PSA: Nicotine is a very bad idea

[heavy_industry]

Everybody knows that smoking is associated with very bad health outcomes (read: death). However nicotine, the main addictive substance delivered by cigarette smoke, doesn't seem to be a carcinogen but rather a simulant for the central nervous system. So I naively concluded that it's harmless.

Spoiler alert: It's not.

Nicotine by itself is very dangerous and chronic consumption will have two primary negative effects:

1. Hijacking of the dopamine reward system in a very intricate manner. It doesn't just lead to addiction, it alters the brain chemistry and neurophysiology in a number of ways, and may even hinder brain development in young people. The full extent of this effect may not be fully understood, due to the complexity of the brain. But it's safe to assume that throwing random substances at it is a very bad idea.

2. Damaging effects on micro vasculature (not sure if I got the name right). This basically means reduced blood flow to sensitive tissues in the body, which results in:

• cognitive impairment
• erectile dysfunction
• skeletal muscle weakness
• hair loss
• high blood pressure
• etc.

During the pandemic I made the catastrophic decision to start using nicotine (primarily in the form of chewing gum), for the short term improvements in cognition (which do occur, but only for the short term).

I am now tapering off nicotine and should be completely off in a few weeks. I will never use it again.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXs-zPc63kM&ab_channel=AndrewHuberman

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Interesting. Many neurologists suggest that "per use" nicotine can be beneficial. I tried this and had good experiences when I would dose only once per week, at most, twice.

Sounds like you were making it a regular occurrence which sounds like trouble.

 

[eramart]

Different people react to nicotine differently. I find it very addictive - using 2-3 doses gives me cravings and withdrawal effects (not severe, but annoying) for the next five days or so. Quitting regular smoking was very hard.

 

[James Klymus]

Perhaps, But i'm still going to enjoy my occasional cigar

 

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[heavy_industry]

Interesting. Many neurologists suggest that "per use" nicotine can be beneficial. I tried this and had good experiences when I would dose only once per week, at most, twice.

Sounds like you were making it a regular occurrence which sounds like trouble.

It seems to have neuroprotective effects against Parkinson's and other diseases, and it works very well as a nootropic. It increases mood, motivation, focus and memory. That's what got me hooked.

But those benefits only apply if it's used sparingly.
If the user gets addicted, they have to keep taking nicotine just to return to baseline and feel "normal".

This is true for most nootropics or mind altering substances. What goes around comes around.