Nicotine Levels

[greenmonster714]

At what point is a variety of tobacco considered to have a high nicotine content? I've been reading about all kinds of tobacco and wonder where is the line that divides high from low?

 

[SmokesAhoy]

I'd say at 4% since we all seem to use flue cured one way or another and that generally tops out at 3%.

So burley and above.

 

[Tutu]

Kasturi often has about 5%. That would definitely be considered high.

 

[deluxestogie]

I would say that the dividing line is the nicotine level at which smoking a typical quantity of it straight causes you to feel ill (hiccoughs, nausea, diarrhea, etc.).

None of us has the ability to measure alkaloid percentage in our leaf. Add to that the conspicuous variation in lab results for a single variety from a single crop (with a range in which the highest value may be more than double the lowest value).

Bob

 

[greenmonster714]

So basically just smoke it and if you fall to the floor and spew up lunch. Ya might conclude it's a bit on the high side. I've had nicotine side effects and they are not fun at all. Good to know the numbers they post are probably bs.

 

[SmokesAhoy]

To add to the above yeah none of us can measure it but if it's too low that je ne sais quois is missing. Blend too high and more things seem lacking in it. So try to blend low and keep tolerance as low as possible.

 

[deluxestogie]

...the numbers they post are probably bs.

The difficulty in providing an "average" nicotine level for a specific variety is the result of numerous confounding factors: seasonal weather, soil conditions, transplanting date and location (i.e. sun hours per day, and sun angle), fertilizer, topping (yes/no, as well as when and at what level), AND stalk level of the leaf tested. While most varieties show an increase in alkaloids from lugs to tip leaf, that difference can be dramatic in some varieties.

Now, if you're Big Tobacco, and purchase millions of pounds of leaf, then an "average" nicotine level is indeed meaningful. Unfortunately for us peons, the variables overwhelm the sample size.

Bob

 

[Hasse SWE]

I can do some input her..The last day's I have been looking in to a Flue-cured tobacco variant named Gold dollar. And when I read old studies on the variant I found follow Nicotine information's: (1947) 2,68 Wight% (1948) 3,59 Wight% (1949) 2,72 Wight% (1950) 2,24 Wight% (1951) 2,87 Wight%.-so like Bob is saying it's hard for us hobby grower to tell how high level of Nicotine and other Alkaloids the tobacco have. But I can also say that newer variants have little more exactly level than older, they have lower level than the older"original plant" but also a level that not changes as much.. I have read that for example that you don't get higher Nicotine level in "Mosaic Resistant Little wood" if you topping it, but the original "little wood" will get you higher levels if you topping it (and the grower back in time was counting the days before the took away the top)..The last two variants is Dark variants (but I am very shore that some "bright leaf" follow that example..

 

[greenmonster714]

I understand what you guys are saying and it makes sense. I've got some varieties that should probably fall into the high range. I'll be sure to use caution with them.

 

[Tutu]

Let me also give some insight on this topic. I have experience with sending tobacco samples to a lab for nicotine tests. That is, nicotine testing is not the main objective, but it does get tested. I can only give an outlay on the results of these tests, not explanations as to how these results come about. We buy tobacco from a large number of farmers and we categorize them into areas. We then make samples per area for tests. So each sample contains a few leafs from all farmers in that area. Per area there are two tests, one for middle plant positions, the other for top plant positions. Remember that all tobacco is only a single variety, although there may be various sub-varieties. I have here 20 tests from 10 areas. 10 middle positions tests and 10 top position tests. Now assuming that we should look at pairs of tests (per area), on 5 occasions the higher plant position tests for a lower nicotine level than the middle plant positions. On 3 occasions the top plant position tests higher than middle plant position. One of these I would disregard as the population size is extremely large and the samples of middle and top plant position hardly relate. On 2 occasions top and middle test exactly the same. Now I would say that is pretty random. Nicotine levels vary between 0,75% and 2,10%. Now maybe more interesting is that I have before me one more sample, which comes from tobacco that was grown organic. Only a bit of fertiliser but no pesticides. That sample tests 0,46%. TO me that was surprising as I had assumed that a plant with no pesticides would generally make more nicotine to protect itself from the outside world. I was wrong, apparently.

 

[Hasse SWE]

Tutu: That's interesting I more believe that it's a top level and a lower level on when and how much you need to get the nicotine higher or lower..Do you also have noted how much or little it have been raining? A full grown tobacco plant don't need match water to live if the temperature are good (that what I self have found out and not a fact)

 

[deluxestogie]

Fertilizer (NPK) has a direct impact on nicotine levels. Higher P increases nicotine. N and K have varying effects that may decrease nicotine. All three interact to influence the final nicotine level. It's all kind of messy in that regard.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21812293

Bob