It’s not exactly news that nicotine has a fairly bad reputation. But some evidence suggests that nicotine alone isn’t actually that addictive. Instead, it’s the other chemicals found in tobacco smoke that make smoking addictive as it is. If this evidence proves to be true, then the same argument would apply to e-cigs containing nicotine too. In this blog post, we will outline some of the surprising benefits of nicotine.
Nicotine has the potential to beat obesity
Despite the negative effects of smoking outweighing any benefits of nicotine, smokers usually have a lower body weight than non-smokers. One study found that mice reduced their food intake by almost half and lost up to 20% of their body fat when treated with nicotine. Nicotine has appetite-suppressing effects which lead to decreased food intake and weight in a lot of cases. However, since smoking has a lot of harmful toxins, a lot of people decide to move onto e-cigarettes containing nicotine in an effort to gradually reduce their nicotine intake and prevent sudden weight gain.
Nicotine may enhance memory
There is also evidence to suggest nicotine may improve response time, attention, short-term memory and working-memory. One study, which measured the effect of nicotine on monkeys, found they were better at matching-to-sample tasks and had better retention after consuming nicotine. Another study on humans found that nicotine enhanced prospective memory.
Nicotine can help relieve depression
Therapeutic effects are another benefit of nicotine, and those who are prone to depression are twice as likely to be smokers and less likely to succeed in quitting. One study from 2006 found that nicotine led to a significant decline in depression. This is likely to be because consuming nicotine results in the release of serotonin and dopamine, chemicals lacking in people with depression. This may also explain why former smokers find it difficult to cut out nicotine completely, and opt for e-cigarettes containing some nicotine.
Nicotine might delay the onset of arthritis
A study from 2011 analyzed 11,000 Australian men and found that those who smoked cigarettes were up to 51% less likely to need surgery for joints damaged by arthritis. Nicotine is said to have an anti-inflammatory quality, which could prevent joint inflammation and delay the onset of arthritis and lessen the severity of osteoarthritis.
Don’t forget to check out our 4 best tips to reduce your stress levels when trying to quit smoking!
There are a number of benefits of nicotine such as beating obesity, arthritis and depression. Hence due to these surprising benefits, it can be used on a regular basis.