British American Tobacco Kenya - About nicotine

About nicotine

It is now widely acknowledged that it is the toxicants in the smoke produced when tobacco is burned – and not the nicotine – which cause most the of serious health risks associated with conventional cigarettes.


Nicotine belongs to a family of compounds called alkaloids and occurs naturally in several varieties of plant – including tomatoes, aubergines and potatoes – but is found at its highest levels in the tobacco plant. We don’t add nicotine to our conventional cigarettes and the nicotine in our potentially reduced risk products is extracted from tobacco leaf.

A growing body of independent evidence

Research conducted by the industry isn’t always enough to convince all stakeholders around the reduced-risk potential of PRRPs. Fortunately, there is also a growing body of independent evidence that demonstrates the reduced risk of PRRPs relative to cigarettes and is helpful in addressing some of the fundamental questions people have around their use.

“… as most of the harm caused by smoking arises not from nicotine but from other components of tobacco smoke, the health and life expectancy of today’s smokers could be radically improved by encouraging as many as possible to switch to a smoke-free source of nicotine.”
UK Royal College of Physicians

“…there is no evidence to indicate that nicotine is a carcinogen.”
U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine8

Read more about nicotine on our Group website.

Read more about our New Category product science on our BAT Group science website:
www.bat-science.com