Calories and nicotines are two words that we do not associate with each other a lot of the time. In fact, we think of these two together almost never.
But there are quite some connections between calories and nicotines. When talking about nicotine, we do not only mean the source that comes at the top of our heads- cigarettes. There are also other ways in which we consume nicotine such as nicotine gums, lozenges, vape juice, etc.
Though there are many vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplants, etc. that contain nicotine at a lower level, we are going to avoid talking about them in this article as consuming them results in a mandatory calorie consumption due to their nutritional value.
Do Cigarettes contain calories?
Calories and cigarettes have a connection that goes hand to hand. But we should keep in mind that consumption of a cigarette does not mean direct consumption of calories. The ingredients of a cigarette do not contain any kind of direct calories whatsoever. Smoking a cigarette actually burns calories on the contrary. Smoking increases the metabolism in our body which results in increased calorie burning. A pack of cigarettes consumption can burn as much as 250 calories.
Many who quit smoking become agitated after experiencing the sudden weight gain that comes from the decrease in metabolism. Quitting smoking can increase weight by 2 pounds only within 2 weeks. But after that, our body starts to average out the metabolism rate, preventing them from gaining extensive weight. Most of the time, quitting smoking can increase weight by 5-7 pounds at maximum.
Calories in a Nicotine Gum
With the rise of health consciousness and the hazardous side of smoking being publicized, many people are trying their best to opt-out of smoking. But it is not an easy task to quit cigarette addiction. One of the most popular methods is nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). The main principle of this method is to replace the source of nicotine with gums, patches, sprays, lozenges, etc. Nicotine gum is a popular way of getting rid of tobacco addiction. Nicotine gums are usually over-the-counter medicine that can easily be purchased. But these nicotine gums are usually flavored, most of which is sweet. So it raises concerns about increasing calorie and unwanted carbohydrate intake.
Fortunately, all the sweeteners used in nicotine gums are either artificial or natural sweeteners that are deemed sugar-free. Cane sugars are rarely used in Nicotine gums. A piece of nicotine gum contains less than 3 calories. A piece of nicotine gum has a carbohydrate value of only 1g. So you can easily ignore the calories in nicotine gums without sweating about it and rather focus on quitting your tobacco addiction.
Calories in a Nicotine Lozenge
The name lozenge is associated with words like candies and confectioneries quite closely. So hearing the word nicotine lozenges might alert people about the calorie intake that might come from nicotine lozenges. But the calorie one might receive from nicotine lozenges is quite low.
Nicotine lozenges come in two groups depending on weight- 2mg and 4mg. The highest consumption rate of nicotine lozenges is 20 4mg lozenges per day. Per serving of a 4mg lozenge contains around 10 calories and 2g carbohydrate. So the highest you can get from nicotine lozenges per day is 200 calories, which is only for 1-6 weeks. This is similar to having 385 grams of apples per day, which is not a huge amount. When you compare the benefits that come from nicotine lozenges which is to help you quit smoking, these many calories are only a small price to pay. Also, sugar-free nicotine lozenges containing artificial and natural substitute sweeteners are also available on the market. So if you do not even want that little amount of calorie from Nicotine lozenges, you can always go for the sugar-free ones
Calories in Vape Juice
Recently, vaping has become popular due to the availability of e-cigarettes. Many people are shifting towards vaping to control their nicotine intake, while some have started vaping purely due to personal interest. If you go shopping for vape juice or liquid, you will come across a wide range of flavors. These flavors include strawberry, grape, apple, chocolate, vanilla, and so on. If you are someone who looks out for your calorie intake cautiously, these flavors might raise the question of how many extra calories you might be intaking.
These flavors of vape juice have almost nothing to do with the calories that you earn from vaping. It is the PG and VG base that primarily supplies the calorie. 1ml of vape juice contains approximately 4-5 calories. An average intake of 6 ml vape juice per day will result in a consumption of 25-30 calories. Guess what can give you this amount of calories- a carrot! So if you do not feel guilty about consuming an extra carrot per day, you should definitely not think much about the calorie that comes from vaping.
Conclusion
Nicotine may not have as strong a connection with calories as other substances but there is definitely a small link between these two. Though nicotine through smoking increases our metabolism, the harmful side of smoking might outweigh the benefit. Nicotine Replacement Therapy is a great way to overcome nicotine addiction. The replacements such as nicotine gums, lozenges, and vapes come in many flavors but contain a very little amount of calories. So if you are thinking of going for these replacements, do not let the idea of overconsumption of calories stop you.