Effects of cigarette smoking and oral nicotine on hand tremor

The effect of nicotine on hand tremor was assessed by measuring the current induced in a coil by a magnet attached to the finger. Experiment 1 assessed the amplitude of tremor induced by smoking two cigarettes in a group of 33 subjects drawn from two age groups. Smoking increased tremor significantly. Age, sex, and anxiety levels had no effect. Experiment 2 assessed the effect of smoking on tremor frequency. Analog recordings of tremor in 10 subjects were processed to yield the total power in 20 1-Hz bands from 1 to 20 Hz. The log amplitude showed a strong linear relationship to the log frequency, but this relationship was not affected by smoking. Smoking also had no effect on peak frequency in the frequency spectrum. Experiment 3 confirmed that the effects of smoking on tremor were attributable to nicotine. Twelve subjects were tested before and after smoking a cigarette and before and after chewing gum containing 4 mg nicotine. The two conditions induced comparable increases in tremor. A 2-mg nicotine preparation tested in eight subjects had no effect on tremor. Tremor may be a useful index of the central activity of nicotine and may help illuminate its mechanism of action.