This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.
An ironic development emerging alongside the “Make America Healthy Again” movement is the portrayal of nicotine as a wellness and performance-enhancing product. Across social media, podcasts, natural medicine communities and tech startups, prominent wellness personalities and other influencers are portraying nicotine as a misunderstood compound whose potential benefits have been overshadowed by its negative association with cigarettes.
In these circles, nicotine is now being hailed as a natural product that can be used for everything from improving focus to protecting against cognitive decline. As a pulmonary physician-scientist who studies nicotine addiction and the health consequences of tobacco and nicotine products, I am concerned about these claims.
Some of this rebranding stems from the observation that nicotine is a naturally occurring plant compound found primarily in tobacco and in nightshade vegetables such as tomatoes, potatoes and eggplant in trace amounts. Proponents of nicotine use also draw on studies suggesting that nicotine can affect certain aspects of cognition and brain function. However, extending these findings to broad claims about productivity, brain health, longevity or wellness goes well beyond what has been shown in human studies.
The greatest health risks arise when tobacco is burned, which generates thousands of toxic substances, including carcinogens, carbon monoxide, and fine particulate matter. Repeated exposure to these combustion products can cause cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, and numerous other smoking-related illnesses.
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Nicotine’s comeback as a wellness product is more about non-smoking options, such as nicotine pouches, or some combine nicotine with other substances marketed as cognition enhancers, like caffeine and nootropics. While many smoking-related diseases result from the chemical products of combustion, nicotine itself has well-known negative effects on the brain and body.
Nicotine activates the sympathetic nervous system—the body’s “fight or flight” response—which increases heart rate and blood pressure and disrupts sleep. Repeatedly kick-starting this system can place additional strain on the heart. Exposure is also of particular concern during critical phases of development.
Not to mention the extremely well-known risk that nicotine is addictive. It activates reward pathways in the brain, acting on receptors for acetylcholine, a key neurotransmitter involved in attention, learning, and memory. Though it may temporarily increase alertness and attention, nicotine does not reproduce normal acetylcholine signaling. The effects last much longer and alter activity throughout the brain.
