In the world of bad science, several MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) influencers are claiming that nicotine, from gum, pouches, patches, or even smoking cigarettes, is a cognitive enhancer, longevity aid, and prevents dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Of course, like their false claims about other health issues, they overstate what the science says about nicotine.

The trend has picked up steam from MAHA-aligned influencers and wellness figures across the internet. The claims include that nicotine leads to better cognition, reduced dementia risk, and improved longevity.

This post will examine whether these claims about nicotine and dementia have any basis in science. Spoiler alert — there’s not much supporting these claims. So please, don’t light up a cigarette and increase your risk of dying of cancer just because some troglodyte on the internet says it will prevent dementia.

On the other hand, nicotine patches and gum also have health risks, but once again, the science does not support their effectiveness in preventing dementia or making you live longer.

Science of nicotine and dementia

The root of the MAHA claims about nicotine as an anti-dementia drug results from a 2012 pilot trial of transdermal (patches) nicotine in 74 non-smoking adults with mild cognitive impairment. The study showed improvements in some cognitive tests over six months, including a positive signal in long-term memory.

However, the study authors warned:

People with mild memory loss should not start smoking or using nicotine patches by themselves, because there are harmful effects of smoking and a medication, such as nicotine should only be used with a doctor’s supervision

The MAHA influencers ignore the results from a larger, follow-up trial, called the MIND study, which was published in December 2025. In the study, the researchers showed that two years of nicotine patch therapy did not slow memory loss vs placebo in adults with mild cognitive impairment or mild memory loss. These findings are more pertinent as evidence of the value of nicotine in reducing the risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

The health risks of nicotine

Tobacco smoking is absolutely not healthy. Over 16 million Americans live with a smoking-related disease—smoking and secondhand smoke exposure cause over 480,000 deaths in the USA each year. Tobacco smoking can lead to cancer, stroke, heart disease, and lung disease.

In this case, getting nicotine from tobacco has absolutely no benefit in terms of reducing the risk of dementia while causing serious disease.

Nicotine pouches, which contain tobacco, are also dangerous. The CDC clearly states:

There are no safe tobacco products, including nicotine pouches.

Now, let’s discuss the safety of nicotine patches and gums, while remembering that there is no benefit of nicotine for dementia.

The American Heart Association states nicotine raises blood pressure, increases heart rate, narrows arteries, and is linked with arterial hardening and heart attack risk. When these products are used for cessation of smoking, the benefits far outweigh the risks.

Nicotine immediately stimulates the sympathetic nervous system. Within minutes of taking nicotine, heart rate and blood pressure increase. Repeated stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system places sustained stress on the vascular system, damaging the endothelial lining of blood vessels. None of this is good for your long-term health.

Unfortunately for MAHA influencers, the science gets more troubling. There is new research that shows that nicotine may actually increase the risk of dementia.

In a paper published on 10 April 2026 in Science Advances, researchers showed a nicotine-triggered lung-brain signaling pathway. Their study shows that inhaled nicotine exposure is linked to exosomes from pulmonary neuroendocrine cells and downstream brain iron dysregulation.

Damage to the vascular system is a well-known cause of cognitive decline. Thus, taking nicotine, which damages the vascular system, actually increases the risk of dementia. This should be pretty clear to the reader.

The MAHA influencers also misunderstand how nicotine works on the brain. Nicotine attaches to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, which can temporarily enhance attention and working memory. The effect is transient, and it comes at the cost of the well-established risks I mentioned above.

Summary

The health risks of nicotine far outweigh the nonexistent benefits to cognitive decline and dementia.

The increased risks of stroke, heart disease, cancer, and many other conditions from nicotine, no matter how it is consumed, cannot be overstated.

And there is no evidence from strong scientific research that supports nicotine as a safe or effective drug for long-term brain health or preventing dementia.

MAHA influencers generally know nothing about science, unless they cherry-pick a study here or there to misinterpret or misuse. They should never be used as a source for health information, especially with respect to nicotine. Just don’t do it.

Citations

• Newhouse P, Kellar K, Aisen P, White H, Wesnes K, Coderre E, Pfaff A, Wilkins H, Howard D, Levin ED. Nicotine treatment of mild cognitive impairment: a 6-month double-blind pilot clinical trial. Neurology. 2012 Jan 10;78(2):91-101. doi: 10.1212/WNL.0b013e31823efcbb. PMID: 22232050; PMCID: PMC3466669.
• Thakur A, Zhang K, Chen J, Mei S, Chen J, Verdiell A, Jacobs E, Mulder L, Whitford A, Iyaswamy A, Chen YW, Cliffe A, Esser-Kahn A, Chen B, Lian Q, Solway J, Xing S, Chen HJ. Pulmonary neuroendocrine cell-derived exosomes regulate iron homeostasis and oxidative stress in lung neurons. Sci Adv. 2026 Apr 10;12(15):eady2696. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.ady2696. Epub 2026 Apr 8. PMID: 41950316; PMCID: PMC13060595.

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