Anyone else drinking less coffee?

[316lvm]

Was wondering if this happened to anyone else. I used to drink 2 pots of coffee a day - even right up to bedtime.

Since vaping 5 months now, I have maybe 1 or 1 1/2 cups of coffee. Have no desire for it. Same with soda.

What I have noticed, is that I am drinking more iced tea and water. I can't recall drinking this much water and tea in my life LOL!!

 

[vapordraggin101]

yep, went from 10 cups or so a day to 2, gotta love that vaporing......

 

[bobtow]

I dropped my intake of coffee when I reaslized that both dehydrate one. So now I drink about four cups a day instead of the 12 cup pot I used to empty . Seem to have more energy and need less sleep. strange!

 

[gasp]

i still drink about the same amount of coffee...most of that is out of the need of distraction while doing homework or staying awake through class.
made the first few days of not smoking and just vaping a bit of a venture though.

 

[CES]

My caffeine consumption has gone down. I didn't notice it at first, but I'm drinking less coffee in the morning. I drink tea during the day, and have been drinking fruit flavored decaf tea instead of black tea. I used to get late afternoon headaches from caffeine withdrawal if i didn't drink something with caffeine, but that doesn't happen any more. hmm. My alcohol tolerance is down too.

 

[schaedj]

I haven't really noticed. I drink a 5-shot cafe American first thing in the morning, between 30-50 oz during the work day, and 4-6 shots after I get home from work in the evening. Be interesting to see if that tapers off over time, but with the cool gadgets I've got for coffee, I'm not sure if it ever will...

 

[whimzkool]

About a cup and a half a day. Sometimes just a cup. An occasional double shot cappa if I'm not too lazy to set up the machine. Used to drink 3-4 cups per day. Makes me appreciate my Puerto Rican Yauco even more than I used to. Can taste the caramel, chocolate, and nutty notes... sooo good!

 

[telsie]

I drink the same amount I always did, but in the first two months after I quit smoking/started vaping I noticed a definite drop in my coffee consumption. My need/love for coffee came back, but I don't like it quite as sweet as I used to. In fact my overall desire for sweets is reduced.

 

[whimzkool]

Telsie, your avatar always makes me happy! Used to put little acorn berets on my fingers as a kid (accompanied by my best Pepe LePew accent)!

 

[skippy]

No decrease in coffee consumption. I consider caffeine one of the major food groups. I worked in a hospital for 25yrs...swing shift. I count my coffee by the pots.

 

[Madame Psychosis]

Smoking induces the activity of a liver enzyme called CYP1A2. It seems mostly to be due to certain carcinogens (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) in tobacco smoke, but possibly also nicotine.

CYP1A2 metabolizes caffeine.

So, more smoking --> speeds up metabolism of caffeine --> you feel coffee less strongly (blood levels go down more quickly)

Smoking cessation --> metabolism of caffeine returns to normal (slows down from what it used to be) --> you feel coffee more strongly.

I've heard more than a few anecdotes from people who have to cut their caffeine intake after quitting smoking.
(Other drugs that are metabolized by 1A2 usually have to be adjusted too.)

There are individual variations in liver enzyme activity, so it's going to be more noticeable to some people than to others.

If your nic intake is the same as it was before or greater, you may or may not notice this effect (it's possible that nicotine has some effect in and of itself on CYP1A2 metabolism).

There may be other mechanisms at work but this is one major and well-studied phenomenon.


The sciencey stuff behind this:

Drug interactions with tobacco smoking: An update.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in tobacco smoke are believed to be responsible for the induction of cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1A1, CYP1A2 and possibly CYP2E1. [...] CYP1A2 is a hepatic enzyme responsible for the metabolism of a number of drugs and activation of some procarcinogens. Caffeine demethylation, using blood clearance or urine metabolite data, has been used as an in vivo marker of CYP1A2 activity, clearly demonstrating an effect of cigarette smoking, CYP2E1 metabolises a number of drugs as well as activating some carcinogens. [...] In animal studies, nicotine induces the activity of several enzymes, including CYP2E1, CYP2A1/2A2 and CYP2B1/2B2, in the brain, but whether this effect is clinically significant is unknown. Similarly, although inhibitory effects of the smoke constituents carbon monoxide and cadmium on CYP enzymes have been observed in vitro and in animal studies, the relevance of this inhibition to humans has not yet been established. The mechanism involved in most interactions between cigarette smoking and drugs involves the induction of metabolism. Drugs for which induced metabolism because of cigarette smoking may have clinical consequence include theophylline, caffeine, tacrine, imipramine, haloperidol, pentazocine, propranolol, flecainide and estradiol. [...]

Then this study in rats also shows an induction of CYP1A2 by nicotine alone. It's a bit controversial still whether nicotine has a particularly huge effect in itself.

You can also see tables of CYP1A2 activity in the Wack-e-peed-e-huh page. Tobacco is listed as a "potent" inducer.

 

[firechick]

12 cups or more a day. Every day. For years.

Vaping didn't dampen that coffee intake at all. Shoot, given the price of coffee I almost wish it would!

Sense of taste improves after stopping smoking so if the coffee doesn't taste as good now, mebbe wash the coffee pot?

I'm with you OTD. Pots of the stuff every day. No more, no less.

 

[CES]

thanks Madame. It's nice to know that (for those of us noticing an effect) that not only is there a possible reason (especially since I didn't take time to do the research about it)

 

[Devilooman]

I have also noticed a huge reduction in coffee drinking. Not sure why though... can't seem to pinpoint it. Might just be that I have something sweet in my mouth all day long and really don't need the additional sugar?

 

[duke118]

I used to drink about 6 cups a day when smoking,now its half cup in the morning and half in the afternoon.My drinking days are over to, hits me like a ton of bricks now.

 

[whimzkool]

Thanks for the post MP, fascinating stuff! Given the anecdotes posted here, it would seem to suggest the enzyme action is more related to the smoke than the nic.
I just assumed that, for vapers at least, it was because we are all being sped up by the nic and don't require more stimulation.

 

[2Packsaday]

I went from 4 cups in the morning to about 1.5 on average.

 

[telsie]

Telsie, your avatar always makes me happy! Used to put little acorn berets on my fingers as a kid (accompanied by my best Pepe LePew accent)!

I did too! I didn't take this picture, but I came across it on the web one day and loved it for that same reason. It makes me happy

 

[VangeKnitter]

Coffee consumption has remained the same here. we live on it.

 

[tristessa363]

Weird! My coffee intake has also decreased, but I didn't associate it with vaping at all. I quit smoking about 4 months ago. I drank at least 2 cups a day (not much, I know, but those 2 cups were absolutely necessary). About a month ago I went 2 solid weeks without any coffee at all (not on purpose - I just didn't feel like it). I still love it, but it's become an every now and then kind of thing.