4 ms·

Pretty impressive work. I personally use nicotine gum (as does President Obama, a health nut) as I'm allergic to caffeine. I have used melatonin in the past,

Pretty impressive work. I personally use nicotine gum (as does President Obama, a health nut) as I'm allergic to caffeine. I have used melatonin in the past, though given this I will use it more now. The key I find is to only use them when you have already outlined in a detailed way a significant set of tasks that need to be performed or a particularly critical meeting where you already have a very strong background. For learning, general creative process I don't use them. The biggest problem is managing the physical addiction (ie, you feel very tired) when you're not taking them. Also there is some evidence that nicotine increases incidence of cancer. Not to mention what it does to my blood pressure, though I find constant exercise helps manage that.

RandomInteger4 10y ago
I don't know if I'd call President Obama a health nut; maybe Michelle, but not sure about Barack, unless he quit smoking and switched permanently to the gum.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- dajohnson89 10y ago
  Nicotine gum is awful for your teeth and gums, and there's a lot of anecdotal evidence that it thins out hair.
  - RandomInteger4 10y ago
    Perhaps, and I wouldn't know from first hand experience trying it myself, but I imagine it is almost guaranteed to be safer than smoking. For reference on that matter, my mother passed away a while back from lung cancer induced by smoking (small cell lung cancer).
    - dajohnson89 10y ago
      Yes nicotene gum is definitely safer than smoking, and also safer than playing russian roulette.
  - nhaliday 10y ago
    Do you have a source for the first assertion? I can't find any studies on google. I'm skeptical because people so often attribute many of the negative effects of other chemicals in tobacco to nicotine with no evidence (a point the OP hammers home at https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine). Even the FDA seems comfortable with this conflation, as evidenced by their disposition toward e-cigs.
    - dajohnson89 10y ago
      Academic studies? No, sorry, I can't find any either. Here's a a source of anecdotal evidence, FWIW. http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=18612&name=NICORETTE http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=18612&name=NI...
      - nhaliday 10y ago
        It would be pretty hard to separate the effects of nicotine from the effects of a lifetime of smoking + potentially poor dental hygiene (gum disease is rampant https://www.perio.org/consumer/cdc-study.htm https://www.perio.org/consumer/cdc-study.htm) + aging. Per wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine) the general medical consensus is that nicotine poses few risks on its own for nonpregnant adults, besides vasoconstriction and dependence.
- blazespin 10y ago
  He exercises constantly and eats food with incredible discipline. He also has the best doctors in the world.
  - TheTrotters 10y ago
    I believe he exercises daily, not constantly. And what do we know about his eating habits? That 7 almond story isn't true.

RandomInteger4 10y ago

I don't know if I'd call President Obama a health nut; maybe Michelle, but not sure about Barack, unless he quit smoking and switched permanently to the gum.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
dajohnson89 10y ago
Nicotine gum is awful for your teeth and gums, and there's a lot of anecdotal evidence that it thins out hair.
- RandomInteger4 10y ago
  Perhaps, and I wouldn't know from first hand experience trying it myself, but I imagine it is almost guaranteed to be safer than smoking. For reference on that matter, my mother passed away a while back from lung cancer induced by smoking (small cell lung cancer).
  - dajohnson89 10y ago
    Yes nicotene gum is definitely safer than smoking, and also safer than playing russian roulette.
- nhaliday 10y ago
  Do you have a source for the first assertion? I can't find any studies on google. I'm skeptical because people so often attribute many of the negative effects of other chemicals in tobacco to nicotine with no evidence (a point the OP hammers home at https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine). Even the FDA seems comfortable with this conflation, as evidenced by their disposition toward e-cigs.
  - dajohnson89 10y ago
    Academic studies? No, sorry, I can't find any either. Here's a a source of anecdotal evidence, FWIW. http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=18612&name=NICORETTE http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=18612&name=NI...
    - nhaliday 10y ago
      It would be pretty hard to separate the effects of nicotine from the effects of a lifetime of smoking + potentially poor dental hygiene (gum disease is rampant https://www.perio.org/consumer/cdc-study.htm https://www.perio.org/consumer/cdc-study.htm) + aging. Per wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine) the general medical consensus is that nicotine poses few risks on its own for nonpregnant adults, besides vasoconstriction and dependence.
blazespin 10y ago
He exercises constantly and eats food with incredible discipline. He also has the best doctors in the world.
- TheTrotters 10y ago
  I believe he exercises daily, not constantly. And what do we know about his eating habits? That 7 almond story isn't true.