The Chameleon Named Nicotine
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Kevin Godbee - Sep 4, 2013
- 5 min read
Russ Ouellette
I don’t even know where to begin writing about nicotine.
If there is any substance that has a more “Jekyll and Hyde” profile than nicotine, I’m not aware of it. It can be a stimulant or a calmative. It can be a deadly poison, or it can be therapeutic. It can aid in spurts of energy and lead to periods of lethargy. Finally, most people know little about the substance, including their own intake, but I digress (as I am frequently wont to do).
Let’s start with the basics- nicotine is an alkaloid, and in highly concentrated doses is a strong poison. The amount taken in during smoking is nowhere near what would be necessary for toxicity, and under all but the most unusual circumstances (such as wearing a number of transdermal patches and chain-smoking cigarettes simultaneously) will rarely cause severe illness or death. It also is a vasoconstrictor, so it can elevate blood pressure and can affect many bodily systems.
One thing that is rarely discussed, however, is that most people routinely take in some level of nicotine, whether they use tobacco or not. Nicotine is present in the members of the nightshade family, of which tobacco is one. But that family also includes potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants and peppers. So, many of the people who warn others about the harmful effects of nicotine are getting some in their diet regularly. Granted, the level in these foods is comparatively low versus using chew or dip, but it’s there, nonetheless.
Nicotine is a biphasic substance, meaning that in low doses, it has a stimulant effect, but in larger doses, it can have a calming or soporific influence. Short puffs on a cigarette, or smoking cigars or pipes (without inhaling), delivers such low doses. The stimulation caused by nicotine is not just a psychological effect, either. Testing has shown that attention, memory and cognitive ability can be measurably increased under the influence of nicotine. In the case of cigars and pipes, the delivery is much slower as well, due to less absorption from the mucus membranes of the mouth as opposed to the large surface area of the lungs. It takes 15 to 20 minutes for the nicotine in pipe or tobacco smoke to break the blood/brain barrier, whereas it takes less than 10 seconds to do so for a cigarette smoker. When a cigarette smoker inhales deeply, or when a pipe smoker encounters a Lakeland flake or rope with dark-fired, the higher level of vitamin N can cause relaxation or even drowsiness.
Nicotine is a nitrogenous substance, and so tobacco grown in soil with a high nitrogen content, or in a field where nitrogen fertilizers are used, can be a bit more potent. Much of what we identify as “spice” in a cigar or pipe blend comes from the influence of nicotine. That sense of a “bite” in the back of the throat also comes from this source. To some degree, nicotine has some impact on the heat of peppers.
It was also used extensively in the past as a very effective pesticide, but due to its toxicity to mammals through ingestion and skin contact, it is largely avoided today, however, there are still uses for nicotine. Of course, it’s used as the base for many smoking cessation products. It can also have anti-inflammatory properties (like capsicum, which is also found in hot peppers…
coincidence?), has been shown to have cancer-preventing properties under certain circumstances, and has been involved in testing as a treatment for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. It may also have a therapeutic effect for people with depression or ADHD.
There are some other aspects of nicotine that are intriguing. The use of it has been tied to regularity with some people. In fact, some folks who have quit smoking abruptly have had bouts of gastric distress, bloating and other gastrointestinal issues.
One of the impacts it has on the body is that it causes the liver to release glucose into the bloodstream, so the blood sugar level will rise. In the case of higher amounts due to stronger tobacco or using it orally, nasally or through inhalation, the blood glucose level can rise quickly and then crash, leaving the person nauseous, shaky, disoriented and may even cause short, rapid hiccups, also known as the “nic-hics”. For this reason, if you’re planning on trying a stronger pipe tobacco or cigar, keeping a piece of candy nearby is a good idea. Chocolate works very well, as it not only has the sugar that your body wants, but it has some caffeine as well to expedite the delivery of the glucose.
One of the commonly-held fallacies is that nicotine is a carcinogen. This is not the case. In fact, in the case of HIV-positive people, it has been shown to possibly retard the development of a cancer that often affects that group.
