No evidence for chiropractor Bryan Ardis’ claim that nicotine cures Parkinson’s and other diseases

Nicotine is a chemical found in the tobacco plant that’s also the main cause of addiction to tobacco smoking. Managing nicotine withdrawal symptoms is one of the main obstacles to smoking cessation, which eventually led to the development of nicotine replacement therapy, that would make it easier for smokers to quit the habit.

But multiple posts circulating on TikTok and YouTube have made questionable claims about nicotine’s health effects, claiming that it is a cure or treatment for a wide variety of conditions, ranging from autism to Alzheimer’s to Parkinson’s to multiple sclerosis. One example is this clip published on 10 March 2025 by the channel Human Garage, which was viewed more than 1.4 million times at the time of writing. Some posts, like these videos on TikTok, reference nicotine patches to be used for these purposes.

Many of these claims can be traced back to Bryan Ardis, a chiropractor who runs the podcast “The Dr. Ardis Show”. Ardis previously spread false claims about COVID-19 and vaccines. He later branched out into promoting nicotine as a cure for a variety of ailments.

But claims by Ardis and others that nicotine can cure Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, autism, and other diseases aren’t adequately supported by scientific evidence. We explain below.

No evidence that nicotine cures Parkinson’s

Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes motor symptoms like trembling at rest, involuntary movement, and slow movement, as well as non-motor symptoms like depression, anxiety, and sleep problems.

Science Feedback discussed the claim that nicotine cures Parkinson’s in an earlier review. In that review, we reported that this belief is likely rooted in the observation that smokers are less likely to develop Parkinson’s.

Some laboratory and animal studies suggest that nicotine might exert effects in brain chemistry that protect against Parkinson’s. However, clinical studies that tested nicotine patches on people with Parkinson’s didn’t find that nicotine patches relieved symptoms or slowed disease progression^[1-3].

George Mellick, a professor at Griffith University who studies neurodegenerative disorders, told AAP FactCheck that the belief that nicotine cures Parkinson’s isn’t based on evidence.

No evidence that nicotine cures Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s is a neurodegenerative disorder that’s the most common form of dementia. Dementia manifests as a group of symptoms, which include memory loss, confusion, difficulties in thinking and reasoning, and behavioral changes. The symptoms worsen over time. While advanced age is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s, the disease is not considered a part of normal aging.

Unlike Parkinson’s, smoking is correlated with a greater risk of Alzheimer’s. But it must also be acknowledged that nicotine patches aren’t equivalent to smoking in terms of harm, as the latter exposes a person to many other harmful chemicals apart from nicotine.

However, a 2001 Cochrane Review was unable to find high-quality evidence from clinical trials showing that nicotine was beneficial to Alzheimer patients^[4]. According to the Cochrane website, a new search for studies to review is currently underway.

No evidence that nicotine is better than existing treatments for ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis is a type of inflammatory bowel disease which leads to swelling, inflammation, and ulceration of the large intestine. Symptoms include diarrhea, stomach pain, and blood in the stool. What causes ulcerative colitis is still unclear and there’s currently no cure for the condition, but various treatment options, like medication and surgery, can help to control symptoms.

The UK-based charity Crohn’s and Colitis states that “[y]ou are less likely to develop Ulcerative Colitis if you smoke”, but also that “[t]here is no advantage to using nicotine to get Ulcerative Colitis under control, compared to standard medicines”.

Some studies reported that nicotine enemas were associated with improvements in people with ulcerative colitis^[5,6]. However, these studies were small and didn’t compare the nicotine-treated group with those receiving standard of care.

Randomized controlled trials, considered the gold standard for testing the effectiveness of a treatment, collectively indicate that nicotine patches aren’t better than existing treatments for ulcerative colitis. A Cochrane review published in 2004 concluded:

“The results of this review provide evidence that transdermal nicotine is superior to placebo for the induction of remission in patient’s(sic) with ulcerative colitis. The review did not identify any significant advantage for transdermal nicotine therapy compared to standard medical therapy. Adverse events associated with transdermal nicotine are significant and limit its use in some patients.”

In simpler terms, nicotine is better than no treatment, but not better than existing treatments. Moreover, it also comes with its own set of risks. On balance, the evidence doesn’t support using nicotine over existing treatments for ulcerative colitis.

No evidence that nicotine cures autism

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that commonly affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others socially. Each affected person experiences ASD differently; some require little to no assistance with daily life, while others require significant lifelong care.

