Re: TMV transmition

John Walker (jorwa@ix.netcom.com)
Fri, 9 Feb 1996 12:23:51 -0800

As I have never needed to use the nicotine concoction I don't know how well
it works or whether or not TMV can be transmitted to CP's.
However, I have read several comments that I feel are almost beyond the
realm possibility. For instance:

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The nicotine contained in a single cigarette is sufficient to
>poison a man and even kill him, if injested.
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I also read a posting several days ago that claimed just one drop of
nicotine can kill an elephant. Somebody must be pulling my leg! When I was
6 years old I was dumb enough to eat one of my parents cigarettes. While I
did become ill enough to learn never to eat another cigarette, I didn't come
close to needing the services of an emergency room or hospital let alone
dying. Although I would be carefull when handling the nicotine infusion, I
hardly think that there will be a cluster of injuries or deaths attributable
to the infusion.

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>TMV is highly stable against heat inactivation and in dry environments.
>It crystalizes(forms crystals) when dry but remains infectious. I have
>seen articles about TMV being shown to be present in smoke from the
>burning end of a cigarette. Sorry, again no refs. but I did see it.
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Pure science fiction. I'm not saying that the above mentioned article
doesn't exist, only that I don't beleive for a second that any virus
could withstand being incinerated on the end of a cigarette for 30 to 60
seconds.

While I am sure that there are better ways to kill pests than with a
nicotine infusion, I would think that boiling the tobbaco in the water for
several minutes would eliminate any virus. Just my 2 cents :)