# Any nicotine benefits for non-smokers?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nicotine-benefits-for-non-smokers/222753>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 5, 2004, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nicotine-benefits-for-non-smokers/222753 "2004-01-05T04:14:16Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Reader99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df788c/32.png) [@Reader99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reader99)\
**Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nicotine-benefits-for-non-smokers/222753/1 "2004-01-05T04:14:16Z")

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I have never been a smoker. But I keep hearing from smokers who try to quit and fail, or who succeed in quitting but miss it desperately, that smoking is simultaneously (and paradoxically) relaxing and mind-sharpening. People smoke to relax in tense situations, as a stimulant when they are studying for exams, etc. (I started thinking about this while watching an old movie when passengers, even non-smokers, on an airliner in trouble shared cigarettes.) Do these effects kick in only after the tobacco addiction takes hold, or are they the consistent result of any nicotine intake? What i’m getting at is this: would there be any benefit–improved concentration, reduced stress–for a non-smoker to occasionally use nicotine gum, nicotine patches etc? What would be the side effects, particularly the negative health effects, of usiing nicotine products this way? I’m assuming that lung cancer and emphysema would probably not be issues, but heart disease could be. And would the danger of addiction be as severe as for smoking? Maybe even worse? Anybody have any personal experience along these lines?

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**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\
**Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nicotine-benefits-for-non-smokers/222753/2 "2004-01-05T05:19:51Z")

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Man, is your timing good:

[http://www.sunspot.net/news/health/bal-hf.briefs04jan04,0,5597053.story?coll=bal-health-headlines](http://www.sunspot.net/news/health/bal-hf.briefs04jan04,0,5597053.story?coll=bal-health-headlines)

> [@](#):
>
> For many years, doctors have been trying to harness the memory-enhancing powers of nicotine without exposing people to the carcinogenic chemicals in cigarette smoke. A nicotine patch could be the answer.
> 
> Several studies have shown that nicotine can improve attentiveness among patients with attention deficit disorders, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease and mild to moderate Alzheimer’s. Now, a small study from Duke University researchers suggests that low-dose nicotine patches might relieve the mildest form of memory loss, a common condition called age-associated memory impairment - often referred to as “senior moments.”

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**Author:** ![Catfood\_Purrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Catfood\_Purrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catfood_Purrito)\
**Post date:** [January 5, 2004, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-nicotine-benefits-for-non-smokers/222753/3 "2004-01-05T07:57:37Z")

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I’ve read that ingestion of nicotine seems to lower one’s risk for developing ulcerative colitis. The gastroenterologist I used to work for prescribed nicotine patches for some of his ulcerative colitis patients.