Modafinil . Piracetam . Ritalin . Go to any university campus in exam season and it won ' t be long before you come across students popping these cognitive enhancers like sweeties .

Known as ' smart drugs ' because they enhance executive functions such as attention control , working memory , and cognitive flexibility resulting in greater concentration , creativity and information retention , they are a gift for anyone who needs to cram before an exam , an important job interview or a big speech .

The term ' nootropic ' may only have entered common parlance in recent years but the use of cognitionenhancing drugs is nothing new . Despite the controversy surrounding the use of pharmaceutical nootropics people in the UK think nothing of powering through their paperwork with a double-shot latte or a gruelling night shift with Red Bull or caffeine pills .

Many enjoy a morning latte . Caffeine may be the world ' s most widely-consumed psychoactive drug and adored by billions of people for its performance-enhancing properties , but there may be reason to reconsider nicotine as a time-tested nootropic .

Like caffeine , it is a toxin produced by plants as a defence mechanism against insects , animals and fungi . Indeed , until recently it was used by man as a pesticide ( now replaced with neonicotinioids ). But while it is dangerous to smaller creatures and fatal to humans in high enough doses , in smaller quantities it has numerous benefits .

As a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist , nicotine binds to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the brain . The activation of these receptors by nicotine increases the efficiency of the neurons making them better transmitters , A 2010 meta-analysis of the effects of nicotine on performance found that nicotine increases aspects of fine motor abilities , alerting and orienting attention , and episodic and working memory .

For those of us who spend our days engaged in creative work , a cigarette not only provides an outlet for excess creative energy but seems , in fact , to increase it and to stimulate new ideas and new perspectives that otherwise might be missed .

Despite the ubiquity of criticism that smoking is a ' stupid ' or ' pointless ' habit and its practitioners ' idiots ' or mere addicts , there is a compelling case for smoking being not only useful , but smarter than you might think

smokers ' manifesto

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