[lm28469]

afaik nicotine is the addictive substance in cigarettes but it's not the most dangerous.

+ Inhaling any burned matter / fumes will have an impact the lungs.

"Cigarette smoke contains over 7,000 chemical compounds, including arsenic, formaldehyde, cyanide, lead, nicotine, carbon monoxide, acrolein, and other poisonous substances. Over 70 of these are carcinogenic." [0]

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigarette

[skohan]

Yes that is absolutely true, nicotine is not meaningfully toxic on its own as far as I'm aware.

That said, it doesn't mean it's not dangerous. For instance, Opiates were once thought of as a "perfect anesthetic" because they achieve the desired effect with little to no toxicity, but we've all seen how that played out over the last few decades.

[Pharmakon]

Nicotine is quite toxic at moderately high doses, ask any farmer who works with nicotinoid pesticides, or any ER attending. Nicotine is a potent neurotoxin, it’s just that typical use from smoking and food falls below the threshold for poisoning your nAChRs receptors. However with vaping, that’s no longer the case, especially when people spill their vaping liquid on clothing or skin.

[jpttsn]

Is tolerance also a factor? My daily average nicotine dose is likely above LD50.

[Pharmakon]

I’m not sure if anyone could give you a clear and complete answer to that for humans. The best data I’m aware of is still pretty limited.

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/idlh/54115.html