Matteo Campagna
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Nicotine gum before shooting raises the score

1 study · 11 archers measured

ForContextAgainst20202022202420262021, for, n = 112021, context, n = 11
Each circle is a study: its position gives the year, its row whether it is for, against or context, its size how many participants it measured. Light circles are studies on other populations or without archers.

Only one study has tested it, in 2021, with the right design: eleven national-level recurve archers, all male non-smokers, shot after 2 mg nicotine gum and after a placebo, in random order. With nicotine the mean over 36 arrows, averaged across three days of simulated competition, was 298.05 points against 290.58 (p = 0.009); an attention test and a manual dexterity test also improved, while motor reaction times stayed the same. During shooting the heart beat faster with nicotine, about 102 beats a minute against 95, and after the test salivary alpha-amylase, a marker of arousal, was higher: the gain does not seem to come from greater calm. Eleven people, a single dose, no smokers and no women: the result is limited and says nothing about repeated use. The authors point out that nicotine is not on the WADA prohibited list, but it is addictive, and no study has measured that risk in people who might use it for shooting.

Also phrased as: "nicotine and archery"; "nicotine gum before competition"; "nicotine improves concentration"; "snus and accuracy"

In practice

Among people in precision sports there is a notion that a little nicotine, as gum or a pouch, sharpens concentration before a competition.

Evidence

  • 2021
    For Archers Published later

    11 male national-level recurve archers, non-smokers, randomised placebo-controlled crossover with 2 mg nicotine gum: the mean over 36 arrows, averaged across three days of simulated outdoor competition, is 298.05 ± 8.56 with nicotine against 290.58 ± 10.09 with placebo (p = 0.009), out of a maximum of 360.

    Nicotine supplementation enhances simulated game performance of archery athletes · Bao-Lien Hung, Li-Jung Chen, Yi-Ying Chen, Jhih-Bang Ou, Shih-Hua Fang

  • 2021
    Context Archers Published later

    In the same eleven archers, nicotine improves the 'correct rejection' time in an attention test (7.29 ± 0.87 against 8.23 ± 0.98 ms, p = 0.038) and the grooved pegboard dexterity test (48.76 ± 3.18 against 53.41 ± 4.05 s, p = 0.003), while motor reaction times do not change. This is the mechanism the authors propose, not a shooting outcome.

    Nicotine supplementation enhances simulated game performance of archery athletes · Bao-Lien Hung, Li-Jung Chen, Yi-Ying Chen, Jhih-Bang Ou, Shih-Hua Fang

  • 2021
    Context Archers Published later

    Straight after the gum salivary alpha-amylase falls (39.64 against 51.82 U/ml at baseline), then after shooting it rises above baseline and above placebo (72.36 ± 36.66 against 50.74 ± 20.44 U/ml, p < 0.01); during shooting heart rate is 101.70 ± 8.04 beats a minute with nicotine against 95.41 ± 5.33 with placebo (p < 0.01), while the effects on heart rate variability have already worn off half an hour after taking it. None of the eleven reported side effects, with salivary cotinine at 10.3 ± 1.8 ng/ml after 30 minutes: that holds for a single dose in eleven people, not for repeated use.

    Nicotine supplementation enhances simulated game performance of archery athletes · Bao-Lien Hung, Li-Jung Chen, Yi-Ying Chen, Jhih-Bang Ou, Shih-Hua Fang

Status history

  1. 2021 Reported The first and so far only study of nicotine in archers is a randomised placebo-controlled crossover: eleven national-level recurve archers, all non-smokers, shoot after 2 mg gum and after a placebo, and with nicotine the mean over 36 arrows goes from 290.58 to 298.05. Attention and dexterity also improve, motor reaction times do not, and arousal measured after shooting is higher, not lower. The design suits the question, but it is a single study of eleven people with a single dose: reported. Nicotine is addictive, and the registry records the result without recommending its use.

Related

Related articles

Research lines

Cite
APA

Campagna, M. (2026). Nicotine gum before shooting raises the score (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/nicotine-gum-score

BibTeX
@misc{campagna2026_nicotinapunteggio,
  author = {Campagna, Matteo},
  title = {Nicotine gum before shooting raises the score},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
  url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/nicotine-gum-score},
  note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}

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