A drug, in a general sense, is a substance with certain chemical properties that has the ability to disrupt the functions of an individual’s body. It can be used for treatment, diagnosis or for recreational activities. Some kinds of drugs can also affect the nervous system of a person’s body and prove to be quite dangerous; the most hazardous are those which are listed under the category of psychoactive drugs. These are substances with chemical properties that affect or modify brain functions and result in changed behavior, frame of mind, and deviations in thought processes. One of such psychoactive drugs is the well-known and legal nicotine.
People can take in nicotine from many natural sources, mostly in doses which are not malignant for human health. However, consuming nicotine through cigarettes, cigars, or by smoking pipes is quite different. Doctor Richard Lawrence observed that numerous harmful effects of nicotine were consumed by farmers through tobacco leaves (Lawrence, 2002). Nicotine can be found in many food products, and in small amounts it do not cause harm; however, despite being legal, nicotine is extremely addictive, and leads to strong psychological and physical addiction (Shaw, 2001). Research on popular addictive drugs also place nicotine on the top of the most dangerous drugs list. Nicotine is on the same alignment with the harmful effects caused by cocaine, morphine or alcohol (Michaelshouse.com). The most common symptoms attributed to nicotine’s abuse are anxiety, sleeping disorders, lack of concentration,