# Nicotine

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicotine/145923>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 31, 2002, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicotine/145923 "2002-12-31T19:43:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicotine/145923/1 "2002-12-31T19:43:50Z")

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I was joking iwth my dad about soaking his gummy bears in nicotine instead of buying our $15 a pack cigarettes (our = the province of Saskatchewan’s).

This got me thinking… what is nicotine’s natural state? Could I buy an industrial bin of nicotine?

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**Author:** ![NotBob13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e19b73/32.png) [@NotBob13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotBob13)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicotine/145923/2 "2002-12-31T20:14:49Z")

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Nicotine is a natural part of the tobacco plant. It can be extracted, but you need the tobacco plant to start with.

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**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicotine/145923/3 "2002-12-31T20:16:16Z")

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It’s also found in eggplants, but in much, much smaller amounts.

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**Author:** ![raygirvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@raygirvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raygirvan)\
**Post date:** [December 31, 2002, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nicotine/145923/4 "2002-12-31T20:19:52Z")

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As one of the most toxic substances known, nicotine is most definitely not be messed with Here’s one of many descriptions from the web: [http://chemweb.calpoly.edu/chem/bailey/377/PapersSp2000/Kevin/nicotine.html](http://chemweb.calpoly.edu/chem/bailey/377/PapersSp2000/Kevin/nicotine.html)

It’s massively toxic by ingestion or skin contact: there have been cases of death from smuggling tobacco plant leaves against the skin, eating as little as a single cigarette, and also of gardeners dying from attempts to make insecticide by boiling up tobacco dregs.