We found one study examining whether nicotine patches could alleviate aggression and irritability—but not other symptoms—in people “severely affected” by ASD. The study reported seeing improvements, but this was based on results from just five people. While it serves as a basis upon which to conduct further studies, a sample size of five people isn’t large enough to reliably generalize the findings to a wider population^[7].

The Autism Science Foundation states “No clinical trials have demonstrated that nicotine patches are safe or effective in the treatment of ASD. Common side effects reported in clinical studies evaluating safety and efficacy of the patches include skin irritation; sleep problems, including insomnia and nightmares; headaches, indigestion, and nervousness”. It should be noted that children are especially susceptible to nicotine poisoning compared to adults.

Nicotine’s effects on multiple sclerosis haven’t been studied in humans

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the myelin sheath covering nerve cells. Symptoms include muscle weakness in the limbs, fatigue, and problems with memory and concentration. There’s no cure, although medications and rehabilitation can help mitigate the impact of the disease.

Like Alzheimer’s, smoking is associated with a greater risk of developing multiple sclerosis. But as mentioned earlier, the effects of nicotine alone are distinct from the effects of tobacco smoking which expose a person to many other chemicals.

Indeed, data from Sweden suggests that unlike tobacco smoking, nicotine use from oral tobacco (snuff) is associated with a lower risk of developing multiple sclerosis^[8,9]. Furthermore, a 2013 study observed that this effect was dose-dependent: the greater the amount of snuff a person took, the lower their chances of developing multiple sclerosis. This adds further support to the hypothesis that nicotine could reduce the risk of multiple sclerosis.

There’s some evidence that nicotine could reduce inflammation by acting on certain immune cells in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis^[10]. However, this hasn’t yet been shown in humans.

We also found this review titled “Nicotine in Inflammatory Diseases: Anti-Inflammatory and Pro-Inflammatory Effects”^[11]. It examined the effects of nicotine in inflammatory diseases like ulcerative colitis, multiple sclerosis, and arthritis. But much of the evidence that the review drew on came from cell culture studies or animal studies instead of studies in humans. Moreover, the review showed that the evidence is mixed, with some studies finding that nicotine promoted some inflammatory processes instead of mitigating them.

We reached out to Ardis for comment via his website The Dr. Ardis Show. A representative for the website directed us to their “Free Patient Resources” page for evidence. A perusal of “Nicotine PDF” linked to an article from Medical News Today suggesting that dietary nicotine could be beneficial for people with Parkinson’s disease. But it also stated “No cure is available for Parkinson’s” and that “current high-quality evidence does not support nicotine as a treatment for Parkinson’s”. We didn’t find published studies cited in the PDF that supported his claims in the YouTube video.

Conclusion

Nicotine patches are a form of nicotine replacement therapy that can help people quit smoking, thereby mitigating the well-known health risks associated with smoking. However, popular social media claims that nicotine patches cure a wide variety of conditions like autism and Parkinson’s aren’t substantiated by scientific evidence.

REFERENCES

• 1 – Oertel et al. (2025) Transdermal Nicotine Treatment and Progression of Early Parkinson’s Disease. New England Journal of Medicine.
• 2 – Vieregge et al. (2001) Transdermal nicotine in PD: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Neurology.
• 3 – Villafane et al. (2017) High-dose transdermal nicotine in Parkinson’s disease patients: a randomized, open-label, blinded-endpoint evaluation phase 2 study. European Journal of Neurology.
• 4 – López Arrieta and Sanz. (2001) Nicotine for Alzheimer’s disease. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
• 5 – Green et al. (1997) Nicotine enemas for active ulcerative colitis–a pilot study. Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
• 6 – Ingram et al. (2004) Nicotine enemas for treatment of ulcerative colitis: a study of the pharmacokinetics and adverse events associated with three doses of nicotine. Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
• 7 – Lewis et al. (2019) An Exploratory Trial of Transdermal Nicotine for Aggression and Irritability in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
• 8 – Hedström et al. (2009) Tobacco smoking, but not Swedish snuff use, increases the risk of multiple sclerosis. Neurology.
• 9 – Hedström et al. (2013) Nicotine might have a protective effect in the etiology of multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis Journal.
• 10 – Jiang et al. (2016) Infiltration of CCR2+Ly6Chigh Proinflammatory Monocytes and Neutrophils into the Central Nervous System Is Modulated by Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors in a Model of Multiple Sclerosis. Journal of Immunology.
• 11 – Zhang et al. (2022) Nicotine in Inflammatory Diseases: Anti-Inflammatory and Pro-Inflammatory Effects. Frontiers in Immunology.