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Comment by lolwutf | Hacker News Reader

From anecdotal experience, nicotine has quite a similar effect to amphetamine (therapeutic dosing.. i.e. Adderall).

Nicotine, in low doses, by itself (i.e. outside of tobacco, which contains MAOIs, which potentiate nicotine's effects), is not terribly addictive. I'll occasionally supplement it for a few days at a time, then stop. I would caution anyone supplementing nicotine NEVER to smoke tobacco, at the same time.

Patches are the most healthy way to consume nicotine. Nicotine + gums = all kinds of bad stuff. Still, there's some slight carcinogenic risk with long-term use of the stuff, so it's not a miracle drug. :(

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Hence why I think the "ADHD Overdiagnosis Epidemic" in the USA is bullshit -- the fact of the matter is that 45% of the USA smoked in the 1950s, a number which has since been cut in half [1]. Considering the hypothesis that intoxication is a basic human need, it stands to reason that, given the stigmatization and taxation of tobacco, that we're now just relying on amphetamine rather than nicotine. I'd suggest that ADHD has been engrained in American life for at least a century, the difference being that, up until 10-20 years ago, we had a readily-accessible, socially-acceptable medication for it.

[1] http://www.gallup.com/poll/109048/us-smoking-rate-still-comi...

[2] Siegel, Ronald K (2005). Intoxication: The Universal Drive for Mind-Altering Substances. Park Street Press, Rochester, Vermont. ISBN 1-59477-069-7.

A friend of mine is a psychiatrist who specializes in treating ADHD. She told me about a conference she went to recently, where someone presented an interesting paper.

Apparently, there was an amazing study done relatively recently (last five years), in which they demonstrated that, in mice, exposure to nicotine during pregnancy results in higher rates of ADHD in the grandchildren (passed down through the female offspring exposed to nicotine in utero, not the males).

I can't find the study at the moment, but the findings would be monumental if they also apply to humans too.

What kind of bad stuff with gum? After reading gwern i started trying out gum and it's nice. I have no cravings and never have to or want to consume more than a single gum per day. Most of the time it's a quarter or half a chiclet + headphones and a clean desk to get me into a 2-4 hour coding session.

I'm worried about if it will damage my oral health or anything though. Will it?

You can do a couple pieces of day, with no problem, IME. Chew it up well and let it sit in your lip for optimal absorption.

That said, when nicotine is exposed to oral tissues, it may be promoting:

-oral cancer

Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20338106

-gingivitis

Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20337880

-receding gums

Source: don't have a specific study handy, but this high-level review mentions it, and other issues: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2933534/

Keep in mind, these are all slight chances. If you do this regularly for years, it may be of concern. Every once in a while? No biggie.

Patch will get you around all of these, specific issues at least. There's still that whole 'carcinogenic, overall' thing.

The first study doesn't say that it causes oral cancer, but can cause resistance to chemotherapy. Additionally, that study is of smokers.

There is a LOT of anecdotal evidence that chewing nicotine gum causes hair loss [0].

I chewed nicotine gum for 3 months, 3 pieces a day. My hair is too short to notice any loss, but I was quite aware if just an overall deterioration of my mouth. Eroding gums, thinning enamel, and yellowing teeth color. Yuck.

I really suggest electronic cigs over gum...

0: http://www.askapatient.com/mobile/viewrating.asp?drug=18612&...

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