The vasoconstrictor impact, and the fact that nicotine can elevate the heart rate are the main reasons that people with cardiac problems are encouraged to avoid it. Of course, the degree of the effect has a lot to do with what form the tobacco is used in, how it’s processed and the natural nicotine content of the particular strain(s) used. For the most part, Virginias (flue-cured) tend to be rather low in nicotine, with Burleys (air and fire-cured) being significantly higher, and sun-cured Oriental/Turkish leaf falling somewhere in-between. Use of heat in processing can reduce the amount of nicotine, whereas other processes can increase it.
My purpose isn’t to promote nicotine or to bash it. It’s in a number of commonly-ingested foods, and therefore can’t be a catastrophic influence on one’s health in measured amounts. As in just about everything in life, moderation seems to be the key; after all, moderation is often the difference between use and abuse. All I know for sure is that the measured use of tobacco has helped me remain clear when tired, on occasion, and helped me to relax often, and that may be more important to my overall well-being.
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Russ Ouellette is the blender/creator of the Hearth & Home series of tobaccos for Habana Premium Cigar Shoppe and www.pipesandcigars.com in Bethlehem, PA. He has been a pipe smoker and blender for over 30 years, and enjoys feedback from the pipe smoking public. You can reach Russ at russo@pipesandcigars.com or by calling 1-800-494-9144 on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9 am to 5 pm and Friday from 1 pm to 5 pm. |
Written by Kevin Godbee
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Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 634! Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Warren Ertle. Warren is an extremely accomplished musician with a PhD in music. He started early as a percussionist in sixth grade. Later his grandmother got him a cheap Casio keyboard which he taught himself to play. He started playing in blues bands in high school, and has been a pianist with jazz big bands for years. Even though he was already a professional musician, he took his first real piano lesson when he enrolled in college with his studies in classical music. He is of course a pipe smoker. At the top of the show we will have an Ask the Tobacco Blender segment with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl, which is one of the most popular boutique pipe tobacco companies in the USA.
Soon now, supposedly, our neighborhoods will shift from grinning pumpkins, skeletons in various assortments, and zombies dashing about to pretty reindeer, angels, and flashing lights illuminating homes with sparkling stars and laughing, scurrying Santas. But, lest we forget, there is the turkey season, fancy pie aromas wafting from kitchens, and a national pardon of a big Tom Turkey. Remember, now, that only one of these holiday personalities is a pipe smoker. And that is the hefty, bearded fellow in a bright red suit sitting in a sleigh with a herd of deer hitched up and ready to streak across the globe, bringing tidings of joy and many presents. Ok, the scene is set for the next couple of months, right? So, before we get too far off the beaten path, let’s just take a deep breath of fresh autumn air, shall we? Ahh. That’s better, isn’t it? What’s got the Pundit in a snit is not all the Halloween spooks who came a-jostling for candy. Or the wild turkeys gobbling in the backwoods or all the fuss and feathers over the big one—Christmas. No, it is that we might need to take note of all the little things that mean so much to us. Like a good sunrise (seriously, Pundit has not gone all Pollyanna.) Mayhaps we need to appreciate more of what we have than what we have not. Or something like that. Like, a good pipe in the morning with coffee as the dawn brings us coolish weather now that we have flipped the calendar to autumn. But it also brings beautiful leaves that have become a spectacle of technicolor in the wind. It is the little things. The rereading of an enjoyable book and finding something you did not see or learn in the first go-round. Or a stunning phrase you commit to memory with the re-read, while smoking that favorite pipe. And you notice a superior puff that just seems to be different. It’s in the air and the seasons of meaningful little things. It’s aromatic! Or perhaps it is that sense of satisfaction knowing and appreciating you made it to another day. With the world in a kind of rinse-and-repeat history, reminiscent of a Shakespearean play, it is perhaps a good moment to remember some of Pipedom’s philosophers whose cogent thoughts brought light to clear a path in the mists of confusion and confounding opinions. Ok. No gloom and doom. Just some down-home thoughts. Think of times in the past