Nicotine USP Solution

Biohacker Review: My Favorite Addictive Nootropic

I'm writing this review of Nicotine USP Solution in Belgrade, Serbia where they really like Nicotine - almost everyone smokes.

So pop quiz - what did the writers Ayn Rand, Oscar Wilde, George Orwell, J.R.R Tolkien, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Mark Twain have in common? Well, they and many other titanic figures of literature were voracious lifelong smokers. And that's no coincidence, Nicotine is a potent promoter of creativity and focus.

Nicotine is actually a Nootropic

I'll delve into the studies supporting this later - but it's very addictive. In fact, Nicotine is often called the most addictive drug known. However, addiction is not necessarily bad and I'll make the case that nicotine addiction can be harnessed for useful purposes.

For the vast majority of people, it's a very destructive addiction because they consume it smoking carcinogenic cigarettes, which of course gets associated with...

• Socializing
• Taking a short break from work
• Relaxing at the end of a long day drinking alcohol
• Celebrating with friends
• Enjoying the afterglow of an orgasm
• Or whatever people like to do while smoking.

I'll suggest that you pick up a bottle of pharmaceutical-grade Nicotine (it only costs about $25) and that you use it to behaviorally condition yourself to practice positive habits more consistently.
My little rule for using this USP solution is that I only use it when I'm doing something productive, in my case writing.
You could associate Nicotine consumption with activity; for example, one of the habits I'm a big fan of is no snooze; not using your alarm clock, waking up earlier so you can have a more productive morning. Nicotine is an almost instantaneous wakefulness agent, so I would suggest taking Nicotine not like in bed, but after you've gotten up and out of bed, and presumably at least partially, dressed - so the Nicotine becomes a reward for practicing this difficult habit that a lot of people struggle with.

In the future, I'll release a video thoroughly addressing what human studies are saying about Nicotine usage. This review is just my Biohacker report of how it affects me experientially.

Day 1
The last time I had consumed Nicotine was about a year ago as part of an Ayahuasca ceremony in the Andes mountains of Colombia. Before that must have been +4 years ago when I smoked my last cigarette.
I filled the dropper about a fourth full (which turned out to be too much) and deposited it below my tongue. It tastes like a punch in the throat and unsettles the stomach for a few minutes.
About a minute later, I began to feel an energizing buzz coming on similar to caffeine, although perhaps imbuing a clear and less frenetic mind. The buzz lasted about 90 minutes and had a positive effect on my mood.

Day 2
I took a smaller dosage in the morning, which I chased with my hearty and also energizing Adaptogenic tea and some tasty yogurt, which woke me up promptly and a very productive morning writing session followed.
I did a second drop in the later afternoon, which perked me up for an important phone call. I worked productively late into the evening.
No noticeable effect on sleep.
This stuff is quite addictive. The next morning upon opening the refrigerator, I had a fairly strong desire to start the morning with a hit of the stuff, which I resisted.

Day 3
I held off for a couple of days and took an even smaller drop in the afternoon.

Day 4
I did a drop in the morning, which I chased with my Adaptagenic tea and a capsule of Piracetam. That same evening at 9:00 PM I did 3 drops (the most I've done) before a salsa class. It had a noticeable positive effect on my mood and I felt quite energized during the class, although it had a neutral effect on my salsa skills themselves. No noticeable effect on my coordination, rhythm, etc.

Day 5
I did a drop in the morning, which failed to energize or inspire my morning writing session. Maybe I should have passed on that final glass of wine I had on my date the night before.

Day 6
I'm finding that a few drops, chased immediately by adaptogenic tea, my Racetam-rich stack and a light snack is a hell of a way to wake up and get in a productive/creative mood.

Day 7
It's not great for sleep deprivation. One day after a long night, enjoying the local culture of Belgrade (Rakia - yuk!). I woke up early to get some things done, and then I cheated on my diet with a big indulgent sandwich. I had skipped my normal regimen of smart drugs and that afternoon I found myself in an unproductive funk so I did some Nicotine. While it gave me a buzz which I expected, it did not improve my focus much so I finished up my work and had a disappointing brain training session.

