Tobacco extract, Is it safe ?!
The tobacco flavors I use are artificial flavors, But some companies use Tobacco Extracts for flavoring to get a more authentic taste, I have been thinking of trying them. But does extracted tobacco have carcinogens,nasty chemicals or anything BAD in it ? Because I use E Cigs to avoid the health risks of tobacco smoking but I don't want to order any juice with tobacco extracts if the extract could be possibly harmful. Thanks for any information
Answers:
Background: Severe nicotine intoxication occurred in a patient after ingestion of a tobacco extract made from a recipe found on a freely available Internet site. Objectives: To determine the levels of nicotine and cotinine in the plasma of a patient who tried to commit suicide by drinking a highly concentrated tobacco extract. Case report: A 67-year-old man tried to commit suicide by following guidelines found on an Internet site. He soaked 300 grams of tobacco for 3 days in water, evaporated most of the extract, and drank the rest of it. He felt sick immediately, with the following signs: respiratory depression, hypothermia, hypersalivation, bradycardia, and myoclonic jerks. Soon after the ingestion he vomited most of the extract. Toxicological analysis revealed potentially life-threatening nicotine and cotinine serum concentrations. Surprisingly, nicotine peak levels (322 μg/L) and cotinine peak levels (9092 μg/L) were reached more than 3 h after ingestion of the extract. Estimated nicotine and cotinine half-lives were 200 min and 1185 min, respectively. Treatment consisted of gastric lavage, ventilation, and monitoring of vital functions. The patient recovered and was discharged from the Emergency Department 4 days later without sequelae. Conclusion: Nicotinergic intoxication is not always easy to recognize, and without clues from the patient and the toxicologic analysis, might well have been missed in the present case.