when history was running off the rails. It took our pipe-smoking thinkers (the mind workers of the world) to speak of better pathways to more light. Think for a moment, with a pipe in hand, these wizards of the world and word: Albert Einstein, J. R.R. Tolkien, Mark Twain, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edwin Hubble, Bertrand Russell, C. S. Lewis, and Jean-Paul Sartre. All learned and enlightened. They offered wisdom instead of storms of meaningless roads to nowhere. All while smoking their pipes! Maybe especially with the help of their pipes in the art of thinking and philosophy. Recall the words of Mr. E=MC2 when he said, “I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgment in all human affairs.” Amen and amen! Dealing with world-rattling events takes a calm and objective view of things, to the Pundit’s way of summing it up. You just don’t go messing around with quantum physics without a calm and objective approach, methinks. Or as the extraordinary physicist Robert Oppenheimer said after he and a team in the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos Labs developed a way to split atoms into bombs during World War II. “I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” said Oppenheimer referring to the development of the first nuclear bombs dropped on Japan. It must be pointed out that Oppenheimer was more of a cigarette smoker than a pipe smoker. Nonetheless, pipes were part of his personality. Now, if you have read some of the great authors of the past and present, their pipes were always nearby. Reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle can be a three-pipe problem at times. S. Lewis and Jean-Paul Sartre require time with your pipes to reflect on the existential problems and solutions these authors provide in learned novels and other narratives. Or take Edwin Hubble and Bertrand Russell, philosophers of another world. Pipes are required for reading. The quantum lode of ideas Pundit is attempting to sort out is that our pipes are relaxing and stimulate our thoughts and creativity. Especially in these last months of the year. Many times Pundit has had that light bulb flick on while smoking my beloved pipes. And friends in Pipedom, it ain’t easy to turn on the lights in Pundit’s rock pit head. Now it’s time for a quote from a Pipe Smoker of the Past. Shelby Foote was born Nov. 17, 1916, in Greenville, Miss., and died June 27, 2005, in Memphis, Tenn. A fact is not a truth until you love it—Shelby Foote. A parting thought: It is said that famed Southern author William Faulkner carried a packed pipe in a coat pocket wherever he went. That’s one effective way to deal with workday conflicts and confusion. A calm and objective judgment in our everyday human affairs, as the quantum man said.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 633. Our featured guest tonight is Jon David Cole. JD is the Owner/Tobacconist at The Country Squire in Jackson, MS, and the accompanying online store. We’ll have JD and Brian talking about what’s new at the store and in the business in general. At the top of the show, Brian will discuss tobacco growing, what happens to the leaf, and provide updated information on where tobacco is being gown today. Tobacco production originated in the United States and we were once the #1 producer. It’s quite different now.
Well there’s nothing like a touch of the plague to usher in the changing season. Leaving the airport just when the first advertisements for all things pumpkin spice began to appear—lattes, muffins, shampoos, trash bags, and myriad other concoctions—so, too, my ability to breathe freely disappeared. The unfortunate side effect of losing one’s sense of taste and smell for weeks is the utter inability to enjoy tobacco. Not that I consider myself an expert on anything but my own tastes, but be forewarned that this review was made with mildly impugned sensory equipment. Just when a comforting pipe was most needed, its comfort was denied. Be that as it may, the road to recovery found me limping along on one lung this past month, trying to wrest the particulars of two blends on offer from Sutliff: the latest 175th Anniversary blend, Silver Quarter, as well as their spooky seasonal Maple Shadows II. Silver Quarter is a new style on offer from Sutliff, their first coin-cut blend. Naturally a Virginia-Perique, it is enhanced with a traditional core of black Cavendish. In the tin it holds much promise, with a lightly bready and very woody, if ever-so-slightly sour, aroma. After some time acclimating to air, the bouquet softens further and offers hints of the burley with some chocolaty notes wafting through the more dominant dry grassy aspect. The tin art is of a coin-style bas-relief bust, presumably of a founding Sutliff brother, à la The Old Boss On the reverse of the tin we find the blend’s description: Reflecting on