Is nicotine really that addictive?

[VapourFlavour]

In the short time time since I joined this forum I've really enjoyed the share of knowledge from a lot of knowledgeable vapers and although I'm sure this has been previously discussed somewhere here, I'm interested in hearing different opinions on nicotine.

For me personally, since I started vaping I've found that the "urge" for nicotine has diminished significantly. Before, if I went a certain amount of time without a cigarette, I'd be moody and anxious to have that next cigarette. Now if I'm busy at work or somewhere that I can't vape, I never seem to get anxious or agitated. Now you could say that my nicotine levels are lower now that I vape, but I thought about that and I vape 6mg for some flavors and 3mg for others, but I do vape a lot when at home and I still don't have any negative physical effects when I've gone half a day, or once a whole day, at work without vaping.

This all lead me to the internet looking for answers and there are interesting articles on both sides. I already know that nicotine had benefits for mental stimulation, etc, I didn't know that it was such a highly debated subject.
http://thr4life.org/index.php/2017/05/23/nicotine-not-addictive/

 

[Zakillah]

Difficult topic that, to my knowledge, cant really be answered and is also very subjective.

My current "knowledge" is that isolated Nicotine doesnt cause a strong dependance; but cigarette smoke does. But, as you get addicted to cigarettes, you also get addicted to nic. This "nic addiction" is very different for individuals and ranges from non existant to very strong; depending on variables like when people started smoking, how long/much they smoked and possibly very complicated stuff like brain chemistry.

I´ve seen people state they cant even function without Nic and others claiming they can vape 0 mg, no problem; and anything in between.
Thing is; as long as you don't inhale the fumes of burning plant material; Nicotine on its own doesn't harm you (in most cases). So in the end I don't really care if I´m "addicted" to it or not.

 

[VapourFlavour]

Difficult topic that, to my knowledge, cant really be answered and is also very subjective.

My current "knowledge" is that isolated Nicotine doesnt cause a strong dependance; but cigarette smoke does. But, as you get addicted to cigarettes, you also get addicted to nic. This "nic addiction" is very different for individuals and ranges from non existant to very strong; depending on variables like when people started smoking, how long/much they smoked and possibly very complicated stuff like brain chemistry.

I agree, you make some good points. I should have mentioned that I was a 27 year smoker, heavy for the last 5 and just don't feel dependent on the nic anymore since I started vaping.

 

[Vapedog]

I'm convinced the greatest dependency, addiction to cigarettes comes from the chemical cocktail that they contain. A cigarette to me, have not had one for a year now but, gives me an actual buzz. In the first year of vaping on several occasions I tried a cigarette and they gave me an actual drug like buzz for about 10 to 20 minutes. I have never experienced that same sensation using an ecig with nic. Using my ecig with nic definitely keeps the desire to smoke at bay, but that buzz, initial cigarette high it does not mimick at all. What on earth that cocktail that does that to me is composed of I have no idea, but I rest assured it isn't good for me. I have friends that have tried ecigs but say "I don't get the same kick as I do from tobacco". They obviously are hooked on that chemical cocktail that cigarettes deliver, I'm personally in no doubt about that. Thankfully ecigs give me personally enough to say goodbye to tobacco as they have to so many other thousands and thousands of users worldwide. They are in my opinion the best smoking cessation device/option around. But a complete substitute for a cigarette buzz I believe they are not, but still the next best thing.

 

[VapourFlavour]

Well said. Vaping saved my life, or has extended it, that I am absolutely positive of.

 

[untar]

I'll just drop this letter from a doctor/researcher to the president of the French high health authority
www.formindep.org/The-myth-of-nicotine-addiction.html

 

[Vapedog]

Well said. Vaping saved my life, or has extended it, that I am absolutely positive of.

Yeah, I reckon the other thing that ecigs has in it's favour is it helps to mimmick the actual smoking action of inhaling and exhaling what looks like smoke. You don't get anything remotely like that with patches or gum. And why so many that try those methods relapse and smoke again.

 

[Vapedog]

I'll just drop this letter from a doctor/researcher to the president of the French high health authority
www.formindep.org/The-myth-of-nicotine-addiction.html

Hi, my translate wouldn't work. To sum it up, what does he say?

 

[VapourFlavour]

I'll just drop this letter from a doctor/researcher to the president of the French high health authority
www.formindep.org/The-myth-of-nicotine-addiction.html

That was quite a read. Next time a summary will do
Good info!

 

[untar]

my translate wouldn't work

Isn't it english? It is for me...
What language do you need it in?

