Nicotine not addictive? Yeah right!

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roosterado

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To me after having quit cigarettes for 2 yrs using chewing tobacco the habit of having a wad of chew in my cheek is as habit forming as the hand to mouth[oral] aspect of Smoking. Then I started smoking cigs on top of chewing. I has switched from Cigs to E-Cigs but still have the Chew Habit. Also The Amount of Free Nicotine in American Chewing tobacco varies widely from brand to brand, mostly due to the level of Acidity in various brands

Nicotine levels in American smokeless tobacco products | R Street Institute | Free Markets. Real Solutions.
 

rusirius

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Is nicotine addictive? Hell yes it is.... BUT....

It is my firm belief that many of the chemicals found in cigarettes are actually more addictive than the nicotine itself. It also has a lot to do with the absorption rate. When I used to smoke I quit cold turkey... That was when I was like 22 yo. I had a hell of a time doing it, but I did. Many years later I started smoking cigars. Cigars that in some cases contained as much nicotine in 1 cigar as an entire pack of cigarettes. Yet I could smoke a cigar every night for weeks and then go months (winter time) without one and it never bothered me a bit. Why? First off, all the other chemicals weren't there. Second off, because the nicotine is delivered through the mouth and sinuses it is absorbed much more slowly than when smoking a cigarette.

When I first started vaping I never did a lung inhale. I smoked it exactly like a cigar. Still felt the nicotine rush just like from a cigar, but again never had any addictive effects. Now that I do full lung inhales it definitely has a grip. I want that morning vape... After a few hours pass if I haven't vaped I want it. So there is definitely an addiction... On the other hand, if I decided to quit vaping would it be nearly as hard as cigarette smoking? Nope, not at all. There have been days that for whatever reason I haven't been able to vape pretty much all day. If I was still on the analogs I'd be thinking about it constantly and be looking for any chance I could to have a cig... With vaping I might wish I had a chance, but it's not the death grip cigs had by any means.
 

ppeeble

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A woman i work with used nicotine gum for seven years after quitting smoking. I'm sure she would rather have not. That is addiction.
I've been vaping for two years now using 1.8% liquid. I dropped to 1.2% for a while but i noticed the difference. I felt less satisfied and ended up using 6ml a day as opposed to my usual 4ml. Whether the addiction is physical or mental, for me nicotine is addictive.
 

Racehorse

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Have you ever met anyone addicted to nicotine gum or patches?

Yes. I thought this was common knowledge.

My brother used the gum to get off smokes, now he is dependent on the gum :lol:

There is a difference between addictive and dependent, splitting hairs.


There is also quite a lot of insistence here that vaping is a "hobby"--- not an addiction or dependency.

So I guess it's like playing tennis, guitar, or sewing, or making model airplanes, right? I guess eating can be a hobby for many people, too.

I used to put special filters on my cigarettes, and also used Roll Your Own......had one of those little hand held machine rollers, etc. Also used to buy colored paper sometimes.....also collected some beautiful cigarette cases from flea markets, and sometimes, made my own.

WISH I had thought to call my smoking and rolling a "hobby".......although it never occured to me to do so.....

......but like crocheting or weaving, rollling a whole carton of cigarettes is certainly time consuming and requires quite a lot of using hands to "make" something....similar to weaving a scarf, etc.

So, rolling smokes is a hobby if vaping is................................right? :confused:
 
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bluecat

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Anything is addictive if it gets your dopamine going. Heck a nice bar of dark chocolate sends my receptors is a tizzy. The french vanilla creamer that I put in my coffee every morning is incredible. I can't get enough of it and have to force myself not to take so much.

My wife smoked a cigarette once in college. It was not so addictive that she kept smoking. Think about it... how many people do you know that had a smoke here or there? If nicotine/smoking was so addictive the whole human population would be smoking. We could not help not to.
 

HauntedMyst

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Is nicotine addictive? Hell yes it is.... BUT....

It is my firm belief that many of the chemicals found in cigarettes are actually more addictive than the nicotine itself. It also has a lot to do with the absorption rate.

I think this is true for me. When I smoked and looked down and saw that last cig in a pack there was a panic. Now when I vape, I can vape for a while and then put it down. If I have to be away from it for a day I don't find myself wanting to drive with road rage to the nearest gas station and pick up a temporary "fix." I'm ok without it. I vape at this point because I want to.
 

tj99959

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    ANYTHING that has withdrawal symptoms is by definition addictive. Try vaping 24mg e-liquid for a year, and then switch to 0 nic. Be sure to tell us all how it works out.