Sutliffs 175 years of tobacco excellence, we came across a brand that embodies true value, SILVER QUARTER. This name pays homage to Sutliffs roots, the legacy of two brothers who popularized pipe smoking in the burgeoning mining society of San Francisco. We celebrate this heritage with a coin cut composed of the finest African Virginias, complemented by a core of Perique and Black Cavendish. The tin notes are, forgive the pun, on the nose for a good VaPer blend: mild tart sweetness peeking out from behind dried hay and slight chocolate undertones, with a lightly tannic finish of weathered oak. It is always a joy to prepare a coin cut, my preference being to put a few in my palm and vigorously warm my hands together to fully break them apart. These well-formed discs pack and light easily, and smoke with little prodding to the end of the bowl. For technical points it scores well—it smokes light, and it’s easy to tend the ember. While it gets sharp after a few quick bowls, pacing should be heeded to easily smoke down to the heel without inviting bite. Of the flavor, though, I am left a bit wanting. There are tart and high notes aplenty, but very little of the lemony citrus I would anticipate, as well as scant midtones; they tend more toward the red wine-vinegary and sour. The flavors are muted, also, lacking the sweetness and piquancy of other marques—the small measure of Perique tickles the nose now and again with peppery hints, and there is a smidge of a deeper sweetness to be found in the Cavendish from puff to puff, but overall it lacks some dynamism. The Virginias, to my palate, come off a bit on the dry side, and here they dominate the blend. The aftertaste and mouthfeel are neutral, again evincing more of the dry, woody, tartly tannic end of the spectrum. The blend has plenty of polish, but not enough depth or richness (*yet) to make it a standout. Here, comparisons are inevitable: Luxury Bullseye Flake has more sweetness, both from its Virginia as well as its Cavendish, and a better finish; Davidoff is similar but with a pronounced umami that is absent here; as for Escudo, I haven’t had any fresh tins lately so it would be unfair to compare. While it rates as a solid, fairly mild smoke, particularly to lovers of the genre, it does not surprise with any exceptional flavors. To be fair, all the boxes have been checked for the blend to benefit from some real aging, and it would be worth checking in on this after a couple of years sealed away. I’ve set half my tin aside to sample again in a month or two, in case I’m merely suffering from the lingering effects of parosmia, and will amend this review in that case. Maple Shadows II, on the other hand, made up for the weeks of sniffling and sneezing I’d endured. Offered in a full 8 ounce tin with delightfully spooky Halloween art, it’s (hopefully) enough to last through the season. Somehow I had missed this last year, so it’s a real pleasure to get some in my candy bucket this year. As the chilling winds of autumn draw eerie prattle from contorted, deciduous limbs, we find ourselves possessed by the spirit of the season. Bewitched by a dissonant charm, we’ve created Maple Shadows. In a season that is defined by the unlikely harmony of treats and frights, we’ve joined the enchanting sweetness of maple with the earthy spice of Dark Fired Kentucky for a smoking experience that captures the senses with an otherworldly fusion of flavor. This may be the best aromatic blend Sutliff’s ever made—and they make a ton of them. First off, it’s not overbearing in the least—quite the opposite, it is also one of the more restrained aromatics they’ve ever made, with a clear but very light topping that melds oh-so-well with their choice Kentucky added to the mix. Opening the tin, the sweet maple is up front and center, but so too is the must of fallen leaves, bready pie crusts, and a crackling fire in the hearth—a perfect invocation of Herbstdüfte in a can. Packing best in an open and capacious bowl, the flavoring is subtle, and recedes to the background while puffing. With a sweet coffee or tea to accompany, the aftertaste of the maple is reinvigorated on the palate […]
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 632. Our featured guest on tonight’s show is the host of the Pipe & Tamper Podcast, Mike Murphy. Brian and Mike will have an extended chat revolving around the days before, during and after the Las Vegas International Pipe Show. We will hear about their travels to the show and the anxiety of Hurricane Milton bearing down on Florida at the same time while running a show and not knowing if your house is going to be there when you get home. In the end, the show went great and our homes survived, although many others in Florida were not so lucky. We’ll have clips from the show, and shoutouts to other podcasts and vlogs that were broadcasting from the pipe show.
