As the nootropic industry continues to boom, consumer confidence is being challenged while consumer confusion continues to spread like an infection.
If you’ve never heard of a nootropic, that might be diagnosed more as your lack of specific terminology over product clarity. Nootropics are also known as brain boosters. And brain boosters have been around in both over the counter forms as well as prescription forms. And it would be a mistake to miss the rivalry between pharmaceutical companies and nutritional supplement companies as partially responsible for the nootropic golden days.
The latest market numbers involving the nootropic industry envoke a sense of awesome as much as they do mystery. According to an article on Technorati, the nootropics show the industry show a USD 6,059.4 Mn by 2024.
A nootropic, by definition, is nothing more than a brain enhancer. The battle in the nootropic space was embattled long before supplement companies and pharmaceutical companies were rivals. Caffeine, the core component of coffee, is, by all standards, a nootropic. In fact, many nootropics supplements contain caffeine is a part of their ingredient list. Beyond caffeine, products known as “trucker drugs,” such as ephedrine, lined the countertops of gas stations all throughout the 90s until the industry was highly regulated. Drugs such as ephedrine were essentially speed disguised as focus and “alertness” supplements. There is no question that a faster central nervous system can be conducive to increased formula, side effects such as a racing heart and massive mood swings neutralize any beneficial effects.
But pharma played on. One of there largest, most pervasive and most popular medications is called Aderral. Before that, they made a loads of revenue by having Ritalin prescribed to children. Bcause the ADHD propaganda in schools is so high, parents and teachers look for solutions and pharma’s appeal is heightened. But over the years, the well-known Adderall side effects have reared their ugly heads. Nervousness, tremors, anxiety, sleeplessness, irritability, blurred vision and weakness are just the beginning of some of the more ugly effects Aderral tends to have on children and adults.
Once the ephedrine industry was regulated, pharmaceutical companies were free to roam, only competing with themselves. However, big supplement brands have entered the picture by creating what they claim are “more natural nootropics.” And as you can see from this NooCube review, they aren’t wrong in terms of how they market their ingredients. Of course, side effects and results are subjective, but most people do report great benefits from supplement company versions. And they don’t require the consumer to obtain an expensive prescription. The downside, of course, is that more and more supplement companies enter the market on a daily basis, which has created confusion and misunderstandings. Some supplement companies are likely overmarketing. Some are just riding the nootropic label power. And others are, well, more than likely, legitimate ventures that could help people achieve a little better brain function.
To deny nootropics there place in the brain boosting sector is to ignore facts and history. Pharmaceutical companies never invented nootropics, coffee did that. Ginseng did that. Ginkgo Biloba did that. Supplement companies have merely recognized there market viability in having less side effects, no prescription to obtain and cost-effective variety in ingredients. In the end, this likely isn’t pharma’s downfall, but a chance for them to evolve through competition. For supplement companies, it might be feast or famine style production. But if you find the right natural nootropic, the feast taste pretty darn good.
