Nicotine is the active principle of tobacco, expressed chemically thus:
C10 H8 N. One fourth of a drop will kill a rabbit, one drop will kill a
large dog. It is a virulent poison, the intoxicating principle of
_prepared_ tobacco. It is not in the natural leaf. _It results from
fermentation._ Two little boys were overheard discussing tobacco merits
and demerits. One was in favor of tobacco, the other "anti." "Why," said
anti, "it's so poisonous that a drop of the oil, put on a dog's tail, will
kill a man in a minute." It is the opium in the best Havanas which
enslaves the smokers more than the tobacco. Those cigars, also American
manufactured cigars, are dipped in a solution of opium. It is said that
twenty thousand dollars' worth of opium is used annually in one cigar
manufactory in Havana.