Vegas Baby The show started out strong on the 14th floor hospitality suites hosted by the Vegas Pipe Show and Smoking Pipes as well as room hopping to carvers, estate sellers, and vendors to pre-game for the festivities. If you’re interested in what that looks like I’ll refer you to last years pipe show round up. I circled with Brian Levine to get the totals in comparison to last year: This year’s show numbers: 108 Exhibitor tables, 445 attendees, 3,250 Raffle Tickets, 100ish dinners, 172 Rooms in the Hotel. Last year, by comparison, 107 exhibitor tables, 425 attendees, 2,200 raffle tickets, 104 dinners, and 175 rooms on Friday and Saturday nights. We were at capacity, basically, when it came to vendor tables and the dinner, so there is no physical room for growth at this point except for attendees. That said, we filled that smoking lounge to the brim. New Carvers Spotlight Garret Woo (Pipes by Woo) How long have you been carving? Garret: I’ve been carving since 2021, and I’m guessing your next question is probably how’d you get started carving? James: Yes. Garret: In 2021 I took a break from my full time job – that included machining and assembly work and I thought maybe it was time I made something that I would like and I started looking at youtube and Instagram and putting together my shop. I did struggle on the stems to start and there was a lot of failure at the beginning. James: How many pipes have you made so far? Garret: I number my pipes, so I just finished up 186. James: What is your favorite shape you’ve been making? Garret: I really dig Canadians and pipes with longer shanks and lovat Canadian blends. I like to play with different shapes of stems on the longer shanked pipes. The billiard would be my go-to shape but I want to learn more techniques on freehanded shapes. I like to put brass and copper adornments on my pipes with my machining background it helps. James: What is the craziest thing you’ve seen at this show? Garret: The first thing that comes to mind is the table over there with C-Pipes with the shapes and the size and petiteness and the intricate details they did. You can check out what Garret is working on by going to his Instagram. Stefan Cashwell James: how long have you been carving? Stefan: about 3 years. James: What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen at the show? Stefan: The Adam Davidson pipe with the clear shape and the bamboo—I don’t know if it’s 3D printed or what, but it’s amazing. James: What’s your favorite shape to do? Stefan: That’s a tough question. I think they’re all the same shape, but what’s fascinating is that Dublin, volcano, and blowfish are all the same depending on how you turn them. Playing with that, with all its variations, is a lot of fun. My favorite accent to use is also horn; it’s finicky, but it’s a great accent on pipes. You can check out Stefan’s work on his Instagram. Science: Meet Pipes I chatted with Chris from the San Diego Pipe Club; he started off doing stem replacements for estate pipes but also improved the airflow. James: How are you doing 3d printing? What is the thought process? Chris: It’s a 3D-printed pipe with a briar insert. The design is a calabash meets a Peterson system meets a metal Falcon/Kirsten radiator style. It is a bottom draft smoking bowl like a radiator like those metal pipes. The inside chamber is a calabash. The stummel and accent rings in the stems are all 3d printed. The insert is briar, olive wood, or I have the potential to use meerschaum as well. This idea came about through the San Diego Pipe Club, wanting to see if we could 3D print a pipe and being curious about the technology; I have a printer and design ability, so here we are. James: What’s the type of plastic you’re using? Chris: It’s all PLA plastic, a renewable potato starch plastic that is food-safe. The stummels are printed with a plastic that has wood in it 40% wood fiber, bamboo, rosewood, ebony, redwood, and walnut are the woods I’m printing. For the accent rings I just got a new material that I’m printing that has 40% copper, so its real metal that you can sand, and polish the same as wood filament. The stems are 3d printed as well. The concept is renewable and cheap from a production standpoint, with the ability to make a very high quality smoking pipe based on the experience. By combining the calabash system pipe and bottom draft hole and using 3d simulations to see airflow, I can see where I’m having eddies and ripples in my current, and see where my moisture and all the particles are dropping back out from a vapor to a liquid. Most people who have tried these say the stems are clean, and they don’t even have to run a pipe cleaner afterward because everything collects at the bottom. Chris has also been experimenting with color-changing plastics so you can see the hotspots. Chris said he was able to use this to slow down his cadence, which, of course, could mean you could get a slow-smoke training pipe to teach yourself to perform better. If you’re interested in learning more or want to check one out, you can contact him on Instagram: Copper Beard Pipe Works The Negative Space The show was buzzing about one specific pipe, which had everyone guessing how it was made. I chatted with Adam Davidson briefly about it. James: How did this idea come to fruition? Adam Davidson: Smokingpipes.com had an expo back in August open to all of the makers they carry. The theme was to make a pipe utilizing bamboo. Given that the last time we had the expo I made a smooth Almond with three bamboo shanks, […]
Super informative! Thanks for the info. I always knew potatoes to be exceptionally calming. haha.
Russ
Thanks very much for posting that article. I was not aware that nicotine was found in common foods.
Interesting about raising blood sugar; being insulin dependent diabetic, I just haven’t noticed it. Maybe I should check to see.
