Although there are many of cigarette producers, each one with multiple products, all cigarettes are produced in the same way. Since most cigarette companies utilize similar methods, cigarettes affect individuals in almost identical methods irrespective of the specific business that produced them. This really is especially true with nicotine. The Facts The average cigarette in the United States contains about 9mg of nicotine. However, this is not the amount of nicotine that is ingested by the tobacco smoker. Cigarettes are burned and the smoke is inhaled by the person, so the nicotine is absorbed through the smoke. The amount of nicotine that actually enters the body in this manner is typically lower than 1mg. Significance One milligram of nicotine is not significant enough to result lasting damage to a body. However, the nicotine is not the primary cause for concern in cigarettes. It is the method used to ingest the nicotine that presents a grave danger to smokers. Nicotine, along with hundreds of other chemicals, attaches itself to the tar inside the smoke and is absorbed by the lungs when the smoke contacts tissue cells. The nicotine is absorbed into the body fast, but the tar utilized for transportation is not. This tar substances coating the lung tissue and over time, with repeated exposure, will create a thick buildup that eliminates the lung tissue. Time Frame Upon first inhaling smoke from a cigarette, the nicotine reaches the person's mind in under 10 seconds, and it reaches the central nervous system in under five minutes. The initial influence on a person's brain depends on a host of circumstances, in most cases nicotine acts as a mild depressant. Nicotine is a fast-acting chemical, and is quickly used by the human body. All traces of nicotine are undetectable in an individual within a few days after a final cigarette. The total length of time an individual has been a smoker, combined with their metabolism and other physical characteristics, will determine how extended it will take for the last traces of nicotine to leave the body. Effects Nicotine's effect on an individual is mental and physical. When the nicotine first reaches the mind upon the inhalation of smoke, the effect is typically a relaxed and slightly euphoric feeling. After the nicotine reaches the central nervous program a few minutes later, this calm feeling is frequently increased in a more effective bodily sense. These effects last for several more minutes, but because their decline is slow and steady it is often not realized by the smoker until more time has elapsed. People who smoke more cigarettes in an average day usually do thus because their bodies have become used to the bodily effects of the nicotine on their nervous systems. Misconceptions The damage done by cigarettes is %LINK2% widely recorded and easily verifiable by countless healthcare companies and industry publications. Despite monumental efforts by public school districts, the U.S. surgeon general and other groups, many new smokers are grossly unaware of exactly how dangerous the long-term effects of cigarettes are. Caution Aside from the widely publicized risks caused by smoking cigarettes, there are additional, often unrealized, health dangers straight connected to nicotine. Irrespective of the way in which this drug is ingested, it significantly increases a person's possibilities of developing cancer. Unlike cigarettes, where the primary focus of cancer development is generally in the mouth, lips, throat, and lungs, nicotine ingested in other methods increases %LINK1% the possibility of cancer in a more general sense. People should be aware of the fact and consider the additional dangers associated with smoking cessation products such as patches and gum.