Jack,
Nothing in what you posted describes any thereputic use. By definition of your previous quote from the CCC, the "drugs" they are refering to have thereputic uses.
I hear ya. However, Wiki has some info for therapeutic uses:
Therapeutic uses
The primary therapeutic use of nicotine is in treating nicotine dependence in order to eliminate
smoking with its risks to health. Controlled levels of nicotine are given to patients through gums, dermal patches, lozenges, electric/substitute cigarettes or nasal sprays in an effort to wean them off their dependence.
However, in a few situations, smoking has been observed to apparently be of therapeutic value to patients. These are often referred to as "Smokers Paradoxes"
[24]. Although in most cases the actual mechanism is understood only poorly or not at all, it is generally believed that the principal beneficial action is due to the nicotine administered, and that administration of nicotine without smoking may be as beneficial as smoking, without the higher risk to health due to
tar and other ingredients found in
tobacco.
For instance, recent studies suggest that smokers require less frequent repeated
revascularization after
percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
[24] Risk of
ulcerative colitis has been frequently shown to be reduced by smokers on a dose-dependent basis; the effect is eliminated if the individual stops smoking.
[25][26] Smoking also appears to interfere with development of
Kaposi's sarcoma,
[27] breast cancer among women carrying the very high risk
BRCA gene,
[28] preeclampsia,
[29] and
atopic disorders such as
allergic asthma.
[30] A plausible mechanism of action in these cases may be nicotine acting as an
anti-inflammatory agent, and interfering with the inflammation-related disease process, as nicotine has vasoconstrictive effects.
[31]
With regard to
neurological diseases, a large body of evidence suggests that the risks of
Parkinson's disease or
Alzheimer's disease might be twice as high for non-smokers than for smokers.
[32] Many such papers regarding Alzheimer's disease
[33] and Parkinson's Disease
[34] have been published. More recent studies find that there's no beneficial link between smoking and Alzheimer's, and in some cases suggest that it actually results in an earlier onset of the disease.
[35] [36] [37] [38]
Recent studies have indicated that nicotine can be used to help adults suffering from
Autosomal dominant nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy. The same areas that cause seizures in that form of
epilepsy are also responsible for processing nicotine in the brain.
[39]
Nicotine and its metabolites are being researched for the treatment of a number of disorders, including
ADHD,
Schizophrenia and
Parkinson's Disease.
[40] People with schizophrenia smoke two to three times more than smokers without mental illness; this may be a form of
self-medication to improve attention and short-term memory.
[41]
The therapeutic use of nicotine as a means of appetite-control and to promote weight loss is anecdotally supported by many ex-smokers who claim to put on weight after quitting. However studies of nicotine in mice
[42] suggests it may play a role in weight-loss that is independent of appetite and studies involving the elderly suggest that nicotine affects not only weight loss, but also prevents some weight gain.
[43]
