Yes, you read that correctly. The following is my review for nicotine gum and more specifically Lucy Gum. Am I a heavy 2 pack a day Marlboro Man? Negative. Full disclosure: I tried smoking in college several times because I did think it looked cool, but my lungs fought back hard so it did not take which is obviously a good thing. I did look like a modern day Bad Ass Steve McQueen for a minute before my lungs started hacking. So why the hell am I doing it? Well a couple of my regular podcast shows kept promoting Lucy Gum and would go on this little spiel about how it is a nootropic (fancy word for something that helps make you smarter/ helps you concentrate) and be beneficial for my workouts. I got tired of hearing about it, did some research, and like any good American Consumer bought some to see what the fuss was about. Before you roll your eyes let me just give you some positive effects of nicotine that the research shows:
- Improves working memory, focus, episodic memory (long term memory using conscious recollection), basically you are smarter and more focused on it
- Improves locomotive performance, fine motor function, studies show exercise is improved roughly 15-20%
- Studies have shown it helps fight Parkinson's and Alzheimer's
Now for the good stuff. Nicotine gum ain't like your Big League Chew from little league. Lucy Gum gives you directions on how to chew it: 10 chews then you "pack it" between your gum and cheek, then chew 2 or 3 more times and switch cheeks, continue until you have lost the taste and/or sensation. First piece I took, I can't lie I spit 100 times while chewing and packing because I thought I might be swallowing the nicotine and was afraid I would get a hurt tummy (PTSD from trying dip in high school, I thought that looked cool too). The results of the first piece was no real effect because of the spitting. Second piece I took before a workout, a Coach Bridgeman mace workout at the dojo. I noticed good energy and focus but it wasn't overwhelming. As we all know the working man is a sucker, period. But for this review I had to take a couple pieces during work. I will say this, that gum made me a damn animal. I was super focused and my production went through the roof, extremely impressed. Are you wondering why this blog is so enthralling? Yep you guessed it, I am chomping and packing a Lucy as I write. During the couple weeks I tried it, it flat out it works. I personally felt it was clearly more effective than caffeine. Now it is addictive? Obviously, that is why I limited myself to one piece a day and only use it every other day. I can see and do understand how people could chomp on them almost all day long. The effects of the gum I found would wear off after about an hour. Each piece of gum has 4mg of nicotine in it. When you smoke a cigarette you roughly inhale close to 2mg per cigarette so you are getting roughly double the nicotine in the gum itself compared to a cigarette. Getting down to brass tax, Lucy Gum is 9 packs for $35.I chew 1 a day and only 3 days a week so it will last me a long time. Does it get my seal of approval which is important for ANY health product? Yes, my energy, focus, memory were increased greatly when using the gum. You desk jockeys have a tough day crushing emails? It's perfect. Give it a shot or a chew, I'm hilarious.