Tobacco

• How is it used?
  
  Tobacco is smoked or chewed so that the nicotine is absorbed via the gums.

• What are the short-term effects?
  
  When a person smokes a cigarette, the body responds immediately to the chemical nicotine in the smoke. Nicotine causes a short-term increase in blood pressure, heart rate, and the flow of blood from the heart.

• What are the long-term effects?
  
  It is now well documented that smoking can cause chronic lung disease, coronary heart disease, narrowing of the arteries, stroke, as well as cancer of the lungs, larynx, esophagus, mouth, and bladder. In addition, smoking is known to contribute to cancer of the cervix, pancreas, and kidneys. These doses not just effect the smoker. If you smoke while you a pregnant, you run the risk of harming your child. Researchers have identified more then 40 chemicals in tobacco smoke that cause cancer in humans and animals.

• Is it addictive?
  
  Yes nicotine is addictive. This means that the use of nicotine causes changes in the brain that makes people want to use more and more of the drug. In addition, addictive drugs cause unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. The combination of good feelings caused by the presence of an addictive drug and the bad feelings when the drug is not present make breaking any addiction very difficult. The addiction to nicotine has historically been one of the most difficult to break.

• Legal Status:
  
  Illegal to sell to anybody under the age of 18 years.