In the New York Times article (April 20, 2026) "Influencers Are Spinning Nicotine as a 'Natural' Health Hack," Dani Blum reports that "health influencers" are claiming that nicotine has been unfairly maligned, and in fact is a "natural" product that can protect against Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases, makes you more alert, and helps you live longer. There are also claims that nicotine can cure COVID and cancer.
A relatively new but increasingly popular way to obtain nicotine is by sucking on "nicotine pouches," which look a bit like a sachet and contain nicotine salt. Apparently to use them you put them between your lips and teeth for an hour. According to Tucker Carlson, a TV host and commentator who sells nicotine pouches, they can increase productivity and "male vitality." He apparently said that using nicotine patches is "like the hand of God reaching down and massaging your central nervous system."
These pouches are very easy to obtain, online or even in gas stations and convenience stores. Are they really the answer to all of these health problems?
Like many "misconceptions," there are a few kernels of truth.
Nicotine can improve cognition but effect sizes small and variable (Sanzone 2023). People with mental illness, especially schizophrenia, do smoke more, possibly for cognitive benefits (Szerman 2024). And there is a small but reliable association between smoking cigarettes and Parkinson's Disease (but not Alzheimer's) such that people who smoke nicotine cigarettes seem to have a slightly lower incidence of Parkinson's Disease (Kumari 2025). Smoking nicotine cigarettes can also reduce inflammation in ulcerative colitis (Lunney 2012), but not Crohn's Disease. Whether or not nicotine actually increases "male vitality," it does slightly increase testosterone levels, albeit at the sacrifice of sperm count and quality (Kimblad 2022).
For all of the positive effects reported, the effect sizes are small, and we don't know for sure what the mechanisms are. Nicotine binds to certain receptors of the acetylcholine system (nicotinic cholinergic receptors) that are found in the brain, and activating these receptors might account for effects on cognition (Jasinska 2024). Nicotinic cholinergic receptors are also located in the autonomic nervous system. Their actions on the sympathetic system are assumed to be responsible for the cardiovascular system risks of nicotine use. Nicotinic cholinergic receptors are also found on immune cells, and when stimulated by acetylcholine or nicotine, they turn off inflammation. This is the key mechanism of the "vagal anti-inflammatory reflex" that provides the mechanism by which vagus nerve stimulation and mind-body modalities that activate the vagus nerve reduce inflammation.
A key point here is that you can get at least the same benefits by means other than taking nicotine. And this is desirable because, as everyone must know, the big problem with nicotine is that it is highly addictive. Tobacco products are also associated with cancer and lung problems such as emphysema and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). There are no long-term data regarding whether pure nicotine products will be safer, but I wouldn't bet the farm.
My thoughts: this is, objectively, a great business plan. You have a product for which you can make (slightly) credible claims of health benefits, and when the customers realize the benefits were wildly overstated it's too late. Now they are hooked.