Nicotine suicide

Rowell PP, Winkler DL Nicotinic stimulation of [ HJacetylchoUne release from mouse cerebral cortical synaptosomes. J Neurochem 43 1593-1598, 1984 Roy A, Karoum F, Pollack S Marked reduction in indexes of dopamine metabolism among patients with depression who attempt suicide. Arch Gen Psychiatry 49 447-450, 1992... 

Engel CJ, Parmentier AH. Suicide attempts and the nicotine patch. JAMA 1993 270(3) 323-4. 

Nicotine is also a good way to commit suicide if you are a prisoner. Just collect a hand-full of cigarette butts and strip the paper from them, if you are a neat person. 

In cases of attempted suicide, often fatal intoxications occur where, in spite of early hospitalization, patients are beyond remedy. Initially, signs of recovery may be observed, but after 2-3 days patients relapse with a measurable increase in OP plasma concentrations. This phenomenon is called intermediary syndrome (IMS), first described by Senananyake et al. in 1987, and is possibly a consequence of a severe intoxication with permanent depolarization of the neuromuscular end-plates and constant excitation of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the CNS of the patient. The IMS is clinically characterized by acute respiratory paresis, weakness of facial, palatal, external ocular, nuchal and proximal limb muscles and depressed tendon reflexes. Some authors propose that an insufficient therapy with oximes or atropine (see Section 9.2.5) and inadequate artificial respiration in the early stages of intoxication may cause the occurrence of an IMS. It is further remarkable that only some distinct OP agents (e.g. fenthion, dimethoate, monocrotophos and methamidophos) seem capable of producing the IMS. 

The use of suicide inhibitors of ornithine decarboxylase and arginine decarboxylase, coupled with the efficiency of incorporation of labelled precursors, led to the conclusion that arginine decarboxylase was the source of putrescine for tobacco alkaloids including 1 and 2 [46], Labelled spermidine was incorporated into 1 and 2, apparently via degradation to putrescine [47]. In vitro properties of the nicotine demethylase activity from Nicotiana otophora were characterized [59]. 

Besides accidential or suicidal ingestion, there is occupational exposure of some groups of employees in the production and processing of heavy metal ores, manufacturing and use of thallium, its alloys and compounds, and in certain cement factories from roasting pyrites and ingestion of dust from the electric filter (Schaller et al., 1980). Whereas the excretion level in urine from persons without known occupational contact with thallium was found to be lower than 1.1 mg Tl/kg creatinine, it significantly increases upon exposure. No influence of the age of the person examined and the duration of employment, as well as no influence of alcohol and nicotine consumption was noted. 

The ability of nicotine to act as a tumor promoter has surfaced in several studies. For example, certain human lung cancer cells show 50% acceleration in their rate of division if nicotine is added to the culture medium. Nicotine also inhibits the suicide of malignant cells, one of the main repair and clean-up mechanisms of the body in case of cell damage. Thus, nicotine actually helps cells with genetic damage to... 

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