Why does nicotine make me more alert than caffeine?

Essentially the two are pretty similar in terms of human effects (though you may have noticed that one is often treated as being close to a sacrament by the same folks who treat the other as the fatal kiss of Lucifer himself!). The biggest practical difference is probably modes of administration. Hmm... read more

Nicotine showed a somewhat faster time to peak subjective effects than caffeine (2 versus 4 min). Subjective ratings that differentiated caffeine and nicotine were ratings of rush, blurry vision, and stimulant identification (elevated by nicotine) and ratings of unusual smell and/or taste (elevated by caffeine). read more

Caffeine is much more available, and seems to be much more safe than nicotine. Nicotine also seems to be primarily released upon combustion – only electronic cigarette juice and snus/snuff do not require the item to be combusted in order for nicotine to be released into a usable state. read more

Caffeine is also different from other food additives because, like nicotine and amphetamines, it functions as a “drug reinforcer.” In other words, people are more likely to choose a food with caffeine over one that’s caffeine-free. Caffeine and customer loyalty. That hasn’t been lost on food and beverage companies. read more

Both nicotine and caffeine are alkaloids that come from plant sources. While nicotine is produced from tobacco plant and is found in cigarette packs and cigars easily available in the market, caffeine is produced from coffee plant and sold openly in the form of coffee powder and tea bags in all parts of the world. read more