Nicotine: For Your Health?

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The furor that critics, public health advocates, and, in turn, governments and international organizations have long leashed upon the public is that nicotine, derived from the tobacco leaves in cigars, cigarettes, loose tobacco, and shisha, as well as in e-cigarettes, is an addictive substance that has dangerous effects on our health. But is all that really, absolutely true? Is nicotine the bad guy it’s cracked up to be?

By Nattira Medvedeva

Some of the most frequently brought up misconceptions about nicotine are as follows:

Misconception #1: Nicotine causes cancer.

Fact: Nicotine does not cause cancer. There is no proof that irrefutably shows it does. Many people believe otherwise simply because nicotine is the most widely-known chemical component in tobacco. In fact, nicotine is just one of about 7,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke, of which at least 250 are known to be harmful, including hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, and ammonia. Of those 250 known harmful chemicals in tobacco smoke, at least 69 are known to potentially cause cancer.

These cancer-causing chemicals include acetaldehyde, aromatic amines, arsenic, benzene, benzo[α]pyrene, beryllium (a toxic metal), 1,3–butadiene (a hazardous gas), cadmium (a toxic metal), chromium (a metallic element), cumene, ethylene oxide, formaldehyde, nickel (a metallic element), polonium-210 (a radioactive chemical element), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polonium-210 (a radioactive chemical element), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), tobacco-specific nitrosamines, and vinyl chloride. Take note: that nicotine is NOT in this list!

When taken out of the context of cigarette smoke, nicotine really isn’t much to worry about at all. Nicotine is found in tobacco, but it can be found in lower concentrations in plants of the same family, as well as potatoes, tomatoes, cauliflower, peppers, tea, or eggplants. The bottom line here is, nicotine does not cause cancer, which is why nicotine patches, gums, and other medicinal products are widely-used and even recommended by doctors.

Misconception #2: Nicotine is addictive.

Fact: Nicotine is not what makes people addicted to smoking. Rather, it is the other chemicals found in cigarettes that have more powerful addictive qualities than nicotine on its own in its natural form. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors, other tobacco alkaloids, acetaldehyde and nitric oxide all increase the addictive potential of the nicotine in cigarettes. Nicotine replacement products like nicotine patches, gums, and other medicinal products are proof that nicotine itself is not addictive. In 2013, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided that some warnings and limitations specified in the directions for use on the labels of nicotine replacement products were no longer necessary to make sure they were used safely and effectively as they “do not appear to have significant potential for abuse or dependence”.

A recent Harvard study by Hillel R. Alpert, Israel T. Agaku, and Gregory N. Connolly also found that nicotine alone does not lead to addiction. What does is the additives found in cigarettes, and even e-cigarettes, particularly pyrazine.

Misconception #3: Nicotine is a Poison.

Fact: Fatal nicotine intoxications are rare. Bernd Mayer’s study in 2013, “How much nicotine kills a human? Tracing back the generally accepted lethal dose to dubious self-experiments in the nineteenth century” questioned the previously held standard stating that the lethal dose of nicotine for an adult was 60 mg or less (30-60 mg) as there had been several documented cases where humans survived higher doses.

This led to safety warnings that ingestion of five cigarettes or 10 ml of a dilute nicotine-containing solution could kill an adult. Mayer found that the 60 mg dose would actually correspond to an oral LD50 (the amount of a poisonous substance required to kill 50% of those exposed) of around 0.8 mg/kg, or considerably less than the values determined for laboratory animals, which range from 3.3 (mice) to more than 50 mg/kg (rats).

Mayer suggested that the lower limit causing fatal outcomes is, in fact, 500–1,000 mg of ingested nicotine, corresponding to 6.5–13 mg/kg orally. In conclusion to his findings, Mayer stated, “Nicotine is a toxic compound that should be handled with care, but the frequent warnings of potential fatalities caused by ingestion of small amounts of tobacco products or diluted nicotine-containing solutions are unjustified and need to be revised in light of overwhelming data indicating that more than 0.5 g of oral nicotine is required to kill an adult.”

Benefits of Nicotine

In spite of having similar stimulant characteristics, nicotine has a chemical structure distinct from such phenylethylamines as amphetamine and ephedrine. As opposed to these substances, nicotine is comprised of a pyridine ring connected to a pyrrolidine ring. Because nicotine is a weak base, it requires an alkaline environment to cross cell membranes. What makes the chemical structure of nicotine particularly remarkable is its resemblance to the molecule of acetylcholine, a compound that occurs throughout the nervous system, in which it functions as a neurotransmitter. And some rather remarkable qualities are imparted onto nicotine thanks to this similarity.

