Curious about "nicotine addiction"

[Coffin22]

I've read a lot of information and reasoning behind the potential harms of ecigs, one that continues to come up is the lack of knowledge about long term effects of a nicotine addiction. Wouldn't a smoker be a prime example of the issue the presented? So inexorably the answer is, remove the tar, benzene etc. problems on top of smoking and well, it's not really a rational statement. If anything it comes off to me as an admission that we have all come to see as ecigs being a vastly superior alternative health wise.

Am I missing something, or is everyone just crazy? (I'm aware specifically nicotine hasn't been studied by itself, but it has in combination with the nasties of analogs which have been attributed much if not all of the problems of smoking) Hell, why not study caffeine, the sister drug?

 

[Stubby]

There have been plenty of studies on the long term effect of nicotine. The studies on smokeless tobacco have shown that long term use of nicotine is not a serious health issue. Modern smokeless tobacco is considered to be 99% less harmful then smoking. It would be highly doubtful that inhaled nicotine would be a problem without the associated combustion.

There are some unknowns and the main one is likely the flavorings. The flavorings are considered safe to ingest but where never tested for inhalation, much less long term.

 

[sbdivemaster]

Dr. Drew Pinsky (not citing him as the ultimate authority... on anything) has a radio spot currently running, where he's pushing nic gum, and he mentions the recent FDA changes on length of use of the gum. He also mentions a study on the long term use of the gum, including some people using the gum for over 15 years with no ill effects.

I have not been able to find any online reference to the spot, but it's currently on the air in my radio market. If someone can find this, please post, and I will do the same.

EDIT: I found the spot:

http://media.dev-cms.com/wtop/29/2957/295721.mp3

 

[quatro]

Any addiction is arguably bad for you. It's choosing the lesser of the two evils that got us here.

 

[MiamiGuy]

From Wikipedia:

"Technically, nicotine is not significantly addictive, as nicotine administered alone does not produce significant reinforcing properties.[56] However, after coadministration with an MAOI, such as those found in tobacco, nicotine produces significant behavioral sensitization, a measure of addiction potential. This is similar in effect to amphetamine.[36]"

 

[MiamiGuy]

See here also from Wikipedia: Nicotine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(E.g.: "While tobacco smoking is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease,^[93] there is evidence that nicotine itself has the potential to prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease.^[94] Nicotine has been shown to delay the onset of Parkinson's disease in studies involving monkeys and humans.^{[95][96][97]")}

 

[k3vin]

FWIW,my local pharmacist said that people with parkinsons use nicotine inhalers.She said it helps their medication work better.

 

[Jcdew67]

If the only thing about the habit of smoking was Nicotine then 99% of the NRT's out there would have almost a 100% success rate.

Lots of functions that have been going on for many years use the same stuff ecigs do and noone has died from that. Concerts,Haunted Houses,school plays,etc

 

[Moonswanni]

What is the difference between using nicotine and being addicted to prescription pills (anxiety, depression, etc)? Nicotine has been demonized. To me, vaping is less harmful than being addicted to pills or sugar; but yet the high and mighty don't see it that way.

 

[Allanb]

It makes me angry when I see articles claim that e-cigarettes could be just as harmful as cigarettes because of nicotine. They basically refuse to use logic and math, claiming that without strong empirical claims you can't make claims that its better than smoking tobacco.

Almost all the harm of tobacco is due to the thousands of different poisons and tar inside. Instead of fussing about "potential" harm of e-cigarettes on the basis that no consequences have been noticed but *maybe* there could be some in the future, these people should be concerned about the obvious, and incredibly severe, consequences of tobacco smoking. Telling people not to quit smoking because e-cigarettes could be as dangerous is basically journalistic malpractice.

 

[Coldrake]

Here's a good read on nicotine.The Great Nicotine Myth

 

[Racehorse]

Lots of functions that have been going on for many years use the same stuff ecigs do and noone has died from that. Concerts,Haunted Houses,school plays,etc

I didn't know they put food flavorings in smoke machines? Not sure how you can compare these to vaping

 

[Racehorse]

Any addiction is arguably bad for you. It's choosing the lesser of the two evils that got us here.

I tend to agree. I know a lot of people who don't have addictions, to anything.

Of course, I also know people addicted to all sorts of things, too.

Addiction is not a place I want to spend my life, as it implies to me an area where I am not really in control. Doesn't matter to me whether the addiction is "a harmless substance" or not.

There is decidedly, for ME, a lack of ulitimate freedom in addiction, because it requires that it be "fed." This is a personal decison of course. I am one who has dropped my nicotine from 24 to 6, and I plan to keep going with that, and then I will have to free myself from the "rituals" of vaping, which are somewhat similar to smoking (handling, inhaling, blowing out clouds, etc.). All of that is part of the addictive behavior for me.

I look forward to the day when I don't have to have any of these objects around, dont have to procure them or even think about them anymore. It will be nice to leave the house and travel, and not have to "pack" or worry about charging stuff, etc.

 

[Coldrake]

I didn't know they put food flavorings in smoke machines? Not sure how you can compare these to vaping

They don't. Jcdew67 is talking about VG, (vegetable glycerin).

