Germany: Nicotine beer called NicoShot aims to beat smoking ban

German manufacturer Nautilus GmbH Laboratoriumsbedarf has produced a beer that contains nicotine, in response to the increasing number of smoking bans in pubs and to help consumers quit smoking, Datamonitor Newswire commented on October 5. The lager, called 'NicoShot', contains 6.3% alcohol and has three milligrams of nicotine alkaloids per 250ml can.

Nautilus GmbH Laboratoriumsbedarf, describes the lager as having "cigarette satisfaction in a beer without the smoke". It says the drink is a nicotine replacement therapy similar to nicotine gum, which can relieve smokers' cravings while they give up cigarettes.

A spokesman for the company said, "NicoShot is a smoking-cessation brew designed to satisfy the nicotine urge whenever you want a cigarette, but can't smoke - providing a realistic way to quit smoking."

While non-smokers – and those wishing to quit – across Europe may welcome the new beer with open arms, the British Dental Health Foundation has slammed the idea on the premise that people who consume the drink will simply be swapping one vice for another.

"Mouth cancer kills one person every five hours in the UK and, although smoking is the condition's main risk factor, excessive consumption of alcohol is close behind," said the BDHF. "The reality...is that if people simply replace smoking with heavy drinking they will be no better off than they were in the first place."