 

[untar]

I find it hard to sum up since almost every point is in-depth and important. It already is about as condensed as can be.

There is always
Google Translate

not perfect but better than nothing.

 

[Jebbn]

I can only speak for myself from my own experience.
For me nicotine doesnt seem to be very addictive inhaling it while vaping compared to smoking tobacco.
I smoked for 42yrs. In that 42yrs I tried quite a few times to quit. I struggled with giving up to the point that I figured I couldnt give up and was ready to accept that I would smoke til I die.
I quit smoking about 11months and 3weeks ago with vaping playing a big part in the break away from tobacco. In that time Ive experimented with nicotine levels and being nicotine free for up to 5days. Every 8-14 days I go nic free for 2 days. There isnt pangs or cravings for nicotine during those two days, just a very slight feeling of being a bit flat or tired for the first day.
Toward the end of my smoking "habit" I tried the same sort of experiments and at best I got through 8hrs before giving in. After 2hrs the cravings would come on pretty strong and so would the mind games.

The other thing that I noticed immediately when I started vaping was that no dosage of nicotine hit so perfectly, so fully, as a tobacco cigarette. Nicotine in vaping for me is like a surgically precise hit, its like a direct hit on one spot, too much makes it feel horrible. A cigarette has a big broad hit on several spots.
For the 1st 3-6months of vaping and quitting tobacco I could be well dosed up on nicotine from vaping, more nicotine than I was used to, and I still wanted to have a tobacco cigarette, I still strongly craved the hit from cigarettes.

I keep dropping my nic levels and using less and less nicotine the longer I vape and its not a purposeful decision, its just worked out like that. I find myself either thinking about whether to just drop vaping and move on or working out exit strategies
I enjoy the tinkering with gear and other elements of vaping but I dont find the nicotine hit to be as pleasant as I would like and vaping without nic is kinda pointless Its a weird spot to be in after believing I was addicted to one of the most addictive substances, nicotine. Turns out nicotine is not really all that addictive for me and I dont like it all that much.
Funny to discover that after 42yrs of smoking tobacco

 

[VapourFlavour]

I can only speak for myself from my own experience.
For me nicotine doesnt seem to be very addictive inhaling it while vaping compared to smoking tobacco.
I smoked for 42yrs. In that 42yrs I tried quite a few times to quit. I struggled with giving up to the point that I figured I couldnt give up and was ready to accept that I would smoke til I die.
I quit smoking about 11months and 3weeks ago. In that time Ive experimented with nicotine levels and being nicotine free for up to 5days. Every 8-14 days I go nic free for 2 days. There isnt pangs or cravings for nicotine during those two days, just a very slight feeling of being a bit flat or tired for the first day.
Toward the end of my smoking "habit" I tried the same sort of experiments and at best I got through 8hrs before giving in. After 2hrs the cravings would come on pretty strong and so would the mind games.

The other thing that I noticed immediately when I started vaping was that no dosage of nicotine hit so perfectly, so fully, as a tobacco cigarette. Nicotine in vaping for me is like a surgically precise hit, its like a direct hit on one spot, too much makes it feel horrible. A cigarette has a big broad hit on several spots.
For the 1st 3-6months of vaping and quitting tobacco I could be well dosed up on nicotine from vaping, more nicotine than I was used to, and I still wanted to have a tobacco cigarette, I still strongly craved the hit from cigarettes.

I keep dropping my nic levels and using less and less nicotine the longer I vape. I find myself either thinking about whether to just drop vaping and move on or working out exit strategies
I enjoy the tinkering with gear and other elements of vaping but I dont find the nicotine hit to be as pleasant as I would like and vaping without nic is kinda pointless Its a weird spot to be in after believing I was addicted to one of the most addictive substances, nicotine. Turns out nicotine is not really all that addictive for me and I dont like it all that much.
Funny to discover that after 42yrs of smoking tobacco

Congratulations on your success. I agree with many of your points.

 

[Vapedog]

Isn't it english? It is for me...
What language do you need it in?

No worries, tried again and it showed it wouldn't translate, chose French and it showed it in English, go figure.
So yeah, the section on those who used non nic cigarettes were happy to use them as it simulated the ingrained action of the previous use, Smoking of those that had nic, just of like an ecig does. The physical action of mimicking it has a great impact, nic or not. Its not just the nic that's the habit, its also the entire action of smoking and why ecigs are so effective. What I've always thought.
Good article.

