Elf Bars: Using Nicotine as a Nootropic

[Snowdog]

Lately I've been working on a project that is cognitively challenging on occasion.   I am currently on a handful of nootropics that I have found to be useful and that have thus far proven to work well for me.

Unfortunately, one of those nootropics happens to have a bad rap: nicotine.

I've found nicotine to offer the fastest acting and possibly the most effective, at least in the short term, benefits of all the others I've used.

I smoked Camels as a teen (16-19 years of age) and had no issues quitting after a half pack to 1 pack a day habit.  I'm not prone to addictive tendencies but I don't want to run into any unforseen problems, either.

For nicotine, I've been vaping an Elf Bar that uses nicotine salts. The unit contains 20ml of nicotine (5%) that dispensing this amount of nicotine over the course of roughly "5000 puffs".

According to Elf Bar, one Bar contains the nicotine equivalent of 48 cigarettes (over the course of 5000 puffs).  At this rate, though it doesn't sound right, this Bar should last me years yet only provides 48 cigarettes worth of nicotine?  It does feature a USB-C charging port, so necessary if it truly lasts that long.

I find myself using this Elf Bar on work days and have discovered I'm more productive/effective for about 1 hour to 90 minutes on one puff.  I usually have between 2 and 4 puffs every day, 4 days of the week.  On days off, I have no need for it nor do I have any cravings.

Here's my concern, when I take a puff, I become lightheaded for at least a minute or two after.  Though it's not as severe now, the dizziness is still very evident.  In the beginning, the sensation of the nicotine kicking in felt identical to about 3 rapid shots of vodka (I was in College once  ) for a solid minute, meaning I'd have to be on break lest someone sees me appearing briefly  intoxicated.

This dizziness is less pronounce, but still there (akin to 1 or  2 shots of vodka for a minute or two).

Here's the question: When used at the present levels, are there any significant health concerns for use solely as a nootropic for a 46-year-old in good health?  For me, it does not encourage coughing and all noticeable effects other than the cognitive benefits fade within a few minutes.  I don't believe I am physiologically or psychologically dependant/addicted to it, but I know there is a chance of that developing.



I've been doing this now for around 2 months, but as I intend to continue of possible, I thought it best to ask the wise sages here besides simply researching with Google.

Any experiences, knowledge or warnings your like to share concerning this?

Thanks in advance!

[230RN]

Isn't nicotine closely related to the B-vitamin Niacin?  I remember getting a bit of a rush and skin-tingling from using it as a vitamin supplement and as an aid to quitting smoking.  (I finally "quit by grit," that is, just firmly deciding to quit and suffering in self-imposed isolation for five+ days.  This was back in 2017.)

With one exception, I never used extralegal substances except 'way back in the late sixties, Wife1 and I went to a party where pot was used and we tried it.  I didn't like it and had a hard time driving home that night.  (Haven't touched it since, legal or not nowadays.)

I have previously mentioned here and elsewhere that I found that ordinary MSG in the form of the flavor-enhancing "Accent," sodium glutamate,  available anywhere.  I used to keep a small bottle of it at the office and dip a little (<1/4 tsp) in my palm and lick it up if I had to sharpen up for a meeting or whatever.  The only other effects  were too much of it gave me a headache and too late in the day it would prevent me from sleeping.  To this day I watch for glutamates in my food late in the day which will keep me awake, but that's the only nootropic I have ever used except small amounts of alcohol (too much is too much) which I quit using in 1993.(Where's my 26-year chip? LOL)

That's my "lore" for you regarding nootropics and similar.

Terry, 230RN

REF:

[Devonai]

I started vaping about 7 years ago for the dumbest reason: the BX on my base had them on sale for stupid cheap - like a starter kit for $5 and a two-pack of cartridges for $1/each.

I quit three years ago by weaning myself off from the 5mg cartridges to the 1.8mg offerings; however, the 1.8mg dose did nothing for me buzz-wise, just kept me from becoming irritable and a world-class a-hole to people if I wasn't watching myself.

Despite that, I loved those 5mg cartridges, especially first thing in the morning, and man, they went well with a beer in the afternoon. Snowdog, I don't think your experience is far off from mine, except I knew I had to quit after a while because the product was starting to interfere with my cardio.