People differ from each other very much. They differ by hair and skin color and even by character and mood. Although the effects of smoking may be rather equal for everyone, African-American smokers are believed to have a greater risk of depending on it than smokers with white skin.
Researchers said that previous analysis on the issue has apparently demonstrated that nicotine may have a biochemical affinity for melanin (the color pigment in skin and hair). It was also found that although African-American smokers comparatively smoke lesser cigarettes, but they seem to have a greater intake of nicotine.
Gary King, professor of bio behavioral health, Penn State, said: “We have found that the concentration of melanin is directly related to the number of cigarettes smoked daily, levels of nicotine dependence, and nicotine exposure among African Americans.”
Researchers investigated 150 adult African-American smokers, for to see the smoking effect in black skin smokers. The main aim of this research was to verify the factors which linked nicotine exposure, tobacco use and skin pigmentation.
Every day, researchers counted the number of cigarettes smoked daily, and also measured the cotinine level of the subjects, because cotinine is believed to be the metabolic by-product of nicotine which could act as an indicator for tobacco use.
King explained: “The point of the study is that, if in fact, nicotine does bind to melanin, populations with high levels of melanin could indicate certain types of smoking behavior, dependence, and health outcomes that will be different from those in less pigmented populations. And the addiction process may very well be longer and more severe.”
At the end of the investigation, researchers found that the genetically acquired melanin and the amount acquired through sunlight may be linked with the daily number of smoked cigarettes. On the contrary, this link was not found when only the genetic amount of melanin was considered.
It was also pointed out that a larger evaluation needs to be considered on the topic before any concrete link may be administered between nicotine addiction and skin pigmentation.
Tobacco Info
Tobacco is an annual or bi-annual growing 1-3 meters tall with large sticky leaves that contain nicotine. Native to the Americas, tobacco has a long history of use as a shamanic inebriant and stimulant. It is extremely popular and well-known for its addictive potential.
Nicotiana rustica leaves. Nicotiana rustica leaves have a nicotine content as high as 9%, whereas Nicotiana tabacum (common tobacco) leaves contain about 1 to 3%
A cigar is a tightly rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco which is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Sumatra, Philippines, and the Eastern United States.
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the fresh leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as an organic pesticide, and in the form of nicotine tartrate it is used in some medicines. In consumption it may be in the form of cigarettes smoking, snuffing, chewing, dipping tobacco, or snus.
Cigarettes are smoking products consumed by people and made out of cut tobacco leaves. Cigars are typically composed completely of whole-leaf tobacco. A cigarette has smaller size, composed of processed leaf, and white paper wrapping. The term cigarette refers to a tobacco cigarette too but it can apply to similar devices containing other herbs, such as cannabis.
