Suicidal Death by Nicotine Poisoning.

Jun, Young Jin; Kim, Hyoungjoong; Park, Sohyung

doi:2014.38.4.167

Korean J Leg Med > Volume 38(4); 2014 > Article

Case Report

Korean Journal of Legal Medicine 2014;38(4):167-170.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7580/kjlm.2014.38.4.167 Published online November 30, 2014.

Suicidal Death by Nicotine Poisoning.

Young Jin Jun, Hyoungjoong Kim, Sohyung Park

¹Department of Pathology, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
²Forensic Medicine, Seoul Clinic of Korea Forensic Investigation, Seoul, Korea.
³Medical Examiner's Office, National Forensic Service, Wonju, Korea. zzeva@korea.kr

Abstract

Nicotine is a water-soluble alkaloid extracted from tobacco plants, and most frequently encountered in snuff, chewing tobacco, cigarettes, cigars and pipe tobacco or in a limited number of pesticides. Nicotine overdose or poisoning might be serious or fatal and lead to death; caused by cardiovascular arrest, respiratory muscle paralysis, and/or central respiratory failure due to its toxic effect. Suicide by nicotine ingestion has been rarely reported due to emetic response. We present a case of suicidal nicotine poisoning. A 56-year-old man was found dead and the postmortem examination revealed no injury or disease. We confirmed a high concentration of nicotine in the toxicological test. Through scene investigation, we determined this case as a suicidal nicotine poisoning.

Key Words: Nicotine, Suicide, Poisoning