There's been some talk about caffeine chewing gum lately and a lot of folks seem to like it. It does help you give that extra boost of energy and keeps you awake, which is very important sometimes and may be helpful in a survival situation.

Personally though I think there are better alternatives. In my experience nicotine provides better, longer lasting boost than caffeine and leaves you less drained afterwards once the kick is gone. That does not at all mean mean I advocate smoking (in fact I hate it) because it does far more harm than good. But there are smokeless tobacco products out there which pose much less of a health risk than cigarettes and also happen to be very effective stimulants as long as you don't abuse them.

Chewing tobacco has been quite popular with athletes and soldiers, for a reason. Unfortunately chewing or dipping tobacco usually contains a lot of dangerous side products. But this is not a problem with higher quality European dipping tobacco, Swedish snus or nicotine chewing gum. A couple of links: http://www.northerner.com/html/snus.html
http://www.northerner.com/html/snus-G_1.html

Snus in particular really helps me stay focused and alert when I'm tired, haven't had enough sleep and have to keep going. It works much better than coffee, with fewer side effects (no sudden drop of energy, less shaking etc.). Like any other stimulant you must be disciplined enough to only take it when absolutely necessary so you don't get addicted. But for those times when you're in a tight situation and need a good energy boost it will make a big difference. These days I always include a packet of dry portion snus or nicotine chewing gum in my BOB. Maybe you should consider it as well if you are looking for a similar stimulant or an alternative to caffeine.

Being an ex-smoker I am all too familiar with the effects of Nicotine. Honesty, considering that Nicotine is far more addictive than opiates like heroin, I would not recommmend using it as a stimmulant. True, Nictine effects people differently according to their brain chemistry, but I wouldn't take the chance to find out if you're one of the "normal" types where you need a fix roughly every 30 minutes, or the type that can casually use it and stop with little or no effort. Caffine withdrawl can last a couple of days, Nicotine withdrawl can last a lifetime. Not trying to bash your thread, but just my 2c.

I'd actually thought about this too, but my only experience with nicotine is occasionally smoking a pipe. I wondered if nicotine gum could be useful, but the idea didn't seem important enough to me at the time to pursue it. I'd have to do a fair amount of research to feel comfortable doing it, and since there's so much bad information on the effects of smoking and nicotine, the effort never seemed worth the reward.

Also being an ex-smoker who still occasionally puffs a pipe or a cigar (I am not able to inhale either one, even if I wanted to), when I get a nicotine hit, it usually interferes with my normal functions for at least a few minutes, what I used to call a cigarette buzz back in the day when I would bomb a cigarette on a short work break or some such. In a survival situation, I would find that effect debtrimental. Aside from that, I find that tobacco use is generally counterproductive to the concept of survival, though it does have certain calming/comforting qualities in less critical conditions.

A far superior alternative stimulant would be Vitamin B complex, or even a high quality multivitamin. Many of the contemporary market stimulants are based at least in part on Vitamin B uptake, and include such metabolic enhancers as Argnine, Taurine, ginseng, etc. There may be some question as to the effectiveness of some of these constituents, not having entirely been reviewed/endorsed by the appropriate governmental agencies yet, but anecdotal evidence would suggest that most people who take these sort of things experience a consistent increase in performance, endurance, and general stimulation over an extended period. In my experience using these products, I would say they have a very mild yet noticable positive effect, something similar to a cup of strong coffee, but over a more gradual and longer period.

I would recommend nutrient stimulant over chemical stimulant any day of the week.

I would be concerned about nicotine causing vasodilation, and increasing risk of hypothermia.

This is clearly not everyone's cup of tea but I honestly think nicotine has been given an overly bad reputation by the anti-smoking lobbyists. As for being more addictive than heroin, statements like these should be placed in a proper context. At some point in my life I was regularly dipping tobacco all day long for over a year. It was an addiction but I was able to quit very easily. Now I no longer abuse these products and only use them as a stimulant occasionally. I have no problems with addiction though understand that some people might react differently to nicotine.

As for vitamin based stimulants and herbs, they never seemed to work. Just like black tea, a slight feel-good buzz and that's it. Caffeine chewing gum does work but compared to nicotine the boost doesn't last long and has too many side effects in my experience. Rapid energy drain being the most dangerous. That doesn't happen with nicotine. I've been able to go on for a whole night without sleep on two or three portions of snus. I find it pretty amazing that it doesn't interfere with my fine motor skills nearly as much as caffeine, plus it makes me mentally sharper and better at solving tasks.

I just don't know of any other commonly available stimulant that would be as effective and with so few negative effects. Compared to amphetamine-based stimulants used by the military I think it's pretty innocent, too.

Eat right, exercise, get a good night's sleep, take a vitamin supplement.

I quit smoking every 6 months. I last about 20-30 days. Nicotine addiction is extremely difficult to get away from.

As another ex-smoker (quit 12/7/74), I will say that nicotine is no good, period, no matter how you get it...

Sorry but I totally disagree...

I smoked for over 15 years, and was also a smokeless tobacco user.

I was also in the military and that was where my "smokeless tobacco " use came into play. ( read: Red Man, and Skoal and other dips and snuffs )

It was a nasty, dehydrating habit while out in the field.

I found that nicotine made me more mellow, not more alert.

And the last thing I need is running out of a substance I'm addicted to when I'm in a survival situation.

I have a good friend who is now addicted to the gum after using it to quit smoking. Proceed with caution!