“Are you over the age of 21?” the perky representative asked as she handed me two tins of ALP nicotine pouches.
We were at Dave Asprey’s Beyond Biohacking Conference, where attendees crowded around the booth to get their hands on the brand’s fruity and minty “lip pillows.”
Nicotine has long been viewed as a vice, not a tool for improving health and performance — but it’s recently undergone an image makeover thanks to biohackers, wellness influencers and high-achieving consumers seeking a cognitive edge.
Once synonymous with cigarettes and addiction, the stimulant is now being explored as a tool for improving mental performance and brain health — with Asprey among its most vocal advocates.
“Nicotine is one of the most misunderstood compounds in the biohacking world,” Asprey, who pioneered the movement, told The Post.
The problem, he said, is that when people hear nicotine, they immediately think of cigarettes.
“Tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals and carcinogens. Vaping is probably worse,” Asprey said. “Pharmaceutical-grade nicotine is completely different.”
He said that nicotine, when separated from tobacco and combustion, can act as a powerful nootropic — binding to receptors in the brain involved in memory, attention and neuroprotection.
“I’ve been using non-combustible nicotine for years now, and I’m not shy about it,” Asprey said. “I typically use a low dose, we’re talking 2 to 5 milligrams, and I’m strategic about when I use it. It’s usually before deep work or before a high-stakes conversation.”
Asprey is far from alone in embracing nicotine as a performance aid. In Silicon Valley, tech startups are handing out free nicotine pouches to employees, stocking office vending machines with flavored stimulants that workers say sharpen focus and boost productivity.
Fitness guru and “Biggest Loser” host Jillian Michaels has spoken about using nicotine gum to manage her ADHD and protect her brain.
Joe Rogan is also among its fans, along with Tucker Carlson, co-founder of ALP, who once described nicotine as a “life-enhancing, God-given chemical”
Andrew Huberman, a tenured professor at Stanford University’s School of Medicine, best known for his wellness podcast, “The Huberman Lab,” once said it “sharpens the mind.”
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been spotted carrying nicotine pouches, and even appeared to place one under his lip during his Senate confirmation hearing.
Nicotine pouches are frequently touted as tobacco-free alternatives to cigarettes and vapes that may help adult smokers transition away from combustible tobacco.
But some newer businesses are taking the message a step further, promoting nicotine not just as a smoking alternative, but as a tool for focus, productivity and performance.
The website of one brand, Athletic Nicotine, invites customers to “join the movement of winners balancing mind and body while crushing the challenges of the day.”
Lucy, a nicotine pouch company Asprey has invested in, promotes its products for people who “use nicotine to focus better, think deeper, chill out smoother and inspire creativity.”
On social media, posts from manufacturers like Zone depict a person working at a computer alongside “Lock In” graphics and the caption “No need to step away.”
The science behind nicotine’s cognitive effects, however, is far less settled than the marketing suggests.
Research has shown that nicotine can increase attention and working memory, improve synaptic signaling and neurotransmitter efficiency, and enhance motor control and reaction time during cognitive tasks.
But experts say those short-term effects don’t necessarily translate into long-term brain benefits.
“Nicotine can make someone feel sharper, more alert and more focused in the short term. That effect is real,” Dr. Fawad Mian, founder of Ascend Regenerative, who is board-certified in neurology, clinical neurophysiology and sleep medicine.
“The concern is that the same pathways that create that focus effect also drive dependence. Over time, the brain adapts, and the person may then need nicotine just to feel normal.”
Some proponents argue the stimulant could offer benefits beyond focus, including protection against age-related cognitive decline.
“There’s compelling research showing that regular users have lower rates of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease,” Asprey said.
In one study, nicotine was found to slow age-related cognitive decline and boost natural chemicals that protect the brain. In another, it appeared to improve performance in those with lower baseline scores — which Asprey said suggests it may restore cognitive efficiency rather than artificially overstimulating high performers.
Whether nicotine can actually protect against neurodegenerative disease remains unclear.
“I do take the studies seriously,” Mian said. “Smokers get Parkinson’s disease less often. However, when patches were given to patients, they didn’t have the expected effect.”
“In patients with early Parkinson’s, there was no clear benefit aside from temporary cognitive improvement,” he explained. “It didn’t change how they functioned every day.”
Other experts say the early research is intriguing — but not enough to justify widespread nicotine use as a preventative tool.
“The associations are there, and the mechanisms are plausible as judged by animal studies, but the clinical trials that exist assess effects on individuals already diagnosed with the disorders and don’t consistently demonstrate efficacy regardless,” said Dr. Nehal Vadhan, director of Northwell Health’s Feinstein Family Human Neuropsychopharmacology Lab.
“Therefore we would not want to introduce a potentially dependence-forming substance as a widespread strategy for prevention in healthy people, even if the intention is good and the disorders are profoundly impairing.”
Mian agreed. “Currently, we lack strong human evidence that it slows brain aging, protects long-term memory, or meaningfully improves mitochondrial health over the long term,” he said.
“There is a short-term protective effect on mitochondrial health, but more studies are needed to see how this affects things in the long run.”
The biggest concern among experts is not whether nicotine can provide a short-term boost — but what happens when people use it regularly over time.
The main risk doctors know about now, Vadhan said, is forming a dependence on nicotine.
“While everyone agrees that tobacco consumption is considerably worse, there aren’t long-term studies to demonstrate complete safety of pouches, especially when you consider all the additives,” he said.
Asprey acknowledged that not all pouches are created equal, saying it’s “worth being selective” if you’re planning to buy a tin.
“You want pharmaceutical-grade nicotine from a reputable brand, and it’s a good idea to do a little research into the pouch material itself,” he said. “Some pouches on the market may expose you to microplastics, and that’s the last thing you want sitting in your mouth for an extended period.”
In the end, Mian said there are other things to focus on before reaching for nicotine to improve performance — at least until the research catches up.
“If you want to help your memory, focusing on sleep, diet, exercise, controlling your blood pressure and blood sugars, learning new things and staying socially active are much safer alternatives that avoid addiction or potential long-term health consequences,” he said.
“Nicotine may act like a short-term cognitive stimulant,” Mian added, “but it has not earned the label of a brain-health supplement just yet.”
