thought you might find this interesting. Founditon wikipedia. Therapeutic uses The primary therapeutic use of nicotine is in treating nicotine dependence in order to eliminate smoking with its risks to health. Controlled levels of nicotine are given to patients through gums, dermal patches, lozenges, or nasal sprays in an effort to wean them off their dependence. However, in a few situations, smoking has been observed to apparently be of therapeutic value to patients. These are often referred to as “Smoker’s Paradoxes”[14]. Although in most cases the actual mechanism is understood only poorly or not at all, it is generally believed that the principal beneficial action is due to the nicotine administered, and that administration of nicotine without smoking may be as beneficial as smoking, without the higher risk to health due to tar and other ingredients found in tobacco. For instance, recent studies suggest that smokers require less frequent repeated revascularization after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).[14] Risk of ulcerative colitis has been frequently shown to be reduced by smokers on a dose-dependent basis; the effect is eliminated if the individual stops smoking.[15][16] Smoking also appears to interfere with development of Kaposi’s sarcoma,[17] breast cancer among women carrying the very high risk BRCA gene,[18] preeclampsia,[19] and atopic disorders such as allergic asthma.[20] A plausible mechanism of action in these cases may be nicotine acting as an anti-inflammatory agent, and interfering with the inflammation-related disease process, as nicotine has vasoconstrictive effects.[21] With regard to neurological diseases, a large body of evidence suggests that the risks of Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease might be twice as high for non-smokers than for smokers.[22] Many such papers regarding Alzheimer’s disease[23] and Parkinson’s Disease[24] have been published. A plausible mechanism of action in these cases may be the effect of nicotine, a cholinergic receptor agonist, in decreasing the levels of acetylcholine in the smoker’s brain; Parkinson’s disease occurs when the effect of dopamine is less than that of acetylcholine. Recent studies have indicated that nicotine can be used to help adults suffering from Autosomal dominant nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy. The same areas that cause seizures in that form of epilepsy are also responsible for processing nicotine in the brain.[25] Nicotine and its metabolites are being researched for the treatment of a number of disorders, including ADHD and Parkinson’s Disease. [26] The therapeutic use of nicotine as a means of appetite-control and to promote weight loss is anecdotally supported by many ex-smokers who claim to put on weight after quitting. However studies of nicotine in mice [27] suggests it may play a role in weight-loss that is independent of appetite. And studies involving the elderly suggest that nicotine affects not only weight loss, but also prevents some weight gain. [28]
nicotine is proven to help suffers of several nerological disorders including schizophrenia, A.D.H.D., and bi-polar disorder. Nicotine is also proven to be a effective anti-depresant. I have had friends that have worked at homes for schizophrenics and they claim it is very common practice to encourage the most severe patients to smoke tobacco because it cleary improves their condition mentaly. Not to insult anyone but I wouldn’t be suprised if there was a higher then average amount of people on this list with one of the above mentioned disorders then on non tobacco related forums. P.s. I’am bi-polar and nicotine certainly helps keep me on a more even keel then without.
this day and age, almost everyone who goes to a shrink for depression cause by problems in there life or use drug or alchol are called bi-polar… its not a joke, i think it is just ridicoulous… my first wife has severe bi-polar disorder, severe… in all my years with her and the things in my life dealing with shrinks, and other things have taught me that almost everyone here in my area of the country are treated almost the same, like a factory. one goes and says my wife left me and i have money problems and it making feel sad, ohhh your bi-polar. ok next, im here because i was at a party and the court says i need counsling, ohhhh your bi-polar… next guy goes in and says i am have parinod thoughts and hear voices, ohhhh scitzo…nooooo pi-polar, this is just wild. i was sent by court when i was young. i got caught coming home from the bar over the limit, they sent me to a counsler like everyone else here. i sat in a room with 40 people for group counsling for court, all for the same offense, and what was wild, they diagnosed us all, all 40 with bipolar after filling out a 10 question paper and prescribed us drugs too take. i think the question, “have you ever done anything you found stupid?” was the one that got us, lol. this is by no means funny. i am about a normal as everyone else i know, and so was 2/3 of the rest of the room. i had taken care of a very sick wife for 8 years, and this is a serious disease and did have alot of anxiety and depression. i think we all are a tincy bit bi-polar by design we get excited at times and sad at others, but deserve when we seek help, or advice from proffesionals they should throw away the questionaire and spend atleast 30 minutes of the hour we are billed for and just talk to us to see what we need. no shit… and when you find one that does you have to sit on a waiting list for a year or two before he has the time to see you. everything in america is turning into or starting to be run on that assembly line, fast food, walmart attitude. then when people go wrong and we listen about it on the news, they make it sound like. “wow, how did this person fall through the cracks???”, like most of dont or something??? one day i found my wife sitting about to commit suicide, i took her too the emergency room, after a 6 hour wait, the doc came in and said… so, what is this that you were gonna hurt your self or somthing? you look fine to me, i think u will be ok, cheer up ok, i have real patients too see so i am gonna have to cut this short, i dont see anything wrong…you probably just wanted a bit of attention hunh? if, it gets worse or she actually does hurt her self you all are welcome to come back, ok…and he left. this is true almost down to the word. we said probably two words as my wife cried horribly, anyway… after another wait at another hospitial they gave here some pills and let me stay up for 3 days too watch her… but that was my life back then, until she talked a family doc into giving her prozac. she stoped taking her mood stabilzers and went into a huge manic episode left three weeks later and i have only seen her once (at the divorce) since…
