The myth of nicotine’s exceptional toxicity, which has been accepted without any evidence for more than a century, was totally debunked by Dr Mayer of Graz.
The ridiculous situation in which nicotine is considered more harmful than cyanide has gone on for too long and, without a doubt, is due to political pressure.
Because a renowned toxicologist, Prof Bernd Mayer of Uo Graz University in Austria, finally debunked this longstanding misconception, it’s time to put that controversy to rest.
He studied all elements of the problem and determined that the existing LD50 level (the dose expected to kill half of those who receive it) is at least ten times and perhaps 20 times too low.
He concluded that:
A new LD50 for nicotine has been calculated.
In reality, Prof Graz does not use a new LD50 (median lethal dose) for nicotine, although an estimate would appear to be 750mg (halfway between his opinion of the lowest and highest apparent fatal doses). This is nearly 12 times the current rate of 60mg.
As a result, the lethal dose of nicotine should now be defined as 750mg (three-quarters of a gramme).
Finally, it has been proven that a typical component of the diet for which everyone has tested positive in all major studies to date does not have a significant danger at low dosages – something that is self-evident to those who utilize it on a daily basis.
In addition to these, some of the other noxious chemicals that are frequently consumed, such as vitamin A, vitamin D, iron, and caffeine (coffee), should be evaluated against their LD50s in order to obtain an overall impression of their toxicity.
It is no longer correct to compare nicotine with cyanide, and it might be more appropriate to compare it to other potentially harmful components ingested on a daily basis like nicotine.
