In the United States, some doctors are contributing to the renormalization of nicotine

As sales of nicotine pouches grew rapidly in the United States, Canadian-born physician Peter Attia justified their use by presenting nicotine as an intellectual stimulant. Dr. Andrew Huberman also emphasized nicotine's supposed benefits, ignoring many of its harmful consequences. This nicotine renormalization activity coincided with Philip Morris International's acquisition of Swedish Match, the market leader in snus and nicotine pouches.

In the United States, Dr. Peter Attia has made a name for himself on the topic of longevity. Originally planning a career as a boxer, this Canadian quickly turned to medicine and became a surgeon in the United States.[1]He notably worked for two years for the National Cancer Institute (NCI) within the National Institutes for Health (NIH), before joining McKinsey as a member of the Corporate Risk Practice and Healthcare Practice branch.

Peter Attia then founded his own medical company and developed a method proposing to increase longevity and achieve "optimal performance". He has, among other things, recorded multiple podcasts and plays a central role in the six parts of the documentary series Limitless, directed by Daron Aronofsky and produced by National Geographic and Disney+.

Promotion of nicotine products

In one of these series of podcasts, Dr. Peter Attia presents the supposed benefits of nicotine on brain function, with unscientific arguments: he relies mainly on his personal experience, confiding that he can consume 4 to 8 mg of nicotine per day in the form of nicotine pouches[2] (pouches) or diamonds[3], and minimizes the addictive nature of these products. He also forgets to point out that in addition to a real risk of addiction and cardiovascular risk, the psychostimulant effect of nicotine is only temporary, and that it is followed by a drop in concentration with possible signs ofanxiety . He also presents nicotine pouches and lozenges as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), while these products are increasingly marketed in "recreational" form by tobacco manufacturers.[4] and that they have not received this indication from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Dr. Andrew Huberman, neurobiologist and ophthalmologist, has also produced various podcasts where he holds a seemingly very scientific discourse, but which tends to emphasize the positive sensations associated with nicotine and the release of dopamine, while very quickly passing over the unpleasant and undesirable consequences of addiction. Like Peter Attia, Andrew Huberman seeks to distinguish nicotine and tobacco, attributing benefits to the former and reserving the harms to the latter, a discourse which has become systematic on the part of the tobacco and non-therapeutic nicotine industries[5].

Convergences with industrial discourses

The discourse of these two doctors reflects, on the one hand, the new positioning of tobacco manufacturers, which is now focused on health and well-being. It also corresponds to the growing interest of these manufacturers in new nicotine products, and the disinterest of consumers across the Atlantic in smoked tobacco. Among these new products, oral products are taking a major place in the United States, alongside various electronic cigarettes. In the nicotine pouch segment, British American Tobacco (BAT) is very present with its Velo brand. By acquiring Swedish Match, the world leader in this market with its Zyn brand, at the end of 2022, Philip Morris International (PMI) is also entering this market with its logistical and promotional strength.[6].

Dr. Attia's time at McKinsey, a consulting firm that secretly officiated for decades for the tobacco and then nicotine industries, could have played a role. Tobacco manufacturers have in fact long distinguished themselves by the recruitment of doctors and by concealing the funding granted to them. Whether they are consumers or "prescribers" of tobacco or nicotine, doctors help to endorse the commercial discourse of manufacturers and represent very effective role models. It is to be assumed that the initiatives of Dr. Peter Attia and Andrew Huberman are not entirely spontaneous.

MF

[1] Peter Attia, Wikipedia (US), updated 1^er June 2023, accessed June 27, 2023.

[2] Nicotine pouches that are placed between the gum and lip. Not to be confused with snus, tobacco pouches that are used in the same way.

[3] Nicotine lozenges that dissolve in the mouth, similar to some NRTs.

[4] Borowiecki M, Emery SL, Kostygina G. New recreational nicotine lozenges, tablets, gummies and gum proliferate on the US market, Tobacco Control, Published Online First: 01 November 2022.

[5] Ahmed M, Navigating The Path To Safer Nicotine Consumption With Nicotine Pouches, Foundation for a Smoke-free World, published June 14, 2023, accessed June 27, 2023.

[6] Rodrigues A, Why Are Zyn Nicotine Pouches Suddenly Everywhere?, GQ, published June 22, 2023, accessed June 27, 2023.