Exposure to tobacco smoke in the home increases the severity of asthma for children and is a risk factor for new cases of childhood asthma. ETS exposure has been linked also with sudden infant death syndrome. Additionally, dropped cigarettes are the leading cause of residential fire fatalities, leading to more than 1,000 such deaths each year. At higher doses, such as the nicotine that can be found in some insecticide sprays, nicotine can be extremely toxic, causing vomiting, tremors, convulsions, and death. Nicotine poisoning has been reported from accidental ingestion of insecticides by adults and ingestion of tobacco products by children and pets.
Death usually results in a few minutes from respiratory failure caused by paralysis.
Laboratory research indicates that cigarette smoking causes toxic cardiovascular effects. For this reason, nicotine replacement medicines such as nicotine gum and the patch have been extensively evaluated for cardiovascular toxicity, especially for patients with cardiac disease. These trials suggest that use of nicotine replacements for smoking cessation does not increase cardiovascular risk. These findings are consistent with the generally slower and lower doses of nicotine obtained from the medicines as compared to tobacco products, and to the absence of carbon monoxide and numerous other toxins in tobacco smoke. Nicotine readily crosses the placenta, and nicotine concentrations in the fetus can be as much as 15 percent higher than maternal levels.