> The chemical nicotine - by itself - transiently raises BP, feels nice, and that's about it. This is not entirely true. I believe it can put you at risk for c

> The chemical nicotine - by itself - transiently raises BP, feels nice, and that's about it. This is not entirely true. I believe it can put you at risk for cardiac arrhythmia, and the risk goes up steeply the more nicotine you intake to simply cardiac arrest. I believe this is depicted in Thank You For Smoking when the protagonist is covered in nicotine patches and almost dies. It’s entirely possible that was do to BP issues but I wouldn’t dismiss it as trivial in that case. Also if you read about the native american experience of smoking uncured tobacco, it seems like it was likely a near death shamanic experience and it did kill people occasionally. That said, it’s rather easy to moderate your intake with the percentages, so it’s not a problem for most people (I hope).