    When I switched to vaping it was with no intention of quitting nicotine. I just didn't want to smoke anymore to get it.
    OH-and trust me, you would not like being within shouting distance of me without nicotine in my system.
    So be very afraid should I ever switch to 0 nic. :lol:
     
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    granolaboy

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    Guess what those with dementia, Alzheimers, Parkinson and other cognitive afflictions are prescribed, nicotine patches!

    Being a 67 year young ol' fart, I'll stick with my vaping nic and hope fer da best!!! They'll have to pry my PV from my cold nicotine-stain-free fingers...
    old.gif

    They should be being prescribed iodine, omega-3 fats, and complex B vitamins. Deficiencies in these certainly lead to degenerative brain diseases.
     

    WattWick

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    #1 and #2 MOST addictive drugs used by man are Nicotine and caffeine.

    Maybe by number of users. They are also the two 'addictive' substances whos' users have the least in common with peoples preconception of 'an addict'.

    I really wonder if it really matters if nicotine/caffeine is addictive or not. What's the result? That people drink or inhale something they like and then go on with their usual model citizen lives? Is it all that horrible? For whom should I stop being an 'addict'? If it's just for my own sake, I'd rather keep on feeding my addictions.

    Addictive or not, the term 'addictive' itself lumps nicotine and caffeine in with substances far worse. Which I believe is not a pure coincidence. It's rather clever rhetorics.
     
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    navigator2011

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    If we define additive to mean "feeling a compulsion to go on using a substance even though we don't want to," then yes, I think nicotine is additive. And, I'd say vaping is at least additive enough to enable me to reduce my cigarette addiction. I have tried patches and gum several times over the years, but I really couldn't go even one day without getting hold of a pack of cigs. I say "pack" because one or two smokes wouldn't cut it, I'd have to make up for all those cigs I didn't smoke while on the NRT.

    I actually found it easier to go cold turkey with the Allen Carr course--that time I lasted out for 34 days. Like Allen wrote in his book, I did find it easy to quit. I went from about 30 cigs a day to zero with hardly any physical effects at all (just a little bit of a stressed feeling, edgy maybe, but otherwise happy to be free). But one cheat smoke, and it was like a collapsing house of cards--it was as though I had 34 days of cigs to make up for. I have gone over that whole quit-relapse situation time and time again in my mind, and I conclude that it has to do with each individual's psychological relationship to the feeling of nicotine levels rising, falling, and rising again. Cigarettes do a good job of making nicotine levels rise really quick, and I think it is that quick response that makes cigarettes so endearing. Vaping is also quick, but not as quick as smoking, and I think that is why it takes some people a bit of dual use to switch from cigs to vaping.
     

    KurrptSenate

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    Ludicrous!!!

    Try kicking a ......., opiates, or cyrstal .... addiction.

    You would be laughed right out of a Narcotics Anonymous meeting with an ignorant statement like that.

    I believe you are misinterpreting the context of the statement

    it's not a comment about what substances are the most addictive

    but the body of the populace addicted to a specific substance

    clearly more people are addicted to nicotine and caffeine than any other substance. pretty hard to argue that fact
     

    Ryedan

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    Hi Guys

    It often comes up in replies to posts that nicotine is not addictive, or that there are studies that suggest that it isn't. I find that rather strange, to me it has DENIAL written all over it. I know there are substances other than nicotine that may also be addictive which explains why it is so difficult to quit smoking. However, I am still convinced nicotine is the main culprit. If nicotine is not addictive surely it must be possible to stop vaping cold turkey? How many of you would be able to do that? I know I couldn't. I know smoking addiction is a complex thing but I can't imagine having to go without my nic. Quitting vaping is definitely not on my radar at the moment, and probably not ever.

    How do you feel about this?

    I smoked for 37 years and was so addicted to cigarettes I could not stop, even when my doctor told me I really should because I was developing COPD. I switched to vaping and in nine months had weaned myself down to zero nic. I vaped that for six months and went back to 6 mg in sub-ohm setups for a month and quit that cold turkey. I would say it was about as hard as leaving behind my evening chocolate chip cookie.

    I believe the majority of people would become addicted to cigarettes after only a pack or two. I believe very few people would become addicted to vaping nicotine even after doing it for quite a while. I consider nic totally non-addictive for me.
     
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