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Arterial nicotine kinetics during cigarette smoking and intravenous nicotine administration: implications for addiction.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Rose, JE; Behm, FM; Westman, EC; Coleman, RE
Published in: Drug Alcohol Depend
September 1, 1999

An understanding of drug addiction requires knowledge of the effective drug concentrations to which receptors in the nervous system are exposed. It has often been thought that smoking of abused substances such as nicotine or cocaine produces much higher drug concentrations in the arterial blood than those achieved following any other route of administration. However, to date no studies have sampled arterial blood following cigarette smoking with the rapidity necessary to evaluate this hypothesis. We measured arterial plasma nicotine concentrations in samples collected every 5 s from 13 cigarette smokers during cigarette smoking and during administration of nicotine by intravenous injections. Our results show that, for both routes of administration, concentrations of nicotine in arterial blood were more than 10 times lower than expected. Thus, the delivery of nicotine into arterial blood is substantially slower than would be predicted if nicotine were absorbed as rapidly as has generally been assumed. A plausible explanation of these results is that lung uptake of nicotine considerably slows the entry of nicotine into the systemic circulation, as has been shown for other amines. These results have significant implications for theories of addiction to nicotine as well as other drugs such as cocaine that may be subject to binding by lung tissue.

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Published In

Drug Alcohol Depend

DOI

ISSN

0376-8716

Publication Date

September 1, 1999

Volume

56

Issue

2

Start / End Page

99 / 107

Location

Ireland

Related Subject Headings

  • Substance Abuse
  • Smoking
  • Nicotine
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Lung
  • Injections, Intravenous
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Behavior, Addictive
 

Citation

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Rose, J. E., Behm, F. M., Westman, E. C., & Coleman, R. E. (1999). Arterial nicotine kinetics during cigarette smoking and intravenous nicotine administration: implications for addiction. Drug Alcohol Depend, 56(2), 99–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0376-8716(99)00025-3
Rose, J. E., F. M. Behm, E. C. Westman, and R. E. Coleman. “Arterial nicotine kinetics during cigarette smoking and intravenous nicotine administration: implications for addiction.Drug Alcohol Depend 56, no. 2 (September 1, 1999): 99–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0376-8716(99)00025-3.
Rose JE, Behm FM, Westman EC, Coleman RE. Arterial nicotine kinetics during cigarette smoking and intravenous nicotine administration: implications for addiction. Drug Alcohol Depend. 1999 Sep 1;56(2):99–107.
Rose, J. E., et al. “Arterial nicotine kinetics during cigarette smoking and intravenous nicotine administration: implications for addiction.Drug Alcohol Depend, vol. 56, no. 2, Sept. 1999, pp. 99–107. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/s0376-8716(99)00025-3.
Rose JE, Behm FM, Westman EC, Coleman RE. Arterial nicotine kinetics during cigarette smoking and intravenous nicotine administration: implications for addiction. Drug Alcohol Depend. 1999 Sep 1;56(2):99–107.
Journal cover image

Published In

Drug Alcohol Depend

DOI

ISSN

0376-8716

Publication Date

September 1, 1999

Volume

56

Issue

2

Start / End Page

99 / 107

Location

Ireland

Related Subject Headings

  • Substance Abuse
  • Smoking
  • Nicotine
  • Middle Aged
  • Male
  • Lung
  • Injections, Intravenous
  • Humans
  • Female
  • Behavior, Addictive