Very interesting. To add a point, I recall studying in college, in a health and wellness class none the less, that nicotine has been known to help those with chronic pain issues. Studies have shown those who had issues with nerve pain or deep tissue pain noticed a significant decrease in pain levels during and after smoking a cigar or pipe. Cigarettes had a similar effect, but to a lesser degree, possibly due to the different stands as you mentioned.
Just thought I’d share some useless info I have accumulated over the years and this seemed to be a good venue. Thank you again for the article.
Good memory. Nicotine also affects dopamine levels beside having an anti-inflammatory effect, so the conjecture is that the combination of the two will help with pain, especially muscular and joint issues. Unfortunately, it has no affect on the pain you feel when writing checks for the monthly bills.
Russ
Yes that’s too bad. The only medicine I know for that pain comes in the single malt variety. Even that is just a temporary effect, though in higher doses it can cause memory loss;so there’s always that.
-Brian
Thanks for this very scholarly and thorough analysis of nicotine and its biological effects. My question is a little off-topic but it’s one I’m sure you have thought about.
Simple paper chromatography of even the “purest” VA liquid ends up looking like the sky at night, there are so many compounds. Could agents other than nicotine itself therefore be responsible, in large part, for the widely discussed soporific/intoxicating qualities of pipe tobaccos, especially the dark-cured ones?
There certainly could be other compounds that have an impact on the calmative influence of pipe or cigar smoking, but the studies that I looked at seemed to have focused upon nicotine, so I assume that they may have used patches or gum during the research phase. That said, some synergistic relationship between multiple compounds might amplify the effect for pipe smokers.
Russ
Thanks Russ. If they did as you say, it is entirely reasonable to conclude that the main effects are due to nicotine itself.
Great article.
Thanks Russ, great article
Mike
Fantastic article Russ.
Also thank you so much for making so many great Hearth & Home blends. I don’t know what I would do without them.
“As in just about everything in life, moderation seems to be the key; after all, moderation is often the difference between use and abuse. All I know for sure is that the measured use of tobacco has helped me remain clear when tired, on occasion, and helped me to relax often, and that may be more important to my overall well-being.”
Very well-stated. There continue to be threads on the “Brothers of Briar” forum about pipe smoking and addiction. I’m not sure about the origin of the phrase “moderation is often the difference between use and abuse,” but that pithiness contains volumes of wisdom. For me addiction has everything to do with purposeful distraction, like pipe smoking, so that underlying aversive issues can be avoided. But through what I feel is denial many pipe smokers regard it as a hobby, like playing checkers! I diverge markedly at this point as nicotine is a drug that insists on having some amount of it in the body or else, the else as withdrawal, a craving to re-ingest, i.e. “the fix.” The drugging action of nicotine sets up craving on both the physiological and psychological planes, while “checkers withdrawal” lacks the physiological.
It is this difference that signals addiction, to my way of thinking. Addictive yearnings are obsessive and not easily ignored. But, returning to Mr. Ouellette’s remark on moderate use and the relaxation it effects, which began this comment, I think we get to the heart of what pipe smoking can be, a manageable pleasure that can be used positively and is best enjoyed in measured doses.
Excellent article. On a slightly different note, why is it that the powers that be are so vehemently against smoking? Why are alcohol commercials allowed, but not tobacco commercials? My theory is that most people in power do not smoke/used to, but quit. And it’s a fact, at least in my experience, that ex-smokers tend to take an extremist anti-smoking view that they waste absolutely no time in trying to impose on those of us who do smoke. But like I said, it’s just a theory. Doesn’t keep me up at night. Cheers, all you Kapnismologists out there!
Reading the post by norrland, I was reminded of a remark made by a Senator during the Reagan administration when Casper Weinberger (Secretary of Defense) was pushing the “smoke free” agenda in the armed forces. He said “I hope he doesn’t give up sex!”. Also, a historical quote (I don’t know how accurate it is) – “There’s nothing worse than a reformed whore”. There really is nothing worse than a reformed smoker, drinker, etc.
Thanks for the article Russ. I was unaware that some common vegetables contained nicotine. I Googled “food with nicotine” and found many articles supporting the observation. No wonder I like eggplant!
I should have responded to this long ago- did Russ say tobacco was therapeutic? I found out over a decade ago that nasal snuff could often ward off sneezing attacks due to my allergies. Put that in your pipe and smoke it!