Nicotine's oily brother

[Rahz]

I was able to go several weeks using the e-cig, same as nicotine gum. Then I started getting cravings. And it's funny because both the gum and the e-cig satisfyed me at first. What seemed weird is that since nicotine is out of the system in several days, it seems that any withdraw associated with a new nicotine delivery system should have been experienced in the first couple days, not several weeks later.

So I started researching. I found this article:

THE USE AND ABUSE OF TOBACCO - Cigarettes Pedia

And if the information is accurate, it would explain my 2-3 week relapse. See, just like vitamins, water soluble materials leave the body quickly, but oil soluble materials tend to stay in the body longer.

The basic gist of the article is that uncured tobacco contains nicotine. However, when tobacco is cured there is a chemical process which produces an oil based substance called nicotinin. According to the article, nicotinin is just as poisonous as nicotine.

If this is all true, A- it explains why my cravings start at around the 2-3 week period when using any form of nicotine replacement therapy, and B- either the tobacco/phama industries aren't aware of this oil based poison, OR, they have suppressed and ignored it.

Doing a web search for nicotinin, other than the cited article, I'm not finding any information related to tobacco.

Hopefully someone else might chip in with some info, I'm not a chemist.

I know that ammonia increases nicotine availability, and that other chemicals are used to negate the harshness, add flavour, etc. But I've been smoking American Spirit ultra lights... should be additive free, and it satisfies me just fine. So, even in the absence of adulterating chemicals, it may be that CURED tobacco contains a chemical which is highly addictive, and is not contained in any tobacco replacement product.

hmm...

[Rahz]

LOL, I just read an article which states that American Spirit contains 3.5 times more free-base nicotine than Marlboros... and Marlboros have been found to have high free-base compared to other brands.

Is there any source of PLAIN tobacco?

One thing I've noticed, is that low nicotine cigs aren't very popular in the States. Carlton ultra lights contain .1mg Nic, 1mg tar... but these cigs are extremely rare, and no one in my very populated county sells them. I think there was a time when Carltons were just Carltons, and were considered the lowest nicotine, but I guess Carlton wasn't selling well so now you can find all different kinds of Carltons, 100s, 120s, lights, regulars, etc. But the lightest of these other than the ultra lights is comparable to any other brand. There's another low nic brand called Now, but I can't find those either.

In fact, I can find no American cigarettes that are rated at less than .5mg nicotine.

However, in Europe most brands carry a Blue, and a White pack (or a "One" pack). The blue packs generally contain .3mg nic and 3mg tar, the white packs contain .1mg nic and 1mg tar.

I think I'm going to order my tobacco from overseas. Of course there are laws in the works which will make that impossible soon.

[TWISTED VICTOR]

Hi, Rahz. Just a heads up on another thread you might find very interesting. You're obviously an inquiring mind wanting to know . Go here: So - are we getting it or are we not - nicotine Best to read from beginning to end, though. It'll probably take a couple days and as you read you'll have the urge to post many times, but be patient. I think you'll find some good answers along the way .

[Ichabod Crane]

Thanks for the info! I love these forums!