From migraine meals to fibremaxxing, the internet churns out dubious wellness trends with alarming regularity. The latest and most persistent involves nicotine: once the hallmark of cigarette addiction, now rebranded by online influencers as a natural cognitive enhancer.
Nicotine pouches, gum, and patches are being promoted as tools to sharpen focus, boost productivity, and manage weight. The narrative draws on the fact that nicotine is a naturally occurring stimulant found in tobacco plants, and that it triggers dopamine release in the brain. But health researchers say the wellness claims outpace the evidence.
“When it comes to these wellness claims, they often take something that's a kernel of truth, and then they run with it, and they take it a little bit further than perhaps what the evidence suggests,” said Angela Difeng Wu, a senior researcher and lecturer at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford.
Nicotine replacement products, particularly oral pouches, have seen explosive growth: a 113% annual global increase from 2020 to 2024, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. In Europe, vapes and pouches have become especially popular among younger demographics, prompting regulatory responses in several member states.
The nootropics boom and the influencer effect
The post-pandemic years have fueled interest in nootropics—natural or synthetic compounds that claim to enhance cognitive performance. Caffeine, ashwagandha, and L-theanine are among the most common. The functional drinks market, which includes beverages infused with vitamins and plant-based stimulants, is projected to reach between $300 and $400 billion (€255–€340 billion) by the mid-2030s, according to Grand View Research.
Nicotine products are riding this wave. Social media influencers, often with large followings, frame nicotine as a fast fix for complex psychological issues like lack of focus or low energy. Wu noted that this trend reflects a broader shift in how people consume health advice. “It's quite easy for us to be sold something, whether that is to do with menopause care, or any other type of care,” she said. “We're seeing a problem with wellness culture and vitamins and whatnot, where people are more willing to listen to a social media influencer or their peers than official sources.”
The appeal is understandable: nicotine does produce short-term effects on alertness, attention, appetite, and mood. But Wu stressed that these acute effects do not translate into a safe, long-term wellness treatment. “Nicotine, because it’s a biologically active drug, does act on the brain. It acts on the receptors, it's a stimulant. It can have these short-term effects… but these short term effects don't necessarily translate into something that could be used as a wellness treatment,” she said.
Regulatory responses across Europe
European countries are taking action. In the United Kingdom, the government approved an anti-tobacco bill last month that will restrict anyone born after 2008 from buying tobacco products, including vapes. Similar measures are under discussion in several EU member states, where nicotine pouches and vapes have become a public health concern, particularly among adolescents.
Wu emphasized that policy must account for cultural context. “It's about ensuring that we have true opportunities for helping people who do smoke to stop smoking, and at the same time appreciating nicotine for itself and understanding that it has a very different harm profile. It is a lot less harmful than smoking cigarettes, but it's not necessarily harmless.”
The distinction is crucial. For smokers trying to quit, nicotine replacement therapies are a proven harm-reduction tool. But for non-smokers—especially young people—starting nicotine use carries the risk of dependency. “Becoming dependent on nicotine is itself a harm that is worth considering,” Wu said.
The broader wellness culture, which often prioritises quick fixes over evidence-based medicine, amplifies these risks. As influencers continue to profit from rebranding addictive substances, the challenge for European regulators and public health officials is to counter misinformation without stifling legitimate harm-reduction strategies.
For now, the message from researchers is clear: nicotine may offer short-term stimulation, but it is not a sustainable or safe cognitive enhancer. The trend, like many before it, is likely to leave more people addicted than focused.
