When mentioning nicotine, what comes to your mind? It may be the smoking, cigarettes, tar, carcinogens, and diseases – definitely no professional athletes or sporting performance. However, according to our research, it is common to use nicotine among elite athletes, and that nicotine use, especially in team sports, is continuously increasing.
In some sports, nearly half of the team uses nicotine products, mainly in the form of tobacco free and smokeless nicotine products like nicotine pouches.
Well, you don’t have to gasp. Unlike smoking, nicotine pouches, as an oral nicotine product, cause no lung harm. Besides, a lesser-known fact is the effects of the nicopods on fitness.
How does the nicotine pouch affect exercise and fitness abilities? Can it be used as an ergogenic aid? Read this article to help you learn more about nicotine pouches and fitness.
Nicotine without smoke
To begin with, you need to think of nicotine with different eyes. Actually, all the adverse effects associated with nicotine probably are caused by smoking, more precisely, the cigarette-using method – inhaling the smoke of burning tobacco.
When smoking, your lungs will be directly exposed to the harmful smoke, which will negatively affect your body, thus causing long-term damage. As for nicotine, although it is contained in tobacco (also found in other natural plants), the nicotine itself is actually harmless. The current studies show no evident side effects caused by using nicotine.
Therefore, a nicotine pouch, as one kind of oral nicotine product, enables enjoyable nicotine stimulation in a harmless and clean way. It is not difficult to see why so many people, including professional athletes, use nicotine pouches in their daily lives.
Nicotine pouches use in sports
Actually, nicotine pouches are widely used in many professional sports, and some renewed athletes have been known to consume these tobacco free pouches. For instance, footballers like Jamaal Lascelles, Jamie Vardy, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Victor Lindelof have often been reported to use nicopods. And that small nicotine bag is also commonly used in lower-level football teams.
If you have ever noticed, parts of the media may report athletes consuming snus. But in actuality, they are referring to nicopods – as snus is illegal in lots of areas worldwide due to its healthy negative influence. After all, despite having a similar appearance to snus, the nicotine pouch contains no tobacco, which is healthier than the tobacco-contained snus.
Why are professional athletes turning to nicotine pouches?
As the prevalence of nicotine pouches is continuously growing, this smokeless product has attracted lots of attention, and some find that nicopods are also popular among athletes.
Why do players like using these pouches? What effect will cause on the fitness ability when taking nicotine pouches? Let’s take a closer look.
1. Nicotine pouches are discreet compared to other nicotine products
Athletes who use nicopods are already hooked on smoking cigarettes or vaping. That means they need to find an ideal alternative to soothing their craving for nicotine stimulation – under the radar. Some big names like Zinedine Zidane and Gigi Buffon are once under the harsh spotlight of media reporters for their smoking behaviour. Not surprisingly, they became the target of public criticism at that time.
Smoking is unacceptable for sporting communities as it will cause damage to athletes’ bodies, affecting their exercise abilities. However, nicotine pouches are tobacco free oral products. These pouches can be discreetly used without anyone’s attention.
The pouch can be directly placed between your gums and lips, constantly releasing nicotine for over thirty minutes. And some high-quality pouches, like NIOO nicotine pouches, can deliver nicotine and flavours lasting up to one hour.
2. Using the pouch can help to enhance performance
Some studies show that the regular use of nicotine pouches can help to increase muscular strength and high-intensity endurance levels. However, according to the previous research, those effects are not game-changing, which is different from those of anabolic steroids applied in sprinting, bodybuilding or combat sports to boost body weight and strength.
Therefore, in an environment where smoking and vaping are limited, cleaner and healthier nicotine pouches seem like an ideal option for athletes.
3. Stimulation
There is no denying the fact that nicotine has been associated with sports for a long time. Some athletes admit nicotine products can help them increase energy levels on the pitch. As one kind of oral nicotine product, the pouches inevitably cause effects and stimulation in one way or another.
Based on the investigation of the brain activity of the consumer, nicotine pouches with proper dosage can have a positive effect on users’ mood, which explains why athletes use nicopods to improve performance.
4. Concentration
At first, nicotine is firstly regarded as a stimulant as it can raise your heart rate, enhance your brain’s ability to focus, and boost memory processes.
As we all know, many modern sports require analytical and tactical thinking. Therefore, nicotine pouches with great potential to boost concentration can offer athletes benefits on their performance.
Nicotine pouches can deliver nicotine to your body, increasing acetylcholine activity in your brain. And acetylcholine is a substance that makes you more motivated to focus on your goal. It is no wonder that the prevalence of nicopods is increasing among athletes in recent years.
How to choose the ideal nicotine pouches for sports lovers?
If you are a fitness enthusiast looking for nicotine pouches as your smoking alternative, you can choose our NIOO nicotine pouches.
As a professional provider of nicotine pouches, NIOO has especially taken years of research on nicopods’ quality, flavour, and dosage. We believe each NIOO pouch can bring you the tastiest flavours and the ultimate nicotine enjoyment.
Besides, NIOO is dedicated to sharing more knowledge and information about nicotine pouches. If you are interested in the tobacco industry, do not forget to follow NIOO blog!