Is Nicotine Bad For You? Debunking Myths and Exploring Health Impacts

One of the things that you keep hearing every single day is that nicotine is bad for your health. But is it really?

Well, according to the UK's Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), nicotine is "no more harmful than caffeine." And this statement just makes many people wonder about their first coffee in the morning.

One of the things that you may not know is that nicotine is only harmful in tobacco cigarettes because it is combined with other substances that are dangerous. These include carbon monoxide, arsenic, and tar. In this specific case, these ingredients are only dangerous because they leave smokers hooked.

While in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that tobacco cigarettes are a leading cause of many preventable deaths a year, every since 2015 that the RSPH has been making different recommendations to promote nicotine products that are safer. At the time, this list included greater use of e-cigarettes.

According to Shirley Cramer CBE, the Chief Executive of RSPH, “Getting people onto nicotine rather than using tobacco would make a big difference to the public’s health – clearly there are issues in terms of having smokers addicted to nicotine, but this would move us on from having a serious and costly public health issue from smoking related disease to instead address the issue of addiction to a substance which in and of itself is not too dissimilar to caffeine addiction.”

Nicotine Vs Caffeine Addiction

In a different study published last year, researchers tried to compare the addictive qualities of both nicotine and caffeine. While the results were a bit mix, they allow us to withdraw some conclusions.

While tobacco users said it was likely that they smoke within 30 minutes of waking up, about 35% also said that it would be very hard to give up. On the other hand, about 18% coffee drinkers said it would be hard for them to give up.

The researchers concluded that nicotine was, in fact, more addictive than caffeine. However, it is also important to note that the researchers included a note stating that while it is often seen commercials on TV showing the dangers of nicotine, this doesn't happen in what concerns caffeine. However, you also need to understand that nicotine tobacco can be replaced by other nicotine containing products which include e-cigarettes, nicotine replacement, and snus.

The Health Benefits Of Nicotine

 Yes, in fact, nicotine can bring some positive effects to your health. Even though you only hear and read about the bad stuff related to nicotine, the reality is that nicotine can actually do some good (except when you smoke tobacco cigarettes):

#1: Nicotine Can Prevent Parkinson's Disease:

Even though cigarette smokers know that they are more prone to develop heart disease or cancer, the reality is that they are less prone to develop Parkinson's Disease.  There are already some studies showing that nicotine can actually help your brain work in terms of memory loss and cognitive decline.

#2: Nicotine Can Improve Focus And Concentration:

 One of the things that you may not know is that nicotine is a powerful stimulant that helps you to be alert. In addition, it can also help you improve your processing speed, attention, and even your memory.