Why Cigarettes are More Addictive (Please Read and Comment!)

[Will Cunningham]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I realized that I've been going through bad mental withdrawal even chain vaping with 24mg. I have given in a few times (2 cigs in 3 weeks) and the relief was incredible and I realized there must be other things I'm w/ding from so I googled some today. I mean 600 additives that haven't been tested and aren't put on the box and they want e-cig dealers to pay thousands to test out juices and new mods with stupid regulations that the tobacco industry doesn't have to? This is ridiculous, I'm starting to wonder if nicotine is anymore addictive than caffeine (on it's own, it seems below that they convert the nicotine into freebase which might be a reason. But 600 chemicals??? Why??? The stuff has nicotine in it already and smokes great soon off the plant with zero additives!)[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Please give your opinions and experiences and read the 2 articles below. I'm really upset that I've been deceived for so long. I knew cig's were addictive, but I wasn't aware of the horrible 2-3 month w/d that vaping nicotine won't even help. And 600 chemicals that haven't been tested and the FDA is going to make e-juice vendors pay thousands to test each flavor and e-cig device (which almost all won't be able to afford) when it's only a flavor, nicotine, and VG/PG??? How many chemicals am I w/ding from right now from tobacco out of the 600 additives??!! Even on Diet drinks they put that warning it contains that phen something chemical when cigarettes only mention nicotine, only 1 of the 600 and they haven't even been tested![/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]How Cigarettes are More Addictive-[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/How_Cigarettes_Are_Made_More_Addictive.html[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"[/FONT]The GRAS compounds include chocolate and cocoa, which, when burned, produce theobromine. Theobromine facilitates cigarette smoke inhalation, allowing the nicotine to reach the deepest recesses of the lungs. Cocoa also smooths the smoke.
Perhaps most insidious is what's known as ammonia technology. Through the addition of ammonia, cigarette smoke's pH is altered, turning the nicotine molecules into a vapor air “freebase.” This vapor nicotine is more readily absorbed into the smoker's bloodstream and brain. The blood-brain barrier is more easily compromised, allowing for the quickest hit of nicotine.Jeffrey Wigand (a Big Tobacco whistle-blower) stated that American cigarettes contain at least 600 chemical additives. While these additives are viewed harmless in cosmetics and food; they largely have not been tested while burned and inhaled.

"For those who think of our modern cigarettes as simply some pure tobacco that's rolled-up in paper, it's time to reconsider. It's far more accurate to think of cigarettes as a highly-engineered, deadly product."

Nicotine Itself May Not be Causing the Addiction at All!-
http://www.statepress.com/archive/node/7194
“A large portion of the research on tobacco studies is done on nicotine. But the research has not been very reinforcing,” Killeen said. “Nicotine in itself is not very rewarding. You can go to any drugstore and buy a packet of Nicorette chewing gum.”
But people don’