Alzheimer’s disease

A meta-analysis of recent studies conducted by Stephen J. Heishman, Bethea A. Kleykamp, and Edward G. Singleton found that nicotine can help prevent Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Some studies have shown that smokers are less likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s than those who do not smoke. This is because the receptors in the human brain which nicotine acts on are crucial for maintaining performance on a wide range of tasks, including memory.

Patients with Alzheimer’s have fewer of these receptors. Some studies show that providing the patients with nicotine helps to minimize the effect the disease has on their mental functioning. Nicotine also helps improve the accuracy of short-term memory and improve the speed of recall for working memory. Other studies have found that nicotine administered via a patch or IV show positive results in Alzheimer’s patients, including increased attention, learning, accuracy, and reaction time.

Parkinson’s disease

Epidemiological studies have shown that smoking protects from Parkinson’s disease, with an odds ratio of about 0.5 for smokers compared to non-smokers. The reason for this is the effects of nicotine has on dopamine neurons, the increasing loss of which is the cause of Parkinson’s disease. Nicotine stimulates motor function and protects the neurons from dying.

Cognitive benefits

Many studies have shown that nicotine, like caffeine, actually has such positive effects as increasing the speed of sensory information processing, easing tension and sharpening the mind. Nicotine is also a cognitive enhancer, helping improve concentration and the ability to pay attention as well as reaction time. It achieves these effects by heightening the activity in the brain’s cholinergic pathways.

Mood enhancement

Feeling the blues? Try chewing nicotine gum. Nicotine has a noticeable effect as a mood enhancer. It raises dopamine levels in the brain and causes it to produce more endorphins. Nicotine also stimulates the release of acetylcholine, providing a sense of increased energy.

Neurological disorders

Nicotine’s properties also mean that it helps with the treatment of neurological disorders such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Tourette’s syndrome, and schizophrenia. Nicotine has also been proven to stimulate the release of mood-elevating neurotransmitters including serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.

Pre-workout ergogenic aid

Perhaps one of the most unexpected domains where nicotine is rapidly gaining a following is – surprise, surprise! – the highly health-conscious crowd consisting of hardcore athletes, bodybuilders, power lifters, and HIIT practitioners.

One way that may fitness enthusiasts have been using nicotine (in the form of nicotine gum or even nicotine patches) is to give themselves a much-needed pre-workout boost. Much like caffeine that is a staple of many pre- and peri-workout nutrition, nicotine allows for greater mental focus, better control, and increase maximal effort during workout. (Of course, this is not something one is advised to practice on any kind of long-term basis: apart from the possible health concerns, the primary reason is that much like the case of a single espresso that stops giving you enough of a kick after a while, forcing you to upend your caffeine dosage, your body adapts to the nicotine after some time.)

In endurance sports

Nicotine probably isn’t the first substance you’d think of if you want to increase performance among cyclists, but according to researchers at Birmingham University, wearing a nicotine patch before and during exercise may significantly increase endurance performance.

It has long been known that nicotine improves co-ordination and cognitive performance, but its effects on endurance hadn’t been previously studied. The Birmingham researchers had 12 moderately-trained, non-smoking individuals, cycle to exhaustion wearing either a regular 7mg transdermal nicotine patch or a replica placebo for eight hours before and during exercise. To the scientists’ surprise, they found that 10 out of the 12 subjects cycled for longer with the nicotine patch on, resulting, on average, in a huge 17% improvement in time to exhaustion.

Diet and fat loss

Another fairly unorthodox use among the hardcore fitness fanatics is owed to nicotine’s acute thermogenic effects. Apparently, nicotine enhances glucose and fat oxidation rates, thus increasing metabolism and boosting lipolysis, or in laymen’s terms, helping fat loss. One study showed that a milligram of nicotine has a pronounced thermogenic effect, which can be increased by approximately 100% by adding 100 mg caffeine.

Another way that nicotine has been shown in helping to control one’s weight and facilitate fat loss is by reducing the user’s appetite as it dulls the feeling of hunger. If fact, this use of nicotine is not that new - people who were trying to lose weight have long been using nicotine to control their appetite, but it is a relatively new fad among weight trainers.

We will leave you with one piece of trivia that usually takes most people by surprise: nicotine has been used in energy drinks in Japan for years! In fact, Arnold Schwarzenegger used to do commercials for them in his bodybuilding days.

So the next time you hear somebody proselytizing the dangers of nicotine or pushing the tired old adage that “a drop or nicotine can kill a horse” smile to yourself and remember – it’s likely just horse manure.