When the Rona regime hit, I asked myself whether smoking organic tobacco would make me more susceptible to the “virus.” I mix organic tobacco with weed, so this was a personal question. I checked inwardly, and my intuition said no. Then I wanted to see what the research had to say.

Then I came across a finding that, given my initial intuition, was not so unexpected. A review in Addiction found that current smokers were less likely than never-smokers to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 in the studies it pooled. That caught my attention. Was nicotine doing something worth understanding, or were the numbers reflecting who got tested and how smoking histories were recorded?

My interest in NAD began long before the p$andemic, driven by its role in cellular energy and DNA repair, and by research into how those processes change as we age. HoneyColony had been selling NAD-support supplements for years. As a journalist and functional medicine coach, I wanted to understand the biology behind the products I offered, including the curious relationship between nicotine and vitamin B3.

Along the way, I found LUCY gum. Espresso became my favorite, with Cinnamon a close second. I bought it before there was an affiliate relationship, and I still chew it every day. The personal experience and the investigation grew in tandem.

Nicotine and the COVID Smoking Question

One possible explanation came from neuroscientist Jean-Pierre Changeux and colleagues. Their 2020 nicotinic hypothesis proposed that nicotine might interfere with the virus’s interaction with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. These receptors help cells respond to chemical signals in the nervous system and elsewhere in the body. The idea was a proposed mechanism that researchers could test.

The smoking numbers also had some messy edges: incomplete records, different testing patterns, and the difficulty of separating nicotine from everything else in cigarette smoke. Other studies looked at different outcomes. UK Biobank research linked smoking with a higher risk of serious COVID-19 outcomes, while a trial of nicotine patches in critically ill patients found no significant mortality benefit at 28 days. Those patients were already on ventilators, which makes that a different question from what happens before someone gets sick.

The question did not end with the early smoking statistics. In a 2023 case series, physician Marco Leitzke described improvements in four nonsmoking patients with persistent post-COVID symptoms after nicotine patches. A 2025 paper added a case report that used PET imaging to assess nicotinic receptor availability alongside neurological improvement after patch treatment. These small reports opened another line of inquiry: whether nicotine-related signaling could matter to people whose symptoms lingered long after the initial infection.

Nicotine and Long COVID: What Reddit Users Are Reporting

On r/covidlonghaulers, the conversation gets much more personal. One commenter described an improvement in brain fog, making driving, following movie subtitles, and remembering things easier. In a thread about lasting effects, some people said their thinking remained clearer after they stopped using patches; others said the gains disappeared when they stopped.

Another discussion about long-term use includes reports of substantial relief, fading benefits, and heart racing. A commenter in a thread about feeling worse described clearer thinking followed by badly disrupted sleep, pain, and fatigue. Those details are part of the story too: what improved, what did not, and what happened next.

Leitzke proposes that viral material may interfere with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors—the docking points where cells receive signals from acetylcholine, a chemical messenger involved in nerve communication. His theory is that nicotine could compete for those docking points, dislodge the viral material, and help normal signaling resume. That offers a possible explanation for the clearer thinking some Reddit users describe after trying nicotine patches, although their personal reports cannot establish that this is what happened inside their bodies. I also wanted to know whether the improvement lasted after they stopped using the patches, or whether they had to keep using them to feel better.

Vitamin B3, NAD, and David Sinclair’s NMN Venture

Here is the connection that first piqued my curiosity: chemists can produce nicotinic acid by oxidizing nicotine. Nicotinic acid is a form of vitamin B3, and the body uses B3 to make NAD—nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, a molecule that helps cells turn food into energy and supports DNA repair. I wanted to know whether nicotine could influence the body’s production or use of NAD. The laboratory reaction does not show that gum becomes a B3 supplement, but it explains why the question caught my attention. Research into NAD metabolism and antiviral defenses during coronavirus infection gave me another reason to look.

HoneyColony already covered another NAD precursor in “NMN: A Rising Star in Anti-Aging” and sold our own NMN Revive. So when the conversation shifted from cellular aging to who could sell the ingredient, I had more than an academic interest in the answer.

David Sinclair’s Harvard research helped bring NAD biology into the longevity conversation. He also co-founded Metro International Biotech, which developed MIB-626, a proprietary NMN formulation, as a drug candidate. In 2022, the FDA determined that NMN was excluded from the dietary supplement category because it had been authorized for investigation as a new drug. An ingredient businesses like HoneyColony were already selling was suddenly caught between the supplement market and the pharmaceutical pipeline.

