Exactly what nicotine does to your body as expert reveals what's worse: smoking, vaping or nicotine patches
Tobacco smoke has a lot of chemicals in it, but what effect does the big one, nicotine, have on your body?
In 2026 it's pretty much universally accepted that smoking is very bad for you.
Whether it's a heightened risk of cancer, heart disease, higher blood pressure, the habit affects your body in a huge number of bad ways.
While nicotine is the active ingredient in tobacco, it's far from the only harmful chemical in cigarettes, with Cancer Research UK saying that there are over 5,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke of which at least 70 have been linked to cancer.
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Decades of scientific study have laid bare the health risks associated with smoking, and with nicotine being the addictive component of tobacco, other methods of taking nicotine such as vaping and patches have been developed.
Dr Rayyan Zafar explained to Metro that while vaping and patches do not come without risks, medics still consider them to be preferable to smoking, though they advise that if you don't take nicotine in any form, don't start.
From a medical standpoint, vaping or nicotine patches are viewed as a way to reduce harm.
But of course, vapes and patches, gum, or lozenges all still contain nicotine - so what effect does that have on your body?
The National Institute on Drug Abuse says that nicotine creates a wave of endorphins when it enters the body.
These are the sorts of chemicals which can improve your mood, as well as relieving stress and even pain, which explains why smoking can make people feel good.
Endorphins aren't the only ones either as it also creates dopamine, a chemical which is part of how the brain rewards itself and which creates a feeling of pleasure.
The chemical passes through the body quickly so these feelings are short-lived, but the brain likes dopamine a lot, creating a cycle where we chase the good feelings that the nicotine gives us.
But this is just the part of nicotine which makes us want to use it, what about the other impacts?
Well, some other effects of nicotine include things like headaches, poor sleep, feeling lightheaded or dizzy, and your blood flow being disrupted.
You may also have an increased risk of blood clots, which can in turn increase the danger of a stroke if a particularly large or dangerous clot enters the brain.
That's not it either, as you could also have pain in joints, as well as experiencing tremors.
So while nicotine patches and vapes are viewed as a way to reduce the harm from smoking tobacco, they still come with health risks.
Nonetheless, Dr Zafar advised that making the switch does still place you at less risk, though there is still less research on vaping.
"For a smoker who switches completely to a regulated vape or tobacco-free pouch, this is likely to represent a substantial reduction in harm," he said.
"For a child or an adult who has never smoked, starting to vape or use pouches provides no health benefit and introduces a risk of dependence.
"Dual use is another important issue. Somebody who vapes or uses pouches but continues to smoke may retain much more smoking-related risk than they realise. The greatest health benefit comes from switching completely."
Kit Roberts