The Hot New Thing in Wellness Is...Nicotine?

There’s a legendary 1977 Saturday Night Live sketch in which John Belushi plays an Olympic gold medalist with a penchant for smoking cigarettes and eating doughnuts. The dissonance is the point: smoking and athleticism are not exactly two things that go together. Almost 50 years later, the tables have turned: nicotine is having a moment in the world of wellness.

Writing at Stat, Sarah Todd explored the growth in popularity of nicotine on its own among health influencers — who use the substance through patches, gum and pouches — something Todd described as “a reputational makeover.” These new boosters claim the stimulant boosts productivity, enhances workouts and facilitates weight loss, among other benefits. (Compared to cigarettes, the risks surrounding nicotine generally have to do with its addictive properties, as opposed to it being a carcinogen.)

However, Todd also spoke with Vanderbilt University professor Paul Newhouse, who was skeptical of nicotine’s overall health benefits. “I think for most of us, nicotine’s effects will be marginal at best and negative at worst,” he said. If you’re wondering who he thinks might benefit from it, Newhouse has done some intriguing research into how nicotine can help people affected by Alzheimer’s disease.

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Still, nicotine on its own has gained significant ground in some parts of the world. In a 2025 article for The New Yorker, Carrie Battan looked at the rising popularity of nicotine pouches in Scandinavia, writing that “[a]bout a third of Swedish people consume nicotine, and they mostly get their fix from snus,” small pouches that are placed in the gums. There’s a reason you’re seeing snus products like Zyn more and more: Philip Morris International bought Zyn manufacturer Swedish Match in 2022.

We’re a long way from the era when Belushi played a chain-smoking Olympian. As for elite athletes using products like snus, well, that’s very real, and increasingly widespread.

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Tobias Carroll

Tobias Carroll lives and writes in New York City, and has been covering a wide variety of subjects — including (but not limited to) books, soccer and drinks — for many years. His writing has been published by the likes of the Los Angeles Times, Pitchfork, Literary Hub, Vulture, Punch, the New York Times and Men’s Journal. At InsideHook, he has…