The doctors indicate that he cannot break any more nicotine down. Why, once his body has broken it down, can't he smoke again? Is this phenomenon made up for the movie? I see nothing about it on the internet.
shareIt's made up just like the charcoal breathalyzer trick.
sharesource?
sharealcohol breathalizer: http://www.discoverychannel.ca/Article.aspx?aid=13521
nicotine od: http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/poison/nicotine/overview.html clearly says unless complications, long term effects are uncommon.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/nicotine2.htm If Nick could no longer break down nicotine, it means his liver isn't functioning. I doubt he would be discharged if this were the case.
Those were cool sites but I'm not sure they address the phenomenon in the film, unless, of course, the phenomenon was made up. But I can't think of what purpose the filmmakers would have for including it. It does not further the narrative.
shareTo have some humor from the irony of smoking saving Nick and also that he can't smoke again despite the fact we hadn't seen him smoke the whole movie.
shareI've met people who've said they'd "overdosed" on caffeine and literally can't have any. I have a feeling that once your body gets too much of something your body starts treating it as poison.
I don't mean to impose, but I am the Ocean.
The human body doesn't naturally store chemicals like that. If it isn't breaking the chemicals down and excreting them, there's something seriously wrong with the liver, kidney, etc. and you wouldn't be leaving the hospital like that.
shareWell, something in the body can break if you abuse the body, so that it will have an overly adverse effect to some substance, even if the body mostly functions otherwise well. It's like sensitizing your body to react a certain way to some substance.
I read this story of a guy who drank so much coffee that the doctor told him he has to go cold turkey immediately or probably die, and he suffered powerful withdrawal effects that almost did probably kill him, and now if he drinks coffee again, it would be very dangerous to him.
I don't know how much of this story is true, if any, but I don't see why it couldn't happen. Strange things happen.. body can't always heal itself to 100% after an abusive era. Sometimes malfunctions remain, but you are OK if you don't abuse your body again.
Of course, in the end, every single body will lose its capability of sustaining a soul, so then you return to where you came from, but that's another story for another day.