Oxidative stress
Nicotine has been shown to induce chromosomal aberration, chromatid exchange, single-strand DNA strand breaks, and micronuclei "in vitro". Oxidative stress is probably involved since the effects are reduced in the presence of antioxidants. The finding that the effects decrease after co-incubation with a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist indicates a receptor-dependent pathway for induction of oxidative stress.