Quote:
Originally Posted by FreeThinker  For all the negative things a cigarette does to your body, there is one positive - it makes you smarter. Researchers have shown that nicotine stimulated certain neurotransmitters in the brain responsible for learning and memory.
Cigarettes may be bad for health and taxed to hell, but guess what isn't: nicotine gum. Thanks to the anti-smoking lobby nicotine gum has no tax and can be purchased at any pharmacy, with prices roughly equivalent - milligram for milligram - to cigarettes. The only health hazards are the same as coffee: slightly increased heartrate and mild addiction. Just like coffee, quitting suddenly will cause mild headaches and tiredness for a few days. Good luck banning gum you hordes of anti-smoking hippies.
Source: Nicotine Enhances Learning And Memory: Could This Lead To New Alzheimer's Medications? |
I'm sure nicotine gum increases one's risk of oral, maxillary, and esophageal cancer, the same as chewing tobacco does.
I choose to chew it anyway occasionally. But it's good to be honest with oneself about the risks associated with one's actions.
Nicotine gum is not approved for long-term use (it's meant to be used for 4 to 6 weeks, possibly up to twelve weeks, for smoking cessation), and nicotine is carcinogenic. Chewing nicotine gum for years is no doubt equally as risky as chewing tobacco for an equivalent number of years, although both activities are still far less risky than cigarette smoking, and they have the added benefit of not exposing
others to second-hand carcinogens.