Nicotine's Dark Side

Some of nicotine's effects have spurred studies on whether it might be useful as a therapy for certain conditions. Some diseases that nicotine might improve include:

  • Alzheimer's Disease - The first neurons lost to Alzheimers are cholinergic neurons in a specific region of the brain. Nicotine may improve the function of the neurons that are left and slow the onset of symptoms.
  • Tourette's Syndrome - This disease produces tics (uncontrolled movements of the head, hands and other body parts) and violent urges in its sufferers. Nicotine patches that slowly deliver nicotine through the skin can reduce symptoms of people with Tourette's.

But, for the average person, the health problems associated with using nicotine-containing products are far worse than any benefits. These include:

Many of these are actually caused by other chemicals in cigarette smoke or in smokeless tobacco products. The biggest problem with nicotine is how easily you become dependent on smoking or chewing tobacco.