[sithadmin]

>Nicotine itself and on its own is relatively harmless to an ex-smoker.

Why is this meme so popular on HN? There's nothing 'harmless' about it, and a few minutes of Googling makes that incredibly clear. Even in the absence of tobacco compounds, nicotine unquestionably wreaks havoc on pulmonary and cardiovascular function, and promotes vascular calcification and arteriosclerosis. It's also implicated as a cause with a plethora of other horrible medical issues.

[pessimizer]

> Why is this meme so popular on HN? There's nothing 'harmless' about it, and a few minutes of Googling makes that incredibly clear.

My guess is because people who claim this rarely have any references, and when they can dig one out, it's very bad.

[photochemsyn]

Nicotine is definitely a pretty virulent poison. People seem to think it's no worse than caffeine but it's a far more potent alkaloid:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine_poisoning

However for nicotine addicts the e-cigarette is certainly a better method of delivery than the cigarette, as you're not getting exposure to known carcinogens like benzo[a]pyrene etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzo(a)pyrene

> "Benzo[a]pyrene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and the result of incomplete combustion of organic matter at temperatures between 300 °C (572 °F) and 600 °C (1,112 °F). The ubiquitous compound can be found in coal tar, tobacco smoke and many foods, especially grilled meats. The substance with the formula C20H12 is one of the benzopyrenes, formed by a benzene ring fused to pyrene. Its diol epoxide metabolites (more commonly known as BPDE) react with and bind to DNA, resulting in mutations and eventually cancer."

[kup0]

I think the bro-science nootropic internet subculture has pushed this misinformation into a growing meme