3 ms·

Tech Startups Are Handing Out Free Nicotine Pouches to Boost Productivity

15 points by iancmceachern 10mo ago

diydsp 10mo ago
>custom-made vending machines for Palantir
Fizz43 10mo ago
Why is the American tech culture so comically evil. Even if this does boost productivity surely we would think that offering workers addictive substances like nicotine pouches is unacceptable behavior. I cant imagine any of the places I've worked at thinking this was an acceptable idea let alone a good idea. Maybe im just out of touch.
- iancmceachern 10mo ago
  I worked at one, with famous folks, where the CEO took Nicotine and Caffeine pills, had them in the cabinet. When I mentioned that nicotine was bad for you, he was surprised. He had 2 PHDs
  - peterfirefly 10mo ago
    Nicotine itself seems to be remarkably benign. Smoking is bad, snuff is bad.
    - iancmceachern 10mo ago
      Except for the cardiovascular damage.
      - Lapsa 10mo ago
        source please. afaik nicotine on itself is near negligibly harmful
        treesknees 10mo ago
        https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11350241/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11350241/ https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/advance-article/doi/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf1010/8377624?login=false https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/advance-article/doi/10.10... https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/nicotine-pouches/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/nicotine-pouches/index.html
        Lapsa 10mo ago
        I still don't see it. bunch of word salad. writing "safer nicotine products" in quotation marks and emphasizing that they ain't safe as if nobody's noticing a straw man argument. from what I gathered - whole thing is based upon Swedish research that states death is 2 times more likely (!!!) AFTER the heart attack while explicitly stating: "No increased risk of MI incidence has been observed in previous studies". because funky data extrapolation. oh well - at least they ain't crying that nicotine is the cause of cancer...
        treesknees 9mo ago
        You likely didn’t read the sources. If you are already convinced of your (incorrect) position and assumptions despite ample evidence, why ask for sources? From the second link: >In this policy statement, 12 evidence-based key messages that highlight the CV [cardio vascular] toxicity of nicotine are presented, irrespective of delivery system. So it doesn’t matter if it’s smoking, patches, gum, pouches, whatever. Nicotine is addictive and harmful. Perhaps not as harmful when it’s not combined with tobacco and all the other substances that come with cigarettes, but it’s not benign or harmless.
        Lapsa 9mo ago
        you likely didn't read that I did read sources and sources sources are based upon likely likely
  - hulitu 10mo ago
    > When I mentioned that nicotine was bad for you, he was surprised. You should have give him radium. /s > He had 2 PHDs A lot of politicians have a doctoral degree. It doesn't help.
- salawat 10mo ago
  The love of money is the root of all evil. The tech industry is obsessed with tapping and creating new value flows to intermediate. It should be fairly obvious.
peterfirefly 10mo ago
I've heard some of them also have free coffee.
bdangubic 10mo ago
pay so low workers can’t afford to buy nicotine pouches on their own?
nis0s 10mo ago
At some point, we have to figure out how to work smarter, not harder. I am not sure working longer pays more dividends, but working better definitely would. How do you optimize for better work? It’s unclear to me how the answer lies in caffeine, nicotine, or cocaine. Yes, you’re more active, but are your energies being spent in the right direction or activities? This is where leadership is important, and no amount of nicotine in the world will fix bad leadership or direction.

15 points by iancmceachern 10mo ago

diydsp 10mo ago

>custom-made vending machines for Palantir

Fizz43 10mo ago

Why is the American tech culture so comically evil. Even if this does boost productivity surely we would think that offering workers addictive substances like nicotine pouches is unacceptable behavior. I cant imagine any of the places I've worked at thinking this was an acceptable idea let alone a good idea. Maybe im just out of touch.

iancmceachern 10mo ago
I worked at one, with famous folks, where the CEO took Nicotine and Caffeine pills, had them in the cabinet. When I mentioned that nicotine was bad for you, he was surprised. He had 2 PHDs
- peterfirefly 10mo ago
  Nicotine itself seems to be remarkably benign. Smoking is bad, snuff is bad.
  - iancmceachern 10mo ago
    Except for the cardiovascular damage.
    - Lapsa 10mo ago
      source please. afaik nicotine on itself is near negligibly harmful
      - treesknees 10mo ago
        https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11350241/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11350241/ https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/advance-article/doi/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf1010/8377624?login=false https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/advance-article/doi/10.10... https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/nicotine-pouches/index.html https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/nicotine-pouches/index.html
        Lapsa 10mo ago
        I still don't see it. bunch of word salad. writing "safer nicotine products" in quotation marks and emphasizing that they ain't safe as if nobody's noticing a straw man argument. from what I gathered - whole thing is based upon Swedish research that states death is 2 times more likely (!!!) AFTER the heart attack while explicitly stating: "No increased risk of MI incidence has been observed in previous studies". because funky data extrapolation. oh well - at least they ain't crying that nicotine is the cause of cancer...
        treesknees 9mo ago
        You likely didn’t read the sources. If you are already convinced of your (incorrect) position and assumptions despite ample evidence, why ask for sources? From the second link: >In this policy statement, 12 evidence-based key messages that highlight the CV [cardio vascular] toxicity of nicotine are presented, irrespective of delivery system. So it doesn’t matter if it’s smoking, patches, gum, pouches, whatever. Nicotine is addictive and harmful. Perhaps not as harmful when it’s not combined with tobacco and all the other substances that come with cigarettes, but it’s not benign or harmless.
        Lapsa 9mo ago
        you likely didn't read that I did read sources and sources sources are based upon likely likely
- hulitu 10mo ago
  > When I mentioned that nicotine was bad for you, he was surprised. You should have give him radium. /s > He had 2 PHDs A lot of politicians have a doctoral degree. It doesn't help.
salawat 10mo ago
The love of money is the root of all evil. The tech industry is obsessed with tapping and creating new value flows to intermediate. It should be fairly obvious.

peterfirefly 10mo ago

I've heard some of them also have free coffee.

bdangubic 10mo ago

pay so low workers can’t afford to buy nicotine pouches on their own?

nis0s 10mo ago

At some point, we have to figure out how to work smarter, not harder. I am not sure working longer pays more dividends, but working better definitely would. How do you optimize for better work? It’s unclear to me how the answer lies in caffeine, nicotine, or cocaine. Yes, you’re more active, but are your energies being spent in the right direction or activities? This is where leadership is important, and no amount of nicotine in the world will fix bad leadership or direction.