As stated in a study by the pharmaceutical development company, Pinney Associates, while most adults are aware that nicotine is the addictive factor in cigarettes, it was found that most of them also wrongly assume that it causes cancer.
Despite the numerous health benefits provided by nicotine owing to its several interesting properties, the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco presented a paper in their 24th annual meeting stating that a larger portion of the public is still grossly misinformed about the dangers of cigarettes. Nicotine which is a significant component of cigarette has not been rightly presently to the public which is what is majorly responsible for the misconception about the natural alkaloid.
Contrary to what most people had believed about nicotine, several studies have confirmed its huge health benefits, including helping to prevent brain shrinkage, offering protection against such neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s Disease among many others.
Are there any Medicinal benefits in Nicotine?
Of course, but because of the common side effects associated with the use of nicotine, it has made many people forget the amazing health benefits locked up in nicotine aside just the pleasant sensation they enjoy with tobacco.
According to a study conducted on young and aged monkeys, it was observed that nicotine showed significant improvement in their retention and matching-to-sample tasks. When this study was conducted on humans, it was concluded that nicotine help promotes prospective memory, thus helping you remember things for the future
Nicotine also affects the acetylcholine which is a neurotransmitter that plays a significant role in the brain’s memory and retention ability. In Alzheimer’s disease patients, for instance, acetylcholine is dramatically reduced in the brain due to the death or damage of the neurons releasing the neurotransmitter in such individual. But as explained by the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, the effect of nicotine on acetylcholine can help delay the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease as well as help mitigate the associated symptoms.
Nicotine is also a powerful alertness enhancer stimulant the promotes focus and concentration. In several studies, nicotine has been proved to improve attention and processing speed. It offers the same stimulating effect as the one you experience with a cup of coffee.
However, using the 2017 health information national trends survey, researchers from Pinney Associates analyzed 1,736 adults and approximately 53% of the participants said nicotine causes cancer. Of course, that may be a misconception. However, it was also observed from the study that smokers tend to be more misinformed than non-smokers.
Misconception about e-cigarettes
A similar misconception was also recorded by another study where the National Cancer Institute’s Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) indicated that smokers mistakenly believed that e-cigarettes are more harmful than regular cigarettes in 2017 than they did in 2013.
These facts could be alarming as it reveals how many lives are being lost to smokers who would never consider switching to the safer alternatives which could have saved their lives. According to many public health experts who have been repeatedly pointing out a major factor contributing more to the spread of this misinformation is the release of inaccurate and alarming statements by authority figures like the Surgeon General. And so, have been urging lawmakers to look more into the scientific data about e-cigarette and nicotine and then release corrective statements to accordingly correct the gross misconception in the mind of the public.