Chemistry Project

Extraction of Nicotine
Sulphate from Samples of
Cigarettes

Sharun Joshi
Class: XII-A
Roll Number (CBSE):___________
Session: 2012-13
Chemistry Project 2012-13

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Sharun Joshi of Class XII-A of Salwan
Public School, Mayur Vihar has completed this project under
by guidance and surveillance. He has expressed deep interest
and has shown utmost sincerity in the completion of this
project.

His endeavours from conceptualising to completing this project

titles Extraction of Nicotine Sulphate from sample of
Cigarettes up to my satisfaction have been successful.

___________________

Teachers Signature

(Ms. Deepti Srivastava)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my chemistry teacher

Ms. Deepti Srivastava who provided me with her constant &
invaluable support, guidance and moral & technical assistance during
the course of completion of this project.

I would also like to express my heartfelt gratitude to our lab assistant

for her extensive support while working on this project, especially with
regards to troubleshooting. My sincere thankfulness to my classmates
for their extended cooperation and assistance.

CONTENTS

.
B

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APPARATUS REQUIRED

250 ml Beaker
Filter Paper
Separating funnel
China Dish
Physical Balance
Glass Rod

CHEMICALS AND OTHER MATERIALS REQUIRED

Calcium Hydroxide [Ca(OH)2]

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Kerosene as solvent
Concentrated Sulphuric Acid
Cigarettes

PROCEDURE
Collect different samples of cigarettes.
Remove the covers and collect the contents of the cigarettes on separate pieces of
papers. Weigh 1 gram of each sample using a physical balance and label them. Place
them in a dry place.

Dissolve each sample in Calcium Hydroxide solution taken in 100ml beakers. Stir them
with the help of a glass rod.

Filter the different solutions after the Nicotine has fully dissolved. Collect them
separately in separating funnels.

Add two test tubes of Kerosene Oil to each separating funner. Before pouring, ensure
that the valve is closed.

After Pouring shake the mixture vigorously in order to mix the two liquids and leave it
for two days without disturbing. Two layers one heavy layer in the bottom and the
second lighter layer in the top separates out.

Open the valve of the funnel and let the heavy layer out through the open valve. The
lighter layer remains in the separating funnel.

Add half a test tube of concentrated Sulphuric Acid to each separating funnel. Again
shake it vigorously in order to mix them and leave it for sometime.

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Two layers are formed one heavy (dark drown) layer at the bottom and another lighter
(almost transparent) layer on the top.

Open the valve of the separating funnel and collect the heavier layer in a test tube.
Now transfer the contents into a china dish. Repeat the same procedure for the different
samples and label them after the name of the cigarettes from which they have been
obtained.

Heat the crystals in liquid form and ultimately subject them to cold water and leave
them for a day or two.

Weigh the crystals hence obtained with the help of a physical balance.

OBSERVATIONS

S.no Cigarette Sample Quantity of Nicotine Suphate

1. Country Cigarette (Beedi) 0.17 gram

2. Sample A 0.06 gram

3. Sample B 0.05 gram

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RESULT

The analysis showed relatively higher levels of nicotine

in tobacco from beedis (0.17g) as compared to cigarettes
(0.05g in Sample B and 0.06g in Sample A).

CONCLUSION

This study concludes that the nicotine content in tobacco

contained in country cigarettes (beedi) is higher
compared to the content in company manufactured
branded cigarettes.

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TOBACCO
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana.
It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some
medicines. It is most commonly used as a drug, and is a valuable cash crop for countries such
as Cuba,India, China, and the United States. Tobacco is a name for any plant of the genus
Nicotiana of the Solanaceae family (nightshade family) and for the product manufactured from
the leaf and used in cigars and cigarettes, snuff, and pipe and chewing tobacco. Tobacco plants
are also used in plant bioengineering, and some of the 60 species are grown as ornamentals.
The chief commercial species, N. tabacum, is believed native to tropical America, like most
nicotiana plants, but has been so long cultivated that it is no longer known in the wild.
N.Rrustica, a mild-flavored, fast-burning species, was the tobacco originally raised in Virginia,
but it is now grown chiefly in Turkey, India, and Russia. The alkaloid nicotine is the most
characteristic constituent of tobacco and is responsible for its addictive nature. The harmful
effects of tobacco derive from the thousands of different compounds generated in the smoke,
including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (such as benzpyrene), formaldehyde, cadmium,
nickel, arsenic, radioactive polonium-210, tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs), phenols,
and many others.

