Maddison King 27 February 2024

 

Recently, two heretical Bloomberg journalists ran the risk of ex-communication by stating that nicotine does not cause cancer. While they may have told the truth, they strayed from the usual anti-nicotine line of Bloombergs supposed philanthropic arm. However, things are getting back to normal with the financial news site’s latest piece of nicotine pouches.

Zyn, Nicotine Pouches Gain Traction With Office Workers has shone the spotlight on nicotine pouch use in the tech and financial services industry. The piece suggests that workers in tech and finance are using nicotine pouches to stay alert and high-performing.

The finance industry, in particular, has a long history of stimulant use. These jobs are demanding, pressurised, and competitive. Workers habitually pull 70+ hour weeks. So, it’s not entirely surprising to learn that finance bros are turning to ZYN to give them a bit of an edge.

What is surprising is that we’re not celebrating the potential pivot away from illicit drug use and also the use of prescription drugs, particularly those prescribed for ADHD.

Properly regulated nicotine pouches, on the other hand, could offer a credible alternative to black market products with the added bonus of reducing the illicit drug trade. I hope you’re sitting down when I tell you that this sentiment is not shared within the Bloomberg article.

There is, however, an interesting sentence in the piece. It says:

The risks of nicotine addiction — particularly through tobacco — are well-known and often devastating.

This sentence is more slippery than an eel. It’s kind of like saying:

The risks of caffeine dependence — particularly when laced with arsenic — are well-known and often devastating.

It’s one of those sentences that is just meant to wash over you. It’s cheap sophistry that technically passes a sense check but hides a more malicious intent.

Or maybe the writer is just a bit sloppy. But these sloppy language mistakes always tend to go in one direction, and it’s always in favour of making nicotine seem like it’s a lethal drug tearing through helpless communities.

The article also has the usual patented Helen Lovejoy appeal to emotion, asking for someone to please “think of the children.” But, as far as I know, tech and finance aren’t slashing headcounts to make way for teenagers. So, it’s not particularly relevant to this article.

ADHD and nicotine

What is interesting about this article is that it does touch upon issues within these dog-eat-dog spaces. It’s well-known that financial workers will do almost anything to get an edge.

So, if the market is starting to adopt pouches in favour of ADHD prescription drugs, as the article suggests, what might it tell us about nicotine’s ability to treat the symptoms of this increasingly common disorder?

There is a bit of research out there already about the links between nicotine and ADHD. Some interesting papers include:

I deliberately picked these papers because they are pre-2010. When they were written, some people may have found them easy to dismiss out of hand because smoking and nicotine were so inextricably tied.

However, thanks to pouches, patches, vapes, and so on, people can access the benefits of these products, but without all the tar, arsenic, benzene, carbon monoxide, and dying.

And yet, there is still resistance to exploring these drugs because of a stigma against nicotine enforced daily by malicious Tobacco Control voices and a uninterested media. More open-mindedness and curiosity are needed.