Great Article on the Possible Health Benefits of Nicotine

[garlicfiend]

This popped up today on my Facebook timeline, and I thought I would share it here. I realize the site it's on has a lot of New Agey stuff, but the author of the article is a published social psychologist. She cites her sources and includes a lot of great links in the article. Definitely worth a read!

Is Everything We Know About Nicotine Wrong? | The Mind Unleashed

 

[715HideawayMGR]

Great to know! I love The Mind Unleashed, and it'll be a nice counterpoint to the naysayers.

 

[DC2]

This popped up today on my Facebook timeline, and I thought I would share it here. I realize the site it's on has a lot of New Agey stuff, but the author of the article is a published social psychologist. She cites her sources and includes a lot of great links in the article. Definitely worth a read!

Is Everything We Know About Nicotine Wrong? | The Mind Unleashed

Yes, pretty much everything the public has been brainwashed into believing about nicotine over the last few decades is mostly wrong.
Very good article, and very glad you posted it.

 

[Redruth]

Very interesting, thanks for sharing this.

 

[Larry J]

Excellent article. I had already heard some of what was in it but learned a lot of new things, too. I'll be sharing it on Facebook myself.

 

[Redruth]

Where has my signature gone? Thought I had this sorted!

 

[classwife]

I see your sig

 

[Redruth]

I see your sig

Why is it on some post and not of others?

 

[Frenchfry1942]

Big Pharma and all their research into new meds could be going to waste. They will fight any use of nicotine. Big tobacco wants to sell tobacco their way and since they can add all those ingredients, they obviously control Congress on the matter.

Good article, it got me thinking. Thank-you

 

[DC2]

I think I'll add this quote to my collection...

Is Everything We Know About Nicotine Wrong? | The Mind Unleashed

One of the most respected researchers in the field, Dr. Paul Newhouse, Director of Vanderbilt University’s Center for Cognitive Medicine, argues that nicotine “seems very safe even in nonsmokers. In our studies we find it actually reduces blood pressure chronically. And there were no addiction or withdrawal problems, and nobody started smoking cigarettes. The risk of addiction to nicotine alone is virtually nil.” tobacco has also been considered harmful because it is highly addictive, but whether nicotine has the same addictive potential remains unclear. According to Dr. Newhouse, “nicotine by itself isn’t very addictive at all… [it] seems to require assistance from other substances found in tobacco to get people hooked.”

 

[DC2]

Posting for future linking...

Some research on the seemingly minimal addictive potential of nicotine when divorced from tobacco...

Here is information from a study by an Arizona State professor emeritus...
Professor: Nicotine does not cause cigarette addiction | The State Press - An independent daily serving Arizona State University

“It’s time to get our heads straight,” Killeen said. “What causes the tremendously addicting power of cigarettes is the drug cocktail of nicotine,” he said, not nicotine itself.

And here is a recent study from the Institute of Environmental Science and Research...
Professor: Nicotine does not cause cigarette addiction

Penelope Truman, from ESR (Institute of Environmental Science and Research) presented a study at this week's Smokefree Oceania conference in Auckland, New Zealand. She conducted this study on rats using pure nicotine and tobacco particulate matter (TPM) along with cigarettes and roll- your-own RYO/TPM and found that the rats were more eager to get a dose of non-nicotinic cigarette especially RYO/TPM than doses of cigarettes containing pure nicotine.

And you might want to check these out too...

Growing List of Positive Effects of Nicotine Seen in Neurode... : Neurology Today

Obviously the results of small studies often aren't replicated in larger studies, but at least nicotine certainly looks safe. And we've seen absolutely no withdrawal symptoms. There doesn't seem to be any abuse liability whatsoever in taking nicotine by patch in non-smokers. That's reassuring.”

Nicotine treatment for ulcerative colitis

No withdrawal symptoms suggesting nicotine addiction have been reported either after 4–6 weeks of therapy in short-term studies, or after a period of up to 6 months in the only long-term study available.

Is Everything We Know About Nicotine Wrong? | The Mind Unleashed

One of the most respected researchers in the field, Dr. Paul Newhouse, Director of Vanderbilt University’s Center for Cognitive Medicine, argues that nicotine “seems very safe even in nonsmokers. In our studies we find it actually reduces blood pressure chronically. And there were no addiction or withdrawal problems, and nobody started smoking cigarettes. The risk of addiction to nicotine alone is virtually nil.” Tobacco has also been considered harmful because it is highly addictive, but whether nicotine has the same addictive potential remains unclear. According to Dr. Newhouse, “nicotine by itself isn’t very addictive at all… [it] seems to require assistance from other substances found in tobacco to get people hooked.”

