If you listen to the anti-smoking crowd, nicotine and is the devil incarnate. And when the main delivery method was on cigarettes, this sentiment was basically true. But now that nicotine vape has firmly separated the concept of nicotine use from cigarette use... we're on a whole new playing field. For example, it was found in a recent study that nicotine isn't bad for your teeth, tar is. And nicotine doesn't give you lung/throat cancer, smoking burning plant material, tar, and fiberglass does. While this is great news for all the nic-vapers out there, it's even better news for people who have traditionally used cigarettes to treat various medical ailments. And yes, that is a real thing for readers who aren't familiar with the practice.
THE HISTORY OF MEDICAL CIGARETTE SMOKING
Despite being one of the least popular substances on the planet, nicotine in its pure form has some incredibly useful medical qualities (scientific journal from PLOS Biology). It has been successfully used to treat Alzheimers, Parkinsons, schizophrenia, chronic depression, and acute anxiety. It has been known to help ADHD adults maintain focus, ease chronic pain, and suppress the appetite for those combating medical obesity. In fact, many smokers and ex-smoking nic-vapers already know some of this stuff, because they've been carefully self-treating for years and have experienced a real reduction in their problematic symptoms.
In the past, particularly before the big 'discovery' that cigarettes are unhealthy, doctors used to prescribe cigarettes to a number of people who suffered from these conditions because it really can help. Someone who suffers from anxiety could prevent a panic attack with a quick smoke break. Those with mild schizophrenia found it easier to hold their lives together with the focusing and energizing effect of a nicotine cigarette. Without the negative brain-effects of high-grade psych meds. Of course, we're not singing the praises of cigarettes, here. Cigarettes are full of tar, fiberglass, and other nasty stuff that gives you cancer. But the nicotine inside has served its medical purpose over the decades. And fortunately, times are changing.
Nicotine is a mild stimulant. It energizes and focuses the mind. It is an antipsychotic, appetite suppressant, and it even makes mosquitoes stay away from you. But up until vape, the delivery system also killed you slowly. Sometimes not so slowly. Which is why we're so excited to talk about how nicotine vape is introducing a whole new world for people who can benefit from small amounts of medical nicotine.
THE DAWN OF MEDICAL NICOTINE VAPE
Without any flavoring, a puff of nicotine vape includes only two ingredients. Pure concentrated nicotine (colorless and odorless) and the e-juice oil base. Neither of these ingredients causes cancer, lung damage, teeth yellowing, or even bad breath. And the flavorings are equally harmless. Think cooking flavor concentrates and essential oils. While this may seem like a pretty tame fact to most people, for those that need nicotine for medical purposes, nicotine-bearing vape has practically descended from the heavens.
Because finally, nicotine is available in a way that doesn't make you sick in other ways. It is now possible to attain the pure medical benefits of nicotine without even worrying about side-effects of the tobacco plant because concentrated nicotine is so purely derived that nothing of the original plant remains. In fact, not all nicotine in vape is even derived from tobacco plants at all. Without the need for smokable leaves, it turns out we can find nicotine in almost any plant member of the nightshade family, sometimes in higher amounts. There are even trace amounts in tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, and green peppers. Though veggies are not efficient enough at producing nicotine to be worth deriving concentrates from.
You are probably already familiar with the medical benefit of nicotine vape in helping smokers quit cigarettes and ease off their nicotine dosage over time. But this is even better news for people with Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, and anxiety disorders, and congenital depression who can mentally and emotionally benefit from nicotine and no longer have to look to cigarettes as their only source.
SWITCHING TO NICOTINE VAPE FROM SMOKING FOR MEDICAL REASONS
If you are one of the many people who has smoked cigarettes to find relief from a medical condition, know that you are very much not alone. A great many current smokers and occasional-smokers picked up the habit because nothing else provides the same mild and vitally beneficial boost in mood, focus, and our ability to stay calm. Many people smoke instead of using anti-psychotic or mood-stabilizing psych meds because smoking actually has a less devastating impact on your day-to-day health and lifestyle. But now you have an even better option. One that you can fine-tune like a real medicine instead of just a stop-gap measure plus an excuse to take a walk outside in difficult moments.
