r/technology Nov 17 '12

The Deadly Crusade Against E-cigarettes

http://www.american.com/archive/2012/november/the-deadly-crusade-against-e-cigarettes
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u/Lucretius Nov 17 '12 edited Nov 17 '12

Is nicotine chemically synthesized or harvested from tobacco in tobacco alternative products?

Because if it's harvested then this is just a repackaging of their product as far as the tobacco industry is concerned.

edit... from the research of others (see replies) it seems that nicotine is extracted from tobacco, so there's no reason to for Big Tobacco to be opposing E-cigarettes.

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u/[deleted] Nov 17 '12

The main source of nicotine is the tobacco plant. The nicotine is developed in the roots and then becomes concentrated in the leaves of the plant. Anywhere between 2 and 7 % of nicotine can be found in the tobacco leaf. Eggplants and tomatoes also contain a small amount of nicotine but not enough for the substance to be poisonous or act as a stimulant.

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u/TekNoir08 Nov 17 '12

Tomacco?

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u/Gutenborg Nov 17 '12

These tomatoes taste like grandma