Tobacco is cultivated similarly to other agricultural products. Seeds are sown in cold frames or
hotbeds to prevent attacks from insects, and then transplanted into the fields. Tobacco is an
annual crop, which is usually harvested mechanically or by hand. After harvest, tobacco is
stored for curing, which allows for the slow oxidation and degradation of carotenoids. This
allows for the agricultural product to take on properties that are usually attributed to the
"smoothness" of the smoke. Following this, tobacco is packed into its various forms of
consumption, which include smoking, chewing, snuffing, and so on. Most cigarettes
incorporate flue-cured tobacco, which produces a milder, more inhalable smoke. Use of lowpH,
inhalable, flue-cured tobacco is one of the principal reasons smoking causes lung cancer and
other diseases association with smoke inhalation.

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NICOTINE
Nicotine is an alkaloid found in the nightshade family of plants (Solanaceae) that acts as a
nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist. The biosynthesistakes place in the roots and
accumulation occurs in the leaves of the Solanaceae. It constitutes approximately 0.63.0% of
the dry weight of tobacco and is present in the range of 27 g/kg of various edible plants. It
functions as an antiherbivore chemical; therefore, nicotine was widely used as an insecticide in
the past and nicotine analogs such as imidacloprid are currently widely used.

In low doses (an average cigarette yields about 1 mg of absorbed nicotine), the substance acts
as a stimulant in mammals, while high amounts (3060 mg) can be fatal. This stimulant effect
is the main factor responsible for the dependence-forming properties of tobacco smoking.
According to the American Heart Association, nicotine addiction has historically been one of
the hardest addictions to break, while the pharmacological and behavioral characteristics that
determine tobacco addiction are similar to those determining addiction to heroin and cocaine.
The nicotine content of popular American-brand cigarettes has slowly increased over the years,
and one study found that there was an average increase of 1.6% per year between the years of
1998 and 2005. This was found for all major market categories of cigarettes.

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MANUFACTURING OF TOBACCO

1. Filter Paper made up of 95% Cellulose Acetate

2. Tipping paper to cover the filter

3. Rolling paper to cover the Tobacco

4. Tobacco blend

Modern commercially manufactured cigarettes are seemingly simple objects consisting mainly
of a tobacco blend, paper, PVA glue to bond the outer layer of paper together, and often also a
cellulose acetatebased filter. While the assembly of cigarettes is straightforward, much focus
is given to the creation of each of the components, in particular the tobacco blend. A key
ingredient that makes cigarettes more addictive is the inclusion of reconstituted tobacco, which
has additives to make nicotine more volatile as the cigarette burns.

ADDICTIVE NATURE OF TOBACCO

Addictive Nature of Nicotine

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Nicotine is very addictive. It increases the release of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters,
which help regulate mood and behavior. One of these neurotransmitters is dopamine, which
makes one feel good. Getting that dopamine boost is part of the addiction process.

Nicotine dependence, also referred to as tobacco dependence, involves behavioural as well as

physical factors.

Physical Addiction

Over 13 million smokers try to quit each year, yet less than 5% of those who attempt to quit
unaided are cigarette-free after 6-12 months. For one simple reason: a nicotine addiction is
harder to beat than most people realize. Nicotine from smoking changes the structure and
function of your brain. When the brain stops getting the nicotine it's used to, you begin feeling
strong withdrawal cravings. You think you want a cigarette when, actually, your brain wants
nicotine.

Let's take a look at how nicotine addiction works. Each puff on a cigarette sends nicotine to the
brain within 10 seconds. Immediately, we feel more alert and calm. It feels good, so we have
another puff. And another. Soon the brain's chemical structure actually changes. It becomes
hooked into wanting more and more nicotine to make the effects last.

Physical dependence on nicotine is defined by the appearance of characteristic withdrawal

symptoms when the substance is suddenly discontinued. So, while physical dependency can be
a major factor in the psychology of addiction and most often becomes a primary motivator in
the continuation of an addiction, the initial primary attribution of an addictive substance is
usually its ability to induce pleasure, although with continued use the goal is not so much to
induce pleasure as it is to relieve the anxiety caused by the absence of a given addictive
substance, causing it to become used compulsively.