That last one is not only about the possible non-addictive nature of nicotine, but also about the vast potential benefits.
No wonder Big Pharma wants to be in complete control of "safe" nicotine delivery methods.

 

[DreamWithin]

Moved from New Members to Media & General News forum

 

[Kent C]

Thanks for posting - saved it out in favorites!

Love when this happens .... and that it wasn't just expunged/wiped as some would do. Imagine glANTZ running into this - we'd never hear of it.

"Specifically, a study performed at Stanford University found that nicotine boosts the growth of new blood vessels. Ironically, the researchers began the study seeking to prove that nicotine damages the blood vessels, but they discovered the opposite."

And another great link on the study:

Researchers Light Up for Nicotine, the Wonder Drug

DC2 got the 'money quote' (pg 1) ... was going to quote the same passage

 

[TyPie]

Fantastic stuff!
My own experience tends to confirm the non-addictive aspect of nicotine without tobacco / smoke. I found quitting cigarettes to be almost seamless when I tried e-cigs for the first time. Just as amazing, I was shocked and could not believe how EASY it was to dial down the nicotine levels in my ejuices. It is just amazing, how easy and, in fact, ENJOYABLE the whole process has been. (I still strongly believe that it is some kind of additives to cigarettes that make them so deadly addictive.) After all the struggling to quit numerous times over many years, just MAGICAL, I tell ya! I'm still GIDDY......

 

[Tache]

My dad has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and I have been wanting to convince his doctors to prescribe a nicotine patch for him. He's fairly far along in the Alzheimer's journey. He lives in a care facility and most days he recognizes me, but certainly not always. He was a smoker over his lifetime and quit and restarted several times. He quit for good about 15 years ago (He's 80 now). His newest geriatric psychiatrist was horrified when I made the suggestion of providing him with "the patch" (Although she was at least receptive to reducing his daily dose of Respiridone (sp?)). So I let the idea go. Reading this article has re-envigourated my resolve. I'm going to push for this to try and improve the quality of his last few years.

 

[amoret]

My husband has Parkinson's and has started using nicotine lozenges after we read some of the research.

 

[DrMA]

Even though this is a great article, I fear its impact will be very limited. If somebody published a Cochrane review along similar lines, now that would be quite powerful.

 

[garlicfiend]

Moved from New Members to Media & General News forum

Oh, thank you! I haven't been posting very long. I appreciate you putting it where it belongs. [emoji4]

 

[garlicfiend]

Fantastic stuff!
My own experience tends to confirm the non-addictive aspect of nicotine without tobacco / smoke. I found quitting cigarettes to be almost seamless when I tried e-cigs for the first time. Just as amazing, I was shocked and could not believe how EASY it was to dial down the nicotine levels in my ejuices. It is just amazing, how easy and, in fact, ENJOYABLE the whole process has been. (I still strongly believe that it is some kind of additives to cigarettes that make them so deadly addictive.) After all the struggling to quit numerous times over many years, just MAGICAL, I tell ya! I'm still GIDDY......

My fiance and I just started vaping a few months ago, and I can tell you that getting enough nicotine was a real challenge. We had to use a VERY strong juice to stop the cigarette cravings.

From the information in the article, I think it's likely a lot like caffeine addiction, in that the brain has adjusted the number of receptors and the amount of neurotransmitters to compensate for the presence of the drug over time. It can and will rebalance as the amount of drug decreases, but I think that process is different for each person.

 

[Frenchfry1942]

My fiance and I just started vaping a few months ago, and I can tell you that getting enough nicotine was a real challenge. We had to use a VERY strong juice to stop the cigarette cravings.

From the information in the article, I think it's likely a lot like caffeine addiction, in that the brain has adjusted the number of receptors and the amount of neurotransmitters to compensate for the presence of the drug over time. It can and will rebalance as the amount of drug decreases, but I think that process is different for each person.

The use of a VERY strong juice is not uncommon. I still keep a bottle around...somewhere. I started out with 36 for a coup[le of days but have slowly lowered to my current 12mg. One thing that helps me is that when I get the urge because of where I am at or what I am doing, generally a stressor, I avoid it and now it is natural not to do anything say, when I start the car and let it warm up in the morning. It is just a day at a time and working slowly so as not to feel uncomfortable about my vaping program.

Big thing is that 5 minutes later, the urge goes away. I also remind myself that I can taste, I can smell, my clothes don't stink and I don't kiss like an ashtray. Here is a chart that I saw early on:



I was slower than this, but, I could see progress and that made my confidence and self-esteem rise.

I love it!