The organoleptic sensation caused by nicotine. Impact is often described by consumers as throat catch, throat hit, throat grip, etc. Cigarette companies define impact as the sudden sharp but short-lived sensation (typically less than one second in duration) which is noticed immediately the smoke makes contact with the back of the throat. A physiological explanation of the impact sensation is that nicotine causes smooth muscle to contract, and the amount of contraction is proportional to the dose of nicotine applied to it. In general, the more nicotine, the stronger the contraction and the stronger the impact sensation.