacco and health aimed at understanding the role of nicotine in contributing to tobacco-induced diseases. This book reviews the current scientific understanding of the safety and toxicity of nicotine. The discussion ranges from chemistry, studies in animals and human experimental research to the results of large clinical trials. Among the topics covered are cardiovascular disease, cancer, reproductive toxicity (including fetal toxicity and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), behavioral toxicity (including abuse liability and addiction to nicotine medication), and gastrointestinal disease. Finally, contributions explore the risks and benefits of nicotine as a medication. The authors are world-renowned experts on their respective topics. No other book addresses nicotine toxicity in the depth or breadth of this volume. A book on the cutting edge of contemporary public health discourse, Nicotine Safety is an up-to-date and lucid overview of current knowledge on the subject. It will be a necessary addition to the bookshelves of clinicians with an interest in tobacco and health, drug developers and researchers, pharmacologists and toxicologists, public health researchers and policy-makers.