Possible Role of Ammonia on the Deposition, Retention, and Absorption of Nicotine in Humans while Smoking†

Abstract

This perspective presents an overview of the properties of tobacco smoke aerosol and the possible effect of ammonia on the deposition location, retention and the amount and rate of nicotine absorption during cigarette smoking. Three main mechanisms describe the absorption of smoke constituents: (A) gas-phase constituents deposit directly; (B) particles deposit and the constituents then diffuse through the particle into the biological buffer and then into the tissue; and (C) particulate phase constituents evaporate from the particles and then deposit from the gas phase. Nicotine from smoking deposits and is absorbed predominately in the lungs. When particles deposit on the lung-blood interfaces, nicotine is absorbed rapidly, regardless of the acid-base nature of the particles. This is due to the buffering capacity of the lung-blood interfaces and the small mass of nicotine per puff distributed over a large number of particles depositing onto a huge lung surface. The composition of both tobacco smoke aerosol particles and the gas phase are time dependent. Ammonia in mainstream smoke evaporates faster from particles than nicotine. It is, therefore, unlikely that ammonia can significantly affect the volatility of MS smoke nicotine from particles in the smoke aerosol. It is certain that no single measurement of tobacco or of smoke, especially one made under equilibrium conditions, can adequately characterize the time-dependent properties of mainstream smoke aerosol. Thus, the fraction of nonprotonated freebase nicotine in trapped, aged smoke particulate matter has not been shown to be a useful predictor of the amount or total rate of nicotine uptake in human smokers. Similarly, "smoke pH" and "pHeff" are not useful practical parameters for providing understanding or predictability of tobacco smoke chemistry or nicotine bioavailability.