More than 4,000 chemicals make up cigarette smoke, and many of them can damage a person’s health. But the bte noire of the lot is nicotine, a compound that is simultaneously pleasure-inducing, addictive, and–at high doses–poisonous. A new study adds another trait: Nicotine in mice has spawned the growth of new blood vessels and thus promoted cancer.
Log in
Subscribers, enter your e-mail address for full access to the Science News archives and digital editions.