Plasma nicotine levels after inhalation of aerosolized nicotine.

Smokers were given 5 mg of aerosolized nicotine over a 5-min period on 3 separate days to determine if this mode of nicotine delivery could produce nicotine levels similar to those reported from cigarette smoking. Our subjects' mean nicotine level increased from a pretrial level of 12 +/- 2 ng/ml to a peak of 32 +/- 7 ng/ml at 2.5 min after completion of the inhalation. Cough was the most prominent side effect and seemed to be related to irritant effects of the aerosol. Seven of the 16 subjects dropped out of the study because of unpleasant side effects. Side effects did not seem to correlate with nicotine blood levels. We conclude that aerosolized nicotine can produce plasma nicotine levels analogous to cigarette smoking. Cough was a limiting side effect and was presumably due to an irritant effect of the aerosol on the upper airway.