Tobacco is Unscheduled in the United States. It is legal to purchase over the age of eighteen.
Addictive Potential: Medium
Deaths Yearly: 435,000
Mandatory Minimum Sentence: None
Mechanism of Action: Increases the Neurotransmitter Acetylcholine
Overview:
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the fresh leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana.
Tobacco has a long history of use in Native American culture. It played an important part in the foundation of the United States of America, going back to colonial times.
Commercially available in both dried and cured forms, it is often smoked (see tobacco smoking) in the form of a cigar or cigarette, or in a stem pipe, water pipe, or hookah. Tobacco can also be chewed, "dipped" (placed between the cheek and gum), or sniffed into the nose as finely powdered snuff. Many countries set a minimum smoking age, regulating the purchase and use of tobacco products.
All means of consumption result in the absorption of nicotine, in varying amounts, into the user's bloodstream. Over time, tolerance and dependence develop. Absorption quantity, frequency, and speed seem to have a direct relationship with how strong a dependence and tolerance, if any, might be created.
