Why aren't nicotine patches used as stimulants?

Yes, I could see some people using nicotine patches instead of coffee as a stimulant. Nicotine has also been used to help treat some cognitive and auto-immune diseases, on never-smoker patients. If nicotine was “harmful” or “addictive”, the ethics panel would never allow such treatments. Nicotine, the Wonder Drug? read more

Maybe simply because most people would rather have a warm, delicious coffee instead. :) And the “anti-smoking-AND-nicotine” propaganda has probably put the idea on most people’s minds that nicotine is unhealthy, because “it’s tobacco”. read more

And lastly, nicotine patches can give you cancer too. True, nicotine is addictive, but it is only one of the 4000 chemicals in a cigarette. And it is the least harmful component in tobacco. Using the nicotine patch is less dangerous that smoking even one cigarette. So, go ahead. It’s safe to use the patch. And good luck in your goal to be smoke-free. read more

About 40 years ago, Russell was one of the first scientists to suggest that people"smoke for the nicotine, but die from the tar" - an idea that helped lay the ground for the NRT business of gums, patches, vaporizers and now e-cigarettes. read more

Nicotine is one of a very small group of chemicals, probably the only one that is in common use, which works as both a stimulant and a depressant. Chemicals like this are called Biphasic. Pure Nicotine is very, very poisonous. read more