Effect of transdermal nicotine administration on exercise endurance in men

Abstract

Nicotine is widely reported to increase alertness, improve co-ordination and enhance cognitive performance; however, to our knowledge there have been no attempts to replicate these findings in relation to exercise endurance. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects nicotine might have on cycling endurance, perception of exertion and a range of physiological variables. With local ethics committee approval and having obtained informed consent, 12 healthy, nonsmoking men (22 ± 3 years; maximal O 2 uptake, 56 ± 6 ml kg -1 min -1 , mean ± S.D.) cycled to exhaustion at 18• C and 65% of their peak aerobic power, wearing either a 7 mg transdermal nicotine patch (NIC) or a colour-matched placebo (PLA) in a randomized cross-over design; water was available ad libitum. Subjects were exercising at approximately 75% of their maximal O 2 uptake with no differences in cadence between trials. Ten out of 12 subjects cycled for longer with NIC administration, and this resulted in a significant 17 ± 7% improvement in performance (P < 0.05). No differences were observed for perceived exertion, heart rate or ventilation. There were no differences in concentrations of plasma glucose, lactate or circulating fatty acids. In the absence of any effect on peripheral markers, we conclude that nicotine prolongs endurance by a central mechanism. Possible modes of action are suggested.

A Randomised, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Study Investigating the Effects of Nicotine Gum on Strength, Power and Anaerobic Performance in Nicotine-Naïve, Active Males

“…Together with our previous observation [24], these results indicate that nicotine per se can improve exercise endurance and muscular strength, something that WADA should continue to monitor alongside patterns of (mis)use.…”

“…The different delivery systems result in different nicotine bioavailability and absorption and therefore pharmacokinetics such that, for example, peak systemic concentrations are observed whilst smoking a cigarette, followed by oral snuff and chewing tobacco with gum being the lowest, possibly due to the first-pass metabolism and nicotine being retained in the gum itself [3]. The observed cotinine concentration from chewing gum was indeed lower than that observed with oral smokeless tobacco and transdermal patch [12, 24]; therefore, it would be of interest to directly compare different delivery systems on the same experimental sample and performance protocol. There is also considerable inter-individual variability in nicotine metabolism (e.g.…”

“…However, smokeless tobacco includes many other ingredients that might confound results and the use of participants that are habitual users is confounded by withdrawal or tolerance effects, whether acute or chronic. In an effort to determine the actual performance effects of nicotine in an acute experimental setting, in the present study, nicotine-naïve participants received acute nicotine supplementation, as using this rationale, we and others have previously demonstrated physical and cognitive performance enhancement [15, 24] despite the oft-reported side effects [23, 24]. …”

Regular moist snuff dipping does not affect endurance exercise performance

“…The unchanged VO 2 max confirms the result from the cross-sectional study on Swedish snuff users compared to non-users [20]. On the other hand Mündel & Jones [23] reported an improved endurance during a submaximal time-trial cycling test after administration of nicotine, which, even though it is a different type of test, can be considered as a disagreement with our unchanged endurance time during maximal exercise. Endurance during submaximal exercise was not measured in this study, but bLa and RPE during both the four-stage IIC-test and the 60 min test were unchanged.…”

“…Bolinder et al [20] found no differences in peak oxygen uptake (VO 2 peak) in well-trained snuff users compared to non-users. Nor did Bahrke et al [21] or Baldini et al [22] find any difference between non- and regular snuff users regarding exercise performance, while Mündel & Jones [23] reported increased endurance during submaximal cycling after administration of nicotine. Exposure to snuff may [24] or may not [23, 25] increase blood lactate concentration (bLa) during submaximal exercise.…”