How To Use Nicotine To Boost Your Energy And Creative Output (Without Enhancing The Risk Of Cancer)
Welcome back.
This is our third post on the topic of smoking cessation.
First we considered how to change your identity to a “non-smoker” in order to perform radical changes in our attitudes towards smoking and kick the habit without the use of willpower.
Second, we considered how to change your subconscious programming with the use of hypnosis if you’re unable to perform “identity shift” yourself.
And now we’re going to explore the ways in which you can use nicotine to your advantage without the risk of cancer and smelling like an ash tray.
The Tobacco Problem.
Tobacco has been used by indigenous cultures for millennia and still continues to be a part of vibrant spiritual and ceremonial practices.
And just like many other plant products - such as coca leaves or sugar canes - it had been highly processed in the last century and as a result entire populations health and well-being had suffered.
Nicotine - an active ingredient in tobacco products - works by binding to nicotinic receptors in the brain and has been proven to enhance motor skills, cognitive function and working memory in humans.
This explains why so many works of art, movies and literature had been co-authored by two powerful chemicals - nicotine and caffeine.
It’s no accident.
The problem for most of the most prolific authors, artists and prodigies in different industries was that inhaling nicotine amongst hundreds of other harmful chemicals left their lungs charred and caused premature death.
How Nicotine May Actually Work For You, Not Against You
In “How To Quit Smoking In One Simple Step (Without Using Willpower)" I described my first cigarette intake at the time I was 11 years old.
I can vividly remember taking a puff, inhaling thick smoke and coughing uncontrollably.
If at that time you had asked me if I would ever use nicotine again I would probably say "NO!".
And yet here I am, writing a text while under the prolific influence of nicotine.
So what has changed?
In the research performed by the London’s Royal College of Physicians it’s been determined that “the consumption of noncombustible [smokeless] tobacco is on the order of 10–1,000 times less hazardous than smoking, depending on the product.”
This translates to the fact that if you decide to ingest nicotine inane other way than a cigarette - be it a spray, a gum or a patch - you’re much less likely to experience negative side effects associated with 'death sticks'.
Inhale, Chew or...?
“The dose makes the poison”
- Paracelsus, Swiss doctor, father of toxicology
When considering whether or not to ingest nicotine in any shape or form we have to know how much is enough.
A small dose of nicotine can be enough to help you finish your work later in the evening without interrupting sleep as much as cup of coffee would.
But dosage and intake methods are crucial.
A typical cigarette contains between 8 and 20 mg of nicotine.
This is enough to create a powerful “high” that may trigger you to keep coming back for more.
But there are other ways to ingest nicotine. And each of them can help you achieve different type of results.
- Nicotine spray
It’s by far my favourite way of ingesting nicotine.
A single Nicorette spray dose contains only 1 mg of nicotine, but it still puts the brain into a highly efficient and harmonious state.
While for a heavy smoker inhaling as much as 150 to 200 mg of nicotine per day such dosage could hardly make a difference, for a less frequent user like me it puts me into “the zone” for as long as two to three hours at a time.
2. Nicotine gum
Nicotine gums contain usually between 2 and 4 mg of nicotine. As such they’re less deadly than cigarettes - no smoke involved! - and at the same time give you a longer-lasting effect than a spray.
I usually use a nicotine gum whenever I attend a conference with Eye Shield or go to a meeting or negotiation.
The nicotine release mechanism is slower compared to a nicotine spray and the effect is much longer - taken around noon I experience the effects well into the afternoon and early evening.
3. Nicotine patch
A nicotine patch is a solution similar to a nicotine gum, but with one exception - it does not involve chewing or contain unnecessary additives such as aspartame.
If you’re a health nut - and I certainly am - and you want to take extra care of your microbiome and gut it is important make sure your nicotine source is free from toxins such as aspartame and other gum additives.
Caveat: the first time I took a nicotine patch I felt a little bit dizzy - the 4 mg dose was much stronger than the 1 mg spray, so I highly recommend you stay away from driving a vehicle when you try it for the first time.
Nicotine Summary
If you’re like me and you like to experiment I highly recommend you start with a nicotine spray to enhance your creativity and replace the smoking habit entirely.
By now I hope you’ve decided to become a non-smoker and take responsibility for the chemicals you put into your body, as they determine the quality of your mind.
If you’d still like to hang with smokers during a “smoke break” I believe you might as well take a hit from a nicotine spray while the other people enjoy the nasty smoke and ash-tray taste on their tastebuds.
Hypnotherapy, nootropics and other methods of enhancing your creativity & output are still stigmatised or misunderstood by society, but as Jiddu Krishnamurti once put it:
It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. - J. Krishnamurti
Until next time,
Donald