The speed with which a given individual becomes addicted to nicotine varies with the
substance, the frequency of use, the means of ingestion, the intensity of pleasure or euphoria,
and the individual's genetic and psychological susceptibility. Some people may exhibit
addictice tendencies from the moment of first intoxication, while most people can smoke
socially without ever becoming addicted. Opioid dependent individuals have different

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responses to even low doses of opioids than the majority of people, although this may be due
to a variety of other factors, as opioid use heavily stimulates pleasure-inducing
neurotransmitters in the brain. Nonetheless, because of these variations, in addition to the
adoption and twin studies that have been well replicated, much of the medical community is
satisfied that addiction is in part genetically moderated. That is, one's genetic makeup may
regulate how susceptible one is to a substance and how easily one may become psychologically
attached to a pleasurable routine.

Psychosocial Addiction

Psychological dependency is a dependency of the mind, and leads to psychological withdrawal

symptoms (such as cravings, irritability, insomnia, depression, anorexia, etc). Addiction can in
theory be derived from any rewarding behaviour, and is believed to be strongly associated with
the dopaminergic system of the brain's reward system (as in the case of cocaine and
amphetamines). Some claim that it is a habitual means to avoid undesired activity, but typically
it is only so to a clinical level in individuals who have emotional, social, or psychological
dysfunctions (psychological addiction is defined as such), replacing normal positive stimuli not
otherwise attained.

A person who is physically dependent, but not psychologically dependent can have their dose
slowly dropped until they are no longer dependent. However, if that person is psychologically
dependent, they are still at serious risk for relapse into abuse and subsequent physical
dependence.

Psychological dependence does not have to be limited only to substances; even activities and
behavioural patterns can be considered addictions, if they become uncontrollable.

HEALTH EFFECTS
Tobacco is the single greatest cause of preventable death globally. Tobacco use leads most
commonly to diseases affecting the heart, liver and lungs, with smoking being a major risk
factor for heart attacks, strokes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (including
emphysema andchronic bronchitis), and cancer (particularly lung cancer, cancers of the larynx
and mouth, and pancreatic cancer). It also causes peripheral vascular disease and hypertension.

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The effects depend on the number of years that a person smokes and on how much the person
smokes. Starting smoking earlier in life and smoking cigarettes higher in tar increases the risk
of these diseases. Also, environmental tobacco smoke, or secondhand

smoke, has been

shown to cause
adverse health effects
in people of all
ages. Cigarettes sold
in underdeveloped
countries tend to have
higher tar content,
and are less likely to
be filtered, potentially
increasing
vulnerability to
tobacco-related
disease in these Source: netdoctor.co.uk
regions.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that tobacco caused 5.4 million deaths in
2004 and 100 million deaths over the course of the 20th century. Similarly, the United States
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes tobacco use as "the single most important
preventable risk to human health in developed countries and an important cause of premature
death worldwide." Several countries have taken measures to control the consumption of tobacco
with usage and sales restrictions as well as warning messages printed on packaging.

Smoke contains several carcinogenic pyrolytic products that bind to DNA and cause many
genetic mutations. There are 45 known or suspected chemical carcinogens in cigarette smoke.
Tobacco also contains nicotine, which is a highly addictive psychoactive drug. When tobacco
is smoked, nicotine causes physical and psychological dependency. Tobacco use is a significant
factor in miscarriages among pregnant smokers, it contributes to a number of other threats to

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the health of the fetus such as premature births and low birth weight and increases by 1.4 to 3
times the chance forSudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The result of scientific studies
done in neonatal rats seems to indicate that exposure to cigarette smoke in the womb may
reduce the fetal brain's ability to recognize hypoxic conditions, thus increasing the chance of
accidental asphyxiation. Incidence ofimpotence is approximately 85 percent higher in male
smokers compared to non-smokers, and is a key factor causing erectile dysfunction(ED).

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

o www.en.wikipedia.com; o
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/287555-
overview;
o www.righthealth.com; o www.netdoctor.co.uk;
o www.nicorette.com;
o World Health Survey by the World Health
Organisation (WHO); o Practical Chemistry for
Class XII by Ratna Sagar
Publications; o Science Reporter
July, 2010 edition;
Chemistry Project 2012-13

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