It’s a chemical that contains nitrogen and is made of several types of plants. Nicotine, one of the main components in vape, smokes and dips is a synthetically produced alkaloid found in tobacco plants. It has many harmful effects like increasing the heart rate, blood pressure and flow of blood that can cause the narrowing of the arteries.
Athletes, in general, abstain from nicotine but there are those who indulge it. It can have a lot of adverse effects on your game and lifestyle, so be warned.
Effects nicotine can have on your game:
Nicotine and smoking are extremely harmful to teenagers and young athletes because your brain hasn’t developed completely yet. Nicotine can stunt the growth of the nerves and brain and prevent you from reaching your full potential as an athlete.
Further, sustained nicotine use can become highly addictive and can be very hard to get out of. It fastens the signals between the brain and the body, but at the same time it can harden the walls of the arteries, and this can lead to adverse effects like heart attacks and seizures too.
Why must athletes stop taking nicotine?
Tobacco fumes impede any uptake of oxygen from the lungs to the blood, and this can lead to lesser oxygen being given to the organs and muscles.
When a certain amount of nicotine gets into one’s system, it can slow down your reflexes and also make you short of breath, especially in sports such as hockey and football, which require high performance.
Quit the nic now, and give yourself the chance to reach your fullest potential!