Day 8
The most I ever did was three drops a day. One in the morning, one in the afternoon before a productive video blogging session, and one in the evening around 10 PM before going salsa dancing. While it certainly pepped me up to hit the dancefloor, like before it didn't make a noticeable difference in my coordination. I had a tricky time falling asleep, not sure if that's thanks to the Nicotine, the two beers I had or the Modafinil I did that afternoon.

Day 9
I did a 3rd drop around 8 PM directly before meditation. It had an interesting effect on meditation. It seemed to fire up my default network; good ideas for addressing the front of challenges I face daily kept jumping into my mind. Which made it an interesting meditation session. I took it without an accompanying beverage and while mediating it was all the more obvious how the Nicotine solution bothers my stomach. Directly after meditation, I did an IQ brain training session and was a bit dismayed with my mediocre working memory performance, or at least a lack of improvement over previous sessions.

Day 10
I repeated the brain training directly after doing a drop in the morning to a similarly mediocre performance. As much as I like Nicotine, I suspect it has little positive effect on my working memory.

Day 11
I took a whole week off using Nicotine. I put the Nicotine vial in an obscure compartment of my luggage where I wouldn't be tempted by it. There were certainly some cravings for a hit of the stuff but no uncomfortable withdrawals, sluggishness, or ravenous desire for a cigarette. I found it easier to go off than coffee. After the week off, interestingly, my tolerance seemed to be about the same. Unlike a lot of performance enhancers I've used a week off didn't seem to reset my tolerance. So I would doubly advise those who are going to use this to start with a very low dose and resist the tendency to increase the dose.

I found it's a pretty good motivation hack. I found that if I used it in the early evening as I was starting to lose interest in slaving away on the computer, it would give me an extra 60-90 minutes of focused attention, get me back into my productive 10 AM headspace.

Lucid Dreaming

Nicotine patches are a favorite of lucid dreamers. Apparently, they can produce some awesome lucid dreams. I did not experience this at all from the solution, though. I suppose this is because the patches slowly release Nicotine over hours while the lucid dreamer is passing through REM cycles whereas the USP solution seems to not have more than a 90-minute effect.

For Smokers

Some of you might be wondering about what kind of relapse risk taking Nicotine in this form presents for former smokers. Well, I'm a former smoker, I smoked for about 5 years but only when I was drinking, which was 3-4 nights a week. To quit, I had to go completely off booze for about 9 months. It's been about 4 years since I've had a cigarette. I'm happy to report that I've had no relapse or cigarette cravings during my time using this. In fact, I think this product could help people quit smoking because Nicotine is the most addictive ingredient in cigarettes and smokers could assuage their Nicotine addictions with it.

Carcinogenic?

Some people may be saying: Are you mad Jonathan! Isn't Nicotine carcinogenic?
Well, I haven't dived deep into the science on this yet, but the consensus seems to be that it isn't. It's the other ingredients in tobacco products that are carcinogenic. Nonetheless, while using it I stepped up my consumption of other supplements that scavenge free radicals and fight cancer; L-Theanine, green tea, and ALCAR.

Update

It's been about a year since I exhausted my supply of liquid Nicotine. Like I said, it is quite addictive yet I found it a pretty easy addiction to overcome. I didn't have any unpleasant withdrawals or symptoms. I had a fairly persistent desire for a hit of liquid Nicotine for a few months but it was nothing terrible and I didn't break down and buy a pack of cigarettes.

About Nicotine

Nicotine is the secret weapon of elite Biohackers for instant creativity, concentration, and verbal horsepower. It's a not low-risk, fast burning and highly addictive Nootropic that should be used sparingly, but for many high-performers, its significant upsides are well worth its downsides. Nicotine is one of the great romances of my life. She's my muse, thanks to her my name is on a body of creative work that I'm very proud of. I've learned things about myself with her. I awake thinking of her. She's propelled me to great heights where the rarified air swept deep into my soul. But as much as I long for her, and as much as she does for me, I don't totally trust her. When I enjoy the gifts she offers too much, I don't feel quite right and it's time for us to take a break from each other. 

From my Nicotine meta-analysis

Nicotine

Category: Nootropic Ingredients