 

[Blkwdw86]

I don't see nicotine being any different from a legislative standpoint as caffeine. They're both addictive but otherwise harmless stimulants with similar effects. People are addicted to caffeine and nobody bats an eye. Nobody is criticizing caffeine being "marketed to children", or legislating restrictions against children consuming caffeine products. Any kid in the world can walk into any Starbucks fifty times a day, run into any retail establishment and pick up No-Doz or Vivarin by the case (I've personally witnessed this), and juice himself up to his eyebrows with caffeine, not a whisper in the hallowed halls of Capitol Hill. But mention nicotine which comes from evil SMOKING, "oh, we have to DO something!"

I'm not buying it. Not for a second. I'm not going to ALLOW it, either.

 

[intervention]

If you define addiction simply as "persistent use" then coffee, vaping, football and all sorts of things could be considered "addictive". In the professional addiction world, however, addiction is more properly defined as "persistent use despite negative consequences." If you look at it that way, coffee and ecigs do not produce addiction, and at worst they produce "dependency." As my old mentor would say: if there ain't any negative consequences there ain't no addiction.

 

[Moedog]

I tend to agree. I know a lot of people who don't have addictions, to anything.

Of course, I also know people addicted to all sorts of things, too.

Addiction is not a place I want to spend my life, as it implies to me an area where I am not really in control. Doesn't matter to me whether the addiction is "a harmless substance" or not.

There is decidedly, for ME, a lack of ulitimate freedom in addiction, because it requires that it be "fed." This is a personal decison of course. I am one who has dropped my nicotine from 24 to 6, and I plan to keep going with that, and then I will have to free myself from the "rituals" of vaping, which are somewhat similar to smoking (handling, inhaling, blowing out clouds, etc.). All of that is part of the addictive behavior for me.

I look forward to the day when I don't have to have any of these objects around, dont have to procure them or even think about them anymore. It will be nice to leave the house and travel, and not have to "pack" or worry about charging stuff, etc.

I find it hard to believe that a person with 5,676 posts on the ECF board is so disgusted with vaping and nicotine that they want to completely eliminate it from their life. I would expect that a person in that position would seek to completely disassociate themselves with the vaping community. I just don't get it....

 

[Triwuffus]

Nicotine is the chemical in cigarettes that makes them addictive. About 85% of smokers are addicted to nicotine. Higher levels of nicotine in a cigarette can make it harder to quit smoking. The amount of nicotine in cigarettes has steadily increased in the past decade. Higher nicotine levels have been found in all cigarette categories, including "light" brands.
Some researchers feel nicotine is as addictive as ....... In fact, nicotine has actions similar to ...... and ......., and the chemical affects the same area of the brain.
Depending on the amount taken in, nicotine can act as either a stimulant or a sedative. Cigarette smoking has definite immediate positive effects. For example, it can:
• Boost mood and relieve minor depression
• Suppress anger
• Enhance concentration and short-term memory
• Produce a modest sense of well-being
• This is why most former smokers who have switched to e-cigarettes or Vapes mentioned further in this article do not wish to quit nicotine!

Most smokers have a special fondness for the first cigarette of the day because of the way brain cells respond to the day's first nicotine rush. Nicotine, particularly taken in the first few cigarettes of the day, increases the activity of dopamine, a chemical in the brain that elicits pleasurable sensations. This feeling is similar to getting a reward.
Over the course of a day, however, the nerve cells become desensitized to nicotine. Smoking becomes less pleasurable, and smokers may be likely to increase their intake to get their "reward." A smoker develops tolerance to these effects very quickly and requires increasingly higher levels of nicotine
Smokeless Tobacco
Smokeless tobacco, also called spit tobacco, includes chewing tobacco (dip and chew), tobacco powder (snuff), as well as flavored tobacco lozenges. These products also contain nicotine.
Smokeless tobacco products allow tobacco to be absorbed by the digestive system or through mucus membranes. Smokeless tobacco contains at least 28 cancer-causing substances, and is not a safe substitute for smoking cigarettes or cigars. According to the National Institutes of Health, chewing on an average-sized piece of chewing tobacco for 30 minutes can deliver as much nicotine as smoking three cigarettes.
Evidence suggests that smokeless tobacco increases the risk of oral cancer, gingivitis, and tooth loss. The risk of cancer in people who use smokeless tobacco is lower than that of smokers, but is still higher than that of people who do not use tobacco at all. Using smokeless tobacco also seems to increase the risk of fatal heart attacks and strokes.
Pipes and Cigars
Pipe and cigar smoking are on the rise. Because pipe and cigar smokers often don't inhale, the common misperception is that they don't face as substantial a health risk as cigarette smokers. Yet recent research finds that smoking pipes or cigars causes harmful health effects similar to those of cigarettes.
People who smoke pipes or cigars are at greater risk for lung damage and COPD, even if they never smoked cigarettes..

From an article by American Council on Science and Health Dr. Murray Laugesen Public Health Medicine Specialist QSO, MBChB, FNZCPHM, FRCS (Edin)

Nicotine is an Alkaloid and many alkaloids can be therapeutic in the right quantities or deadly if abused.

 

[Triwuffus]

Here's a good read on nicotine.The Great Nicotine Myth

Now there indeed is a great read! How I wish some of our global legislators would take notice. Thank you Coldrake for sharing this with us! I have saved the article on my flash drive for future reference.

 

[rsdntbplr]

Read "Allen Carr's Easyway to Quit Smoking" with an open mind. Although it didn't help me to quit smoking (which is why I'm Vaping now, after endless NRT products and alternative treatments), it did give me an entirely new view on the so-called "nicotine monster". Im not going to sound as though I'm selling the book very well when I say this but it's the truth: it's a bit boring and more than slightly repetitive, but it doesn't deliver some home truths.