Table 3.

Studies investigating the effect of nicotine on exercise performance

Study	Participants	Performance protocol	Nicotine intervention	Performance effect
Mündel and Jones [46]	12 non-smoker, healthy, active males	Cycle to volitional exhaustion at 65% maximal aerobic power	7 mg (24 h−1) transdermal nicotine patch applied to deltoid muscle the evening prior to testing i.e. overnight (≥10 h treatment). Compared to placebo patch	Endurance time improved (17%) with nicotine
Pyšný et al. [53]	11 male and 7 female, healthy, active non-smokers	Two 30-s Wingate tests separated by 30 min, each with a resistance of 0.106 W kg−1 (male) and 0.089 W kg−1 (female)	4 mg sublingual nicotine tablet use whilst resting supine 20 min prior to second Wingate. Compared to placebo tablet	All performance parameters were unaffected by nicotine
Mündel et al. [47]	9 non-smoker, healthy, active males	Maximum leg extensor torque (concentric, eccentric and isometric), maximum countermovement jump height, 30-s Wingate test with a resistance of 7.5% bodyweight	2 and 4 mg nicotine chewing gum use whilst resting seated for 20 min then discarded before tests began. Compared to placebo gum	Peak torque (concentric, eccentric and isometric) improved (6%) with 2 mg nicotine, countermovement jump and Wingate performance unaffected by nicotine
Fogt et al. [22]	10 male and 10 female, healthy non-smokers	Incremental maximal cycle test starting at 15 W with work-rate increasing 15 W min−1 to volitional exhaustion	Vaporiser nicotine (18 mg cartridge) inhaled once every 30 sec for 10 min via electronic cigarette whilst resting seated, 55 min prior to maximal test. Compared to placebo vaporiser inhalation (0 mg cartridge)	Maximal aerobic performance unaffected by nicotine
Druyan et al. [18]	16 healthy, active, males: 8 smokers abstinent ~12 h and 8 non-smokers	Graded maximal treadmill test at fixed unknown speed with incline increasing 2% every 2 min to volitional exhaustion	2 mg nicotine lozenge for 10 min followed by maximal protocol. Compared to control (no nicotine)	Not reported but maximal O2 uptake and anaerobic threshold unchanged