Nicotine and Addiction

[runscott]

I personally find no real adverse affects if I don’t smoke a pipe for a few days or even a week.

Same here regarding pipes - 5-6 bowls a day to zero each time COVID hit, and because of complications, now at 2-3 per week.

Possibly an issue with snuff - we'll see.

 

[Franco Pipenbeans]

I’m yet to get a nicotine rush from a pipe or cigar in the same way I do when I haven’t smoked a cigarette for a while.
I equate cigs to be like espresso and pipes to be like a pint of Darjeeling: two very different beasts.
I can go all day without tobacco but as soon as a sniff of beer is had - boom! - I can smoke literally nonstop.

 

[FurCoat]

Yup, I'm a junkie. I've had nicotine in my system in one form or another since I was 14. I'm at peace with it.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

The nicotine goes into the system slowly with pipes, just like chew. Dip is more like cigarettes or snuff, there is some initial rush... no rush with pipes and chew. The initial rush is the fix nicotine junkies want.

But.. after smoking a pipe or having some chew for 15 or 20 minutes, the need for that rush disappears.

Quiting anything is easy.. You either want to or you don't. We could debate why you might not want to quit.. or why you do. At the end of it, it'll come down to whether or not you want to.

 

[warren]

it'll come down to whether or not you want to.

And, importantly, your self-control. Some half it more than others. We are not all the same and quitting nicotine isn't easy for many. Much akin to an alcoholics desire to quit. It takes more than "want to."

 

[beezer]

I never felt a craving necessarily to smoke a pipe or cigar. I craved the quiet time and ritual of a smoke with a cup or two of coffee in the morning, but I don't attribute that craving to the nicotine...perhaps because I was smoking only 1-2 times a week.

However, fast forward to the past year when I began to use Zyn nicotine pouches and I'm full on addicted. This past year has been particularly busy at work working all sorts of irregular hours, etc. and the convenience of regularly popping a nic pouch in the office or in the car or wherever I find myself has made it to where 11 months later and I feel like a nicotine junkie.

I've got multiple five packs of Zyn cans parked right alongside my pipe tobacco tins and the Zyn cans are what I've been reaching for nearly every time these past few months. Quick and convenient for the fast paced year I've been on.

 

[CallMeSangy]

I would gladly recommend most to smoke a pipe or cigar, or any tobacco product that hasn't been chemically tampered with. The thing about vape and cigarettes is the crap that gets stuffed in there.

We all know there is a potential for ill effects when smoking, but I will never try either a cig or vape for this tampering alone. I can easily live the rest of my life without a pipe or cigar. I could not say the same thing about other tobacco or nicotine based product. Anything that has you getting up involuntarily every few hours, besides using the restroom, isn't something you should ever do. Especially if it has been tampered with.

 

[warren]

The thing about vape and cigarettes is the crap that gets stuffed in there.

You should give luxury cigarettes a try so as to acknowledge the difference. I'm not suggesting taking up cigarettes only, that your generality is wrong. The "wrap" is not infused with chemicals designed to make it burn faster and, when left in an ash tray they snuff themselves. What's not to enjoy, including the taste of fine tobaccos? White paper wrapped, common cigarettes are only distantly related to a "luxury" cigarette. There is indeed a distinction with a difference!

But, I m treading heavily on the rules for which I must apologize. We are to refrain from discussing cigarette but, I felt the need to rebut the above generalized statement.

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

And, importantly, your self-control. Some half it more than others. We are not all the same and quitting nicotine isn't easy for many. Much akin to an alcoholics desire to quit. It takes more than "want to."

My point was the opposite actually.. Those who don't quit doing x obviously don't want to.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

When I got Covid, I abruptly stopped smoking. There was not a trace of craving or any physical sign of withdrawal that I could detect. So how addictive is nicotine anyway?

I am convinced that Nicotine addiction is equally psychological as it is chemical.

The steps of "addiction" are practically the same for alcohol and even sugary drinks, all of these things have a chemical reward component, but to this point no-one has put forward a serious effort to regulate the sugar content in snacks.

I can also believe that some people are physiologically (basic body chemistry) more susceptible to addiction, but again that's not going to be a "Nicotine" problem, if you are easily addicted to substances then it will show in everything you do and the solution is to make people aware of their own weaknesses.

 

[aspiring_sage]

One thing I've learned on these forums:
I'm not convinced either way and don't want to comment on this

One trend I've seen over the years and I'm beginning to believe it is the biggest factor: Quitting for the purpose of quitting is hard. Quitting for any other reason seems to go smoothly.

