Nicotine Is Mounting a Comeback in the Wellness Movement
This article isrepublished fromThe Conversationunder aCreative 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,...
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