492 
Nicotine  in  Tobacco  Smoke. 
j  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
(       Oct.,  1882 
PRESENCE  OF  NICOTINE  IN  TOBACCO-SMOKE,  AND 
CONSIDERATION  OF  THE  ACTIVE  POISON  IN  THE 
COMBUSTION-PRODUCTS  OF  TOBACCO. 
By  R.  Kissling. 
Having  recognized  the  toxic  nature  of  nicotine  and  its  action  on  the 
nervous  system,  and  the  relatively  considerable  quantity  of  this  alka- 
loid present  in  tobacco,  it  was  obviously  interesting  to  ascertain  what 
influence  the  most  important  consumption  of  tobacco,  viz.,  smoking, 
has  on  nicotine.  Although  the  number  of  investigators  on  this  subject 
is  very  limited,  a  complete  series  of  chemical  and  physiological  facts 
can  nevertheless  be  quoted.  Whilst  a  few  investigators  indisputably 
deny  the  })resence  of  even  traces  of  nicotine  in  tobacco-smoke,  others 
maintain  with  equal  certainty  that  it  exists  in  considerable  quantity. 
The  author  has  collected  these  facts,  and  the  present  paper  is  devoted 
to  a  critical  discussion  of  the  same,  and  simultaneously  to  an  account 
of  his  own  investigations.  The  following  are  the  details  of  the  prin- 
cipal publications  on  this  subject:  ITnverdorben  ("  Pogg.  Ann.,^' 
1826,  8,  399)  investigated  the  products  obtained  by  the  dry  distillation 
of  tobacco.  He  obtained  (1)  an  etherial  oil ;  (2)  an  oily  acid;  (3)  an 
empyreumatic  acid ;  (4)  a  reddish-brown  resinous  substance,  soluble 
in  potassium  hydroxide ;  (5)  a  trace  of  a  powdery  substance,  insoluble 
in  potash  and  in  acids;  (6)  a  small  quantity  of  picoline ;  (7)  a  base 
soluble  in  water,  having  a  burning  taste  and  unpleasant  pungent  smell, 
causing  choking;  (8)  fuchsine ;  (9)  a  body  resembling  the  latter;  (10) 
two  extractiform  bodies. 
Zeise  {"  Annalen,'^  47,  p.  212)  was  the  first  who  passed  tobacco-smoke 
from  a  pipe  through  an  aspirator.  He  found  the  following  consti- 
tuents :  A  peculiar  empyreumatic  oil,  butyric  acid,  carbonic  anhy- 
dride, ammonia,  paraffin,  empyreumatic  resin,  water,  a  small  quantity 
of  acetic  anhydride,  carbonic  oxide,  and  carburetted  hydrogen  gas. 
Melsens  (ibid.,  49,  p.  353)  has  investigated  the  condensation -prod  nets 
of  tobacco-smoke  with  the  view  of  proving  the  presence  of  nicotine. 
He  isolated  nicotine  from  this  mixture  of  empyreumatic,  oily,  tarry, 
and  resinous  products,  and  obtained  numbers  agreeing  with  the  for- 
mula CjoHj^Ng;  4*5  k.  of  smoked  tobacco  yielded  33  grams  of  nicotine. 
Vohl  (ibid. J  148,  p.  231),  in  conjunction  with  Reichshauer,  found  sul- 
phuretted hydrogen  and  hydrocyanic  acid  in  tobacco-smoke.  Vohl 
;and  Eulenberg  ("  Vierteljahrsschr.  f.  gerichtl.  und  offentl.  Medecin,'' 
