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Cigarette Smoking and Plasma Levels of Nicotine

Nature volume 236, pages 308–310 (1972)Cite this article

Abstract

THE changes in blood levels and tissue distribution of nicotine and its metabolites have been studied in experimental animals after administration of tobacco smoke or smoking doses of nicotine1–3, but there is no comparable information for man. Such data are important in ascribing a role to nicotine in smoking. Recently, methods have been described for measurement of nicotine levels in human venous blood4,5, but they are complicated and have not been used to follow changes in blood levels of nicotine in any detail. We have improved our method1 by using the newly developed alkali flame ionization detector6 (AFID) with the gas-liquid chromatograph (GLC) so that it is sensitive to 1 ng/ml. of nicotine in a 2.5 ml. sample and have used it for assay of plasma nicotine.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3052

    P. F. ISAAC & M. J. RAND

Authors
  1. P. F. ISAAC
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  2. M. J. RAND
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ISAAC, P., RAND, M. Cigarette Smoking and Plasma Levels of Nicotine. Nature 236, 308–310 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/236308a0

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