Anyone smoking or who has smoked for a medical benefit, you have every reason to make the switch to vape. With a cartomizer rig, you can even swing by your favorite convenience store and chat with your favorite clerk like you always do. Only this time, you'll be picking up a cartridge of nic-vape or two instead of a pack of cancer-sticks.
Or, if you really do want to fine-tune your dosage (this is especially for people who smoke half a cigarette and save the rest for later), then go with a tank rig instead and buy e-liquid with custom nicotine concentrations so you can find exactly the right balance to treat your symptoms without going overboard. In fact, you can fine-tune your experience even more by mixing non-nicotine and unflavored vape juices to dilute the concentrations you start with. Though it is not recommended to do it the other way around.
There are tons of guides on how to quit smoking using vape, and for anyone who needs nicotine for a medical reason, these should work out great for you up to the point where you find the perfect dose and maintain exactly where you want to be.
TRYING NICOTINE IN VAPE IF YOU SUFFER FROM A DOPAMINE-RELATED CONDITION
Depression, Anxiety, Schizophrenia, Adult ADHD. The one thing all these nicotine-treatable conditions have in common is a disorder involving dopamine receptors. Alzeheimers and Parkinsons relate to neurotransmitter depletion and degradation, and dopamine is one of the things it depletes. Nicotine interacts with your brain as if it were the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Andacetylochline stimulates dopamine release, among other things. So essentially, if you don't produce or process dopamine correctly, nicotine can help.
A low dose of nicotine is almost exactly what many people with mild dopamine-related conditions need to balance their internally imbalanced neurotransmitters and dopamine levels. And for progressive conditions like Alzheimers and Parkinsons, it can slow deterioration and reduce the mood disturbances that tend to come along for the ride.
So if you are someone who would never ever consider smoking a cigarette because of cancer and all that, nicotine-bearing vape might just be the perfect psych-med free solution to your problems related to maintaining mental focus and a positive mood.
If you do decide to go this route, let us strongly encourage you to start with the lowest possible dose and begin to keep a journal. Record your moods and ability to focus during the day for a few days or weeks as you test out if nicotine is the right solution for you. If it's not, a low dose will help you avoid the cravings later. And if it is, you'll know for sure because your journal will get more focused and cheerful over time.
KNOWING WHEN NICOTINE VAPE IS NOT SOMETHING YOU SHOULD TRY
Of course, we don't want to give anyone the impression that nicotine is a panacea for all emotional or focus-related ills. It won't help you if you're trying to cram for finals. It won't help you feel better in the temporary deep depression after a break-up. It won't keep you calm during your big music recital. Nicotine as a medical substance is specifically for people who already have a natural neurotransmitter imbalance that qualifies as a medical disorder.
People who might benefit from self-treating with small amounts of nicotine have a dopamine disorder that makes them sad, nervous, disorganized, or more susceptible to pain all the time. Every minute of every day. And sometimes the symptoms get so overwhelming that they can result in panic attacks, deep inescapable depressions, or losing jobs due to disorganization. If this doesn't sound like you, then, by all means, continue to enjoy huge clouds of nicotine-free vape all day with no need to branch out into nicotine use. Just like you wouldn't crumble your schizophrenic best friend's clozapine pills into your vape just to see what it's like.
If you're not leaving smoking behind or treating an ongoing medical issue, don't even worry about nicotine. One of the best things about the vape culture is that it has brought the ability to blow big awesome flavorful clouds without actually picking up a risky smoking habit. So rejoice with your own personal vaping enjoyment. In fact, you can do it right next to your schizophrenic best friend with their mind-focusing lightly nicotine-laced vape and all will be as it should be in the vaping world.
We rejoice in all the miracles of vaping. The nicotine-free clouds, the smoke-free medical nicotine, the cannabis-bearing vape (in legal states where you can add it yourself), and the pure joy of delicious flavors rolling around in your mouth and sinuses.