 

[AJL67]

I can quit any time i want, i just don’t want to.

 

[CallMeSangy]

You should give luxury cigarettes a try so as to acknowledge the difference.

Maybe. I'm fine with tobacco in general and I am open to most of its products. The only thing barring that is dip. I'll stay away from that like a child not eating his greens.

But on the other side, I've some interest in snuff. Only thing keeping me away from trying snuff is that it seems to tend towards substance abuse in my eyes. Something along the lines of "drinking just to get drunk."

I love the taste of tobacco and find the involved nicotine to be a pleasant co-occurance. Perhaps I've some odd sense of morals attached to it. What sort of brand would i be looking at for a luxury cigarette?

 

[hyperstar]

The withdrawal symptoms of cigarettes were very awful for me. If I didn't smoke at least 1 cigarette per day. My hands would be shaking and my heart beats would increase. But, if I smoked more than 1 pack, my throat would be sore next day.

I never had any symptoms with pipes. Not even I had stopped smoking pipes for six months.

I guess the symptoms are caused by the additives in cigarettes.

 

[aspiring_sage]

additives in cigarettes.

I may be in the ditch here, being suspicious of all mainstream knowledge/entertainment as malicious distractions: but I’ve always thought it strange when everyone focuses on nicotine, but I dont hear the names of most of the other “700 chemicals” or whatever they’re always spouting about.

 

[TheWhale13]

I may be in the ditch here, being suspicious of all mainstream knowledge/entertainment as malicious distractions: but I’ve always thought it strange when everyone focuses on nicotine, but I dont hear the names of most of the other “700 chemicals” or whatever they’re always spouting about.

That is because there aren't "700 chemicals" in cigarettes. There may be some, like cocoa, and other things, perhaps humectants (what do I know?), but this whole idea of cigarettes having more additives is not true. Many pipe tobaccos have tons of additives. That narrative is just for pipe smokers to feel better about themselves and try to distance themselves from cigarettes for some reason. We're all smoking tobacco either way. One is a stick that is inhaled and the other is tobacco in a stick that is not inhaled.

 

[CallMeSangy]

I’ve always thought it strange when everyone focuses on nicotine

I'm in a similar boat as you. Nicotine fearmongering sounds like the biggest boogie man the FDA could have come up with and are enjoying it with pleasure. Anyone who's smoked a cigar and gotten a nicotine overdose will tell you they'll never be smoking like that again. These forms of nicotine introduction --pipes and cigars-- can have you smoking all day without want or craving. Any need will most likely be a psychological rather than physical need.

I mean anyman can walk down the street and see teens vaping away on their blue berry pie and tell the difference. Nobody has ever gotten hooked on a Drew Estate acid or java or what have you.

I'll be dieing on this hill until someone proves me otherwise haha

 

[sablebrush52]

And, importantly, your self-control. Some half it more than others. We are not all the same and quitting nicotine isn't easy for many. Much akin to an alcoholics desire to quit. It takes more than "want to."

Self control doesn't replace the decision to want to quit, whatever it is one quits. When I had that last cig in '83, I just didn't want another one. I went through a couple of weeks of withdrawl, broke out in sores, but just didn't want another cig and there was no struggle in that regard.

 

[TheWhale13]

I'm in a similar boat as you. Nicotine fearmongering sounds like the biggest boogie man the FDA could have come up with and are enjoying it with pleasure. Anyone who's smoked a cigar and gotten a nicotine overdose will tell you they'll never be smoking like that again. These forms of nicotine introduction --pipes and cigars-- can have you smoking all day without want or craving. Any need will most likely be a psychological rather than physical need.

I mean anyman can walk down the street and see teens vaping away on their blue berry pie and tell the difference. Nobody has ever gotten hooked on a Drew Estate acid or java or what have you.

I'll be dieing on this hill until someone proves me otherwise haha

One of the biggest, if not the biggest reason anybody smokes a pipe is the nicotine whether you like it or not. It is pleasant, until you overdose. If you don't think it's essential you can just smoke some tea instead?

 

[aspiring_sage]

That is because there aren't "700 chemicals" in cigarettes. There may be some, like cocoa, and other things, perhaps humectants (what do I know?), but this whole idea of cigarettes having more additives is not true. Many pipe tobaccos have tons of additives. That narrative is just for pipe smokers to feel better about themselves and try to distance themselves from cigarettes for some reason. We're all smoking tobacco either way. One is a stick that is inhaled and the other is tobacco in a stick that is not inhaled.

Sounds just as likely.