Daily nicotine consumption by product and usage 2014
Nicotine consumption
On average, half a 34 gram can of smokeless tobacco or U.S.-style moist snuff contains approximately 236 milligrams of nicotine. In comparison, one cigarette (in a pack of 20) contains about 24 milligrams of nicotine. Nicotine is a stimulant drug that is found on the leaves of the Nightshade family of plants. It acts as a stimulant for humans and contributes to tobacco's addictive properties.
The global cigarette consumption seemed to reach a peak in 2009 at 5,884 billion cigarettes and had decreased in 2014 to 5,800 billion cigarettes consumed. Likewise, in the United States, cigarette smoking has decreased from a high in 1980 of 631.5 billion cigarettes to 292.8 billion cigarettes in 2011. About 1.6 percent of people in the United States have reported using patches to curtail their smoking habits. The decrease in cigarette consumption can be attributed to factors such as advertising restrictions, smoking bans, and a negative stigma. Currently, the Western Pacific smokes almost half of the world's cigarettes, while Europe smokes about 21 percent. China, a country with one of the highest number of smokers in the world, has recently put a ban on smoking in public places.