Provocative title! I've known for years thanks to anecdotal comments that nicotine is helpful not only to those who want to avoid weight gain and so worry about quitting smoking but also to some with brain disorders such as schizophrenia. There seems to be a moderating effect for the latter folks. There's been quite a bit of research about this, too. Those with binge eating disorder may be served by this research, as well.
There's a blurb in today's Wall Street Journal (Tuesday, July 26, 2011) on page D2 in the "Health and Wellness" section (actually, there are four articles that captivated me - seriously - today).
Here's the blurb:
"Nicotine-based drugs may be useful in controlling obesity and other metabolic disorders, and also help people stop smoking, according to a study in Science. Smokers often cite depressed appetite and weight control as reasons for not quitting, but the anorexic effects of nicotine aren't well understood. Researchers at Yale University found that low doses of nicotine or cytisine, a drug that binds to nicotine receptors, reduced body fat in mice by 15% to 20% and food intake by up to 50% but had no effect on water consumption.
"Research showed the nicotine drugs acted on a brain pathway involved in the regulation of appetite called the hypothalamic melanocortin system. The drugs activated receptors located on pro-opiomelanocortin or POMC cells, a subset of neurons in the hypothalamus.
"When mice with the POMC pathway were given nicotine or cytisine, they lost weight whereas mice without the pathway were unchanged. The study found that POMC receptors aren't the same as those that trigger tobacco cravings. Drugs that target the POMC pathway could limit the weight gain that follows smoking cessation, researchers noted.
"Caveat: Nicotine's effects on the POMC pathway have only been demonstrated in mice."