The story took another turn on September 29, 2025, when FDA reversed that exclusion, recognizing evidence that NMN had been marketed as a supplement before the drug authorization. The Natural Products Association had challenged the restriction through a petition and lawsuit. For me, the episode exposed how access to an ingredient could hinge on its regulatory category and the timing of paperwork. The earlier restriction mattered to sellers and customers; the reversal matters too.

Dr. Bryan Ardis, Nicotine, and the Focus Question

I have interviewed Dr. Bryan Ardis on Truth Lives Here, and nicotine is part of a wider conversation about compounds people have learned to view through a single lens. In a separate interview with Wendy Myers, Ardis said, “Nicotine is published by medical research and science to be a known nootropic.” Nootropic is the term for a substance studied or taken for its effects on cognition. What interested me was the research behind that statement.

A 2010 meta-analysis by Stephen Heishman and colleagues examined 41 double-blind, placebo-controlled laboratory studies and found improvements in several measures of attention, memory, and response speed. The researchers included studies designed to separate nicotine’s effects from simply relieving withdrawal. That is a more useful starting point than treating every reported benefit as a sign that a smoker is feeling normal again. The findings concern specific tasks and short-term effects, rather than a demonstrated ability to prevent dementia.

There is an immune-system angle as well. Research on the alpha-7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor identified its role in the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway—one way the nervous system helps regulate inflammatory signals. It gives researchers a concrete reason to study nicotine-related signaling. Whether a particular gum, dose, or routine produces a useful clinical effect is a further question.

What LUCY Users Notice

In a Reddit discussion about LUCY gum, one user said the 2 mg gum helped them focus while working and writing code. As work became more demanding, they started chewing it more often and asked whether they were overdoing it. In another discussion, a commenter described feeling calmer without better focus, while others reported digestive discomfort or a preference for pouches.

Organic Tobacco, Nicotine Gum, and the Daily Habit

Organic tobacco was where my original question began, but organic describes how a crop is grown. Burning it still produces smoke. Combustion adds chemicals beyond those already present in tobacco, which is why it matters to examine nicotine separately from the delivery method. A piece of gum and a burning cigarette are two very different ways to get the same compound.

Nicotine is also addictive, and I do not have to turn that into an abstract discussion. When my recent gum order was late, I was very aware of how much I missed having it. That experience belongs in the story alongside the research and the flavors I enjoy. I can investigate nicotine’s effects and be candid about the habit it creates.

What I Found Beyond the Headlines

A question that began with intuition took me through receptors, vitamin B3, cellular energy, cognitive research, and the politics of the supplement market. The attention studies gave me something specific to examine; the NMN episode showed how quickly a scientific subject could become a fight over access. I want room to investigate both, without pretending my own experience settles everybody else’s.

I still listen to my intuition, and I still want to know what is happening in the body. That is why I followed this story in the first place. There is more to nicotine than its association with cigarettes, and more to an investigation than repeating the approved talking points.

For my experience with the gum itself, including ingredients, delivery, and buying options, read “LUCY Espresso Gum Review: The Reorder Test.”

Try My Favorite LUCY Flavors

If you already use nicotine and want to try the flavors I reach for, I offer smaller quantities through Simply Transformative. A single sleeve contains 10 pieces; each two-sleeve pair contains 20.

• Espresso 2 mg: One sleeve, $9.99 · Two sleeves, $16.99
• Cinnamon 4 mg: One sleeve, $9.99 · Two sleeves, $16.99
• Try both: One Espresso and one Cinnamon sleeve, $16.99

The pair offer saves $2.99 compared with two singles and applies automatically, once per order. Shipping and tax are additional. You can also choose a five-sleeve bundle for $39.99.

For a larger purchase, my LUCY affiliate link currently leads to the nine-sleeve Berry Citrus, Mango, and Mint variety box: $39.90 as a one-time purchase or $35.91 with a subscription. LUCY fulfills those orders. It is a different selection from the Espresso and Cinnamon sleeves I sell.

Disclosure: I sell the Simply Transformative products and may earn a commission on purchases through my LUCY affiliate link. This article combines my personal experience with linked research. Nicotine is addictive; these products are for adults 21 and older and are not being offered as a COVID-19 treatment.