r/toxicology

I have searched the internet and the few medical texts I own to determine the dangers of nicotine on its own, absent tobacco or any other primary substances currently used. More often than not, all of the dangers listed are identical to the dangers of tobacco, nothing more, nothing less.

I’m a harm reductionist using vapes to originally cut back my cigarette smoking and eventually wean off entirely. I have successfully cut back my vaping (which is 5% nicotine) and can alternate between a mullein air vape and my nicotine vape with no ill effects, but I don’t feel I’ve found a trustworthy source on the harms (if any) of plain nicotine. I just want to know the science, I’ll accept it either way. I’m not asking to argue, I’m asking to learn.

Thank you in advance. ✌️

Hey all! Author here. I’m writing a historical mystery and need help with making a plot point realistic. I’m planning on having one of my novel’s victims be poisoned by a cigarette. I’m having trouble figuring out the acute symptoms and timeline to death of various poisons. Since the book is set in 1959 in rural Scotland, there’s any number of poisons that I could use. I was thinking arsenic since it would be readily available in this time pair period as a rodenticide and generally kills pretty quickly. But HOW quickly? And is it caustic enough to prevent the victim from communicating after inhaling the poison in a cigarette?

What other poisons should I consider? I would love to use something unusual if yall have any suggestions!

edit: what about mercury? I feel like the flavor would be godawful, but could someone theoretically inject it into a cigarette and then the person die from such a direct inhalation of the fume? I feel like a crazy person googling this stuff Lol

When I was about 12 (I’m 22 now) I tried to commit by using benadryl. I was a scrawny kid, about 90~92lbs at most. I took 2~3 grams (3000mg) that night, fell asleep and then woke up hallucinating and threw up enough blackish brownish vomit to cover the bottom of the tub. When my parents figured it out, they hit me for stealing the benadryl and make me clean up the vomit. I was not taken to the hospital and the hallucinations lasted for four more days. The whole takeaway question from this is—was I in serious enough condition to be taken to the hospital? Not asking for medical advice, just for answers.

I'm a first year university student and i'm not entirely sure what career i want. right now i plan to major in forensic chemistry and get a minor in biology. i am currently deciding between being a forensic toxicologist and a morgue technician. my only gripe with toxicology in this instance is that the actual day to day operations don't seem very exciting/involved from what i've seen. i went on a tour of a forensics center in my area and the toxicology lab just seems rather bleak and far less exciting than the other departments, but im not sure if that's just because of the circumstances that day, the people who gave that part of the tour, etc., or if that really just is how it goes for them every day. i had the opportunity to view part of an autopsy and the morgue techs seemed to have "fun" (for lack of better wording), and obviously it is a very involved job where things are always different, and i also like the idea of being able to actually DO something rather just just run things through a machine like how it seemed in the tox department.

that being said, what does an actual work day look like for a forensic toxicologist? what do YOU actually get to do? what parts of your education do you use the most (o chem, physics, math, etc.)? give me all the details please!

I keep seeing claims about hydrogen therapy and I'm trying to figure out where the actual chemistry ends and the marketing begins.

The basic chemistry seems straightforward, but then the claims jump to things like reducing inflammation, improving recovery, slowing aging, and affecting all kinds of conditions.

The “smallest molecule” and “reaches every cell” arguments especially seem to get repeated a lot. Is there actually a solid mechanistic basis for those claims, or are they being overstated?

Curious how people with a toxicology or chemistry background look at the evidence versus how it's presented in wellness marketing.

hi all, i am graduating with my BS in toxicology next year and i intend to go to grad school for enviro tox. i'm having a lot of difficulties just finding colleges that offer the program in general. i saw that the UC schools had a few different programs but unfortunately i dont meet the requirements, and i'm not interested in taking the GRE or MCAT like some schools require. looking for 100% in person and im also debating between thesis and non-thesis. was hoping someone had some names for me!

On July 24 to the 26th, I drunk a fifth of liquor. Also on July 31 to August 2 3:30 AM I drank a total of 2 fifths of liquor. I tested August 10 at 11 AM and I’m wondering what’s my likelihood of testing negative? I believe the test is 100 ng/ml.

Hello everyone,

I am working on calculating the Permitted Daily Exposure (PDE) for cleaning validation and have two specific questions regarding the variables in the standard equation when a NOAEL is not available, and a LOAEL must be used instead.

1. Body Weight: Should the standard body weight used in the numerator always be 50 kg, or does this depend on the specific target patient population?
2. F5 (Modifying Factor): When extrapolating from a LOAEL to a NOAEL, I have seen F5 set to 2.5 in some cases. Is 2.5 a standard default, or should this factor change based on the severity of the toxicity observed at the LOAEL?

Any insights, guideline references (like EMA or ICH), or practical advice on how you handle these variables would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

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Hello everyone

I want to ask if anyone knows full funded options for PhD in toxicology or lifescience.

If anyone knows

Please tell me

Thank you