Is Nicotine Beneficial?
For quite a few people, nicotine provides the benefits that some people get from caffeine or Ritalin: it helps them focus and be more productive, overcoming attention-deficit-type problems. For some people, nicotine provides relief from stress, anxiety, or panic. For people suffering from some severe mental illnesses, nicotine seems to provide great relief, which probably explains why a very large fraction of psychiatric patients smoke.
Nicotine is also suspected as the reason for the lower incidence of Parkinson’s Disease among smokers. And for those who have it, nicotine appears to reduce the associated symptoms.
Laws against smoking in public places are often […]