and yes, it helped a bit. funny story… we met when she was 18. she never smoked before, came home one day at 21 with a pack of marlboro menthol 100s and just started smoking straight up, a pack to a pack and a half a day. i still too this day have never seen anything like it…she quite 6 years later the same way…
Not that this is the proper place for this discussion but… That pisses me off sometimes how quickly people are diagnosed these days. I’m only 29 but it took a lot more then a questionaire to even figure out what type of problems I was haveing that was sixteen years ago. Now people that young will get diagnosed in no time flat and be given drugs that alter the chemistry of the brain more then most illegal drugs. It doesn’t help anyone but the pharmacutical companies. I could rant endlessly about what soulless greed bags run and aid that industry (what kind of doctor cares more about bribes from a company then the health of their patients.). One thing I have found ridiculous is how many little assholes I’ve known who get diagnosed by these vampirice demon doctors then use that as an excuse to act like even bigger assholes then they where before (oh excuse me I can be a complete dick 24 hours a day because I’am bi-polar), where as most people I know that I really think are bi-polar seem to at least do somewhat better and behave a little more even (even if it’s nothing more then not emotionaly beating the crap out of themselves for something inexplicable they did the night before). On to that lame ass questionaire. Have you done anything you think is stupid? Fuck that the correct question to ask a bi-polar person isn’t if they’ve done stupid things but if they have numerous times they have done something that doesn’t even being to remotely make sense to them latter (i.e.girlfriend “why did you fuck my sister?” bi-polar person “last night I thought you’d probably be happy for both of us, which now makes no sense at all but last night”.) completely diffrent thing. Though my final thought on all that crap. The human race as a unit has been completely bat shit loco well pretty much for as long as we’ve been recording what we do. I feel more sane then most people even if I can have wild mood swings and massively dellusional thoughts (hey unlike most societal beliefs people hold dearly onto, later I’ll realize how “crazy” my thinking was.) Bob
I find tobacco to be therapeutic. I suffer from a neurological disorder, as yet is still under investigation with a neurologist, and have been going through many different tests the past 6 months to find out what it is. I find taking a pinch of snuff helps a great deal. I don’t know whether this is due to the nicotine helping the dopamine levels in my brain or due to the natural harmala alkaloids present in tobacco. I do worry about possible health risks, especially about damaging my nose, however the benefits I get from the snuff tobacco seem to outweigh this and improve my quality of life. I tried using nicotine replacement therapy. but this didn’t agree with me, most of the NRT products are unpleasant and snuff isn’t, not to mention the huge price difference. I particularly enjoy mixing different ones together to get my own blend, it has opened up a whole new world in terms of my sense of smell. Never knew there could be so much enjoyment to be had out of scent. I think there is definately some therapeutic value to be had with tobacco. I see it as medicine and it has helped me a great deal. However like all medicines I think it is important to respect it, best to err on the side of caution and use moderation and don’t overdo it due to unknown possible health risks. I’ve seen some very silly videos on youtube of people snorting huge lines of the stuff, and I think that is very dangerous and foolish. I pray they will stop before the health fanatics use it as ammunition to jump on snuff and try to prohibit it. bless
Well it does alter your brain chemistry relatively dramaticly. Except for the withdraw not a single change to brain chemistry is negative in any way. So it is much better then any of the crap pharma companies pawn off to the ignorant public. Bob
I don’t know if the nicotine did it but since upping my nic levels with snuff and the odd chew or dip a persistent low-grade fungus infection has completely cleared up. I could control it with ant-fungal creams and hydorcorisone, but it always came back. I had this for years. No more. Also I used to have psoriasis on my elbows and toes, and that’s gone too. Using tobacco in moderation can have health benefits, and risk can be reduced further by good hygiene - flushing out the nose and sinuses with warm salt water every evening before bed is a highly recommended routine.
i have had my bouts with the farm companies and shrinks and so on and so forth and i’ll tell you it was a long bout i was on the streets for a number of years and went crazy from drug usage so the shrinks told me if you take these drugs you will feel better and return to sanity so i told the shrinks hey man if drugs are the answer i am probably the most sane one here and lights really do come out of the sky and try to kill you or i am crazy and drugs don’t work then i walked out i have now been off drugs for 5 years with all the help from God that i can get and let me tell you i was crazy and drugs don’t do jack but make you a zombie so all in all you can choose i was a heavy smoker for the past 13 years but now i’m having a kid so i switched to snuff and enjoy it a lot and i believe that nicotine helped keep me even keeled but i thing that God restored me to sanity just something to ponder
Hi shaggy definately have to agree that snuff is really enjoyable and definately helps with the even keel. Heck I don’t believe in God though if I did I would certainly would think he had a hand in helping. Either way it sounds like it is all good.