AUBREY MARCUS IS A health guru as worshipped as they come. The founder and CEO of Onnit, an Inc. 500 lifestyle company that sells supplements, health foods, fitness gear and apparel and more, has written best-selling personal development books and has more than 243,000 Instagram followers and 10 million podcast listeners eager for his diet, fitness and other advice on what he calls "total human optimization." He'd rather skip breakfast than eat a carb or sugar at the meal, and has a physique Men's Health magazine deemed worthy of its cover. And yet, Marcus occasionally uses snus, a Swedish powdered tobacco product that goes under the lip, to get a nicotine fix. He's not a former smoker, but rather uses it the way some people use alcohol (for a buzz in social situations), the way others use caffeine (for an energy boost ) and the way some use cannabis (for improved focus). "It's sort of like everything else drips away," says Marcus, who lives in Austin and has used snus while dancing in clubs, writing books and recording podcasts. "For someone with as noisy a brain as me, that can be incredibly pleasurable." Isn't it ironic that a man whose empire is built on wellness endorses nicotine? Marcus – who uses a brand of snus that has minimal chemicals and doesn't require a lot of contact with skin – doesn't think so. "You want to live life – it's not about being perfect," he says of the philosophy he believes the wellness industry is increasingly embracing. "It's about maximizing the benefit and minimizing the potential risk." Few, if any, public health and medical professionals recommend taking up nicotine if you're not already addicted to cigarettes. Even Greg Conley, founder and president of the American Vaping Association, which champions the use of vapor products and e-cigarettes, advises against it. "There's no reason for a non-smoker to use a nicotine product," and surveys show that very few do, he says. But there's something to be said for distinguishing nicotine from the combustible products it's found in – namely, cigarettes, which kill 3 out of 5 users prematurely due to diseases including lung, oral and other cancers and obstructive lung disease. "The first thing everyone should know is that most of the harm of cigarettes is not from nicotine; it's from the combustion product," says Dr. Neal Benowitz, chief of clinical pharmacology at the University of California—San Francisco who's been studying nicotine for more than 40 years. Are Women More Susceptible to Lung Cancer Than Men? Studies suggest that women may be at higher risk of developing lung cancer, especially if they smoke. Elaine K. HowleyDec. 28, 2017 In fact, nicotine itself even has some benefits. For instance, research has linked chewing nicotine gum with improved short-term memory, and other studies point to nicotine being at play in why smokers are less likely to develop Parkinson's disease. Nicotine also seems to reduce stress and anxiety, and stabilize mood. "In that context, nicotine may be a useful drug for some people and help them function better," says Lynn Kozlowski, a professor of community health and health behavior at the University at Buffalo, SUNY. That's not to say nicotine – in the form of, say, an e-cigarette or product like snus – is a health tonic. Its most likely risk is addiction, which is particularly worrisome among kids, who are also at risk for nicotine poisoning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And while public health professionals are hotly debating whether addiction to say, vaping, is an acceptable tradeoff for being addicted to cigarettes, it's well-agreed upon that trading no addiction for addiction is hardly health-promotional. Plus, there's still a lot experts don't know about the health consequences of many newer smoke-free products like JUUL e-cigarettes, Benowitz says. There's also some evidence in animal studies that nicotine exposure can delay important parts of brain development linked to behavior, and other animal studies suggesting that it can lead to abnormal fetal development during pregnancy, Benowitz says. "We don't want people to use nicotine during pregnancy," he says, "but if someone is smoking cigarettes, that's worse." People with underlying heart conditions too, may be negatively affected by nicotine – even used in a smokeless product – some research suggests. The CDC notes smokeless tobacco products may increase the risk of death from heart attack and stroke. "Any stimulant drug that releases adrenaline can increase heart rate, restrict blood vessels and cause abnormalities in blood vessel function," Benowitz says. Still, snus, which has been studied most extensively on a population level in Sweden, where it's widely used among men, doesn't seem to be linked to an increase in heart disease. Smokeless tobacco products are also associated with cancer of the mouth, esophagus and pancreas, the CDC reports. But some research suggests that may not be the case for snus, especially when compared to the risk of cancers from smoking and alcohol use. "I don't view any of these products as safe," Kozlowski says. "[But] if you're inclined to use any of these nicotine-delivery products, you'd be better off using a product that doesn't involve the burning of tobacco." All risks considered, if you're an adult who's decided to try a smokeless nicotine product, experts suggest starting with something that has as little nicotine as possible to minimize potential harm while maximizing your ability to steer clear of cigarettes. Ideally, you can ween yourself off of them entirely. "The clear message is the safest course is to not use any of these products," Kozlowski says. "The fact that something is safer does not mean it’s safe." Source