 

[Jebbn]

I'll just drop this letter from a doctor/researcher to the president of the French high health authority
www.formindep.org/The-myth-of-nicotine-addiction.html

Ive read this before but never bookmarked it. Thanks so much for posting this.

 

[United States]

Addictive enough to proceed with caution.

Yes, cigarettes have stuff to keep you smoking, but nicotine in nicotine vapes can have addictive tendencies.

 

[vapdivrr]

As most have stated, nic in vapes is nowhere near as addictive as smokes and I definitely believe this. With vaping, I have went for days without and feel fine. I have done this test a few times in the 7 years of vaping, all being 3 full days without any real Jones. I don't know the half life of nic, so perhaps if I tried over 3 days it would be different? This is even with me vaping 24mg nic, so I feel confident that if I were to quit vaping, hopefully I could do it relatively easy. I also don't feel like I have much of the hand to mouth or psychological aspect of vaping, but that's just me and everyone is different. All in all, vaping has been awesome, and has saved and changed my life

 

[My Batt Hurts]

The other thing that I noticed immediately when I started vaping was that no dosage of nicotine hit so perfectly, so fully, as a tobacco cigarette. Nicotine in vaping for me is like a surgically precise hit, its like a direct hit on one spot, too much makes it feel horrible. A cigarette has a big broad hit on several spots.

Nicely put. With smoking, I think I felt a bit of a build-up in terms of hit - to a point, at least. With vaping, it's a flatter (?) experience until I hit the point where it feels like I've overdone it. Not chain vaping largely takes care of it, though.

Would be interesting to go nic free for a day or two and see what happens. I wonder if distraction helps - yes, at a guess.

 

[Old Greybeard]

Is nicotine addictive? I'd have to say yes, but nowhere near as much as is pushed in popular consciousness. Are cigarettes addictive? Unquestionably. But so is alcohol, chocolate and indeed bacon sandwiches. So what on earth is going on?

The whole topic of addiction is ridden with myth and complexity, but having being exposed to the full spectrum of its effects (with friends exposed to its horrors from hard drugs to abusive entraping relationships), the emotional, physical and psychological effects of any addiction are often misinterpreted. To get anywhere near a truthful picture, we need to take a holistic approach and examine not just the chemical effects of a substance/situation, but the whole environment. A failure to address the overall effects of a substance will inevitably end in failure to "beat the habit" (whatever it may be) and the material immediately categorised as addictive as a simple label.

Nicotine per se is only a subset of the satisfaction derived from smoking, so while nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) may be of great assistance in breaking the habit, alone it is only part of the picture, certainly as far as smoking is concerned. I know this in that I could easily pack up cigarettes and use a patch with only minimal discomfort, up until the point that other factors (mainly emotional and psychological) pushed me back towards other effects I craved that were only delivered from cigarettes. The same model seems to apply to nicotine, insofar as the amount I am consuming in my vape is considerably less than I would normally absorb. However, if I go below my maintenance dose or something goes wrong during the vaping process (e.g. poor liquid, harsh vape, really, really really bad day etc.) I compensate with an increase in my cigarette consumption. But here is the kicker, it is really easy to quickly reduce my cigarette consumption to notional levels. So unlike NRT where I would have bought a few packets of cigarettes (generally when I was on low dose nic or off the patches completely), I would have to start all over again with high dosage patch and go through 6-8 weeks reducing the levels again. So the cigarette addiction is clearly not just nicotine.

The full addiction model for cigarettes as I see it is below, you can replace just about anything there, and by adjusting the ratio of the actors in play you can use this as a scale to interpret how "addictive" something is. I would stress once again the the common interpretation of addiction just lumps all these factors together, and tries to break the cycle by removing one or more item. It would be interesting to see the results of a scientific test based on nicotine alone on these parameters, as cigarettes, NRT or vaping will distort these groupings due to the delivery method and social circumstance.

External sensory stimulation: Smell, vision, current physical environment
Chemical: Stimulation, depression, mood (altering), concentration, adrenaline and dopamine levels, modification to DNA
Consciousness: Association, perception, understanding, world-view
Emotional: Past experiences, personal space, internal relationships and dialogue, mood (feedback from current environment e.g. panic no cigarettes etc.)
Physical feedback: Gratification, taste, aroma, habit fulfilment, restoration of balance
Social conditioning: Part of group, rebellion, social acceptance (less now with cigarettes), bonding, identify
Self image: Positive or negative both play a role. Too positive, nothing will harm me, too negative, self-destructive

 

[Asbestos4004]

Take my nic away and I'll kill you. I'm not just saying that... I will track you down and kill you.



but I can quit whenever I want.