Jean Nicot de Villemain was a French diplomat and scholar. He is famous for being the first to bring tobacco to France, including snuff tobacco. Nicotine is named after the tobacco plant Nicotiana tabacum, which in turn is named after Jean Nicot de Villemain, who sent tobacco and seeds to Paris in 1560, presented it to the King Francis II, and who promoted their medicinal use. Smoking was believed to protect against illness, particularly the plague.
19th century engraving of Jean Nicot (1530-1600)
Nicotine is a naturally produced alkaloid in the nightshade family of plants and is widely used recreationally as a stimulant and anxiolytic. As a pharmaceutical drug, it is used for smoking cessation to relieve withdrawal symptoms. Nicotine acts as a receptor agonist at most nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), except at two nicotinic receptor subunits where it acts as a receptor antagonist.
Nicotine
A nicotine patch applied to the left arm. The Cochrane Collaboration finds that nicotine replacement therapy increases a quitter's chance of success by 50–60%, regardless of setting.
Structure of protonated nicotine (left) and structure of the counterion benzoate (right). This combination is used in some vaping products to increase nicotine delivery to the lung.
Cigarette ad featuring baseball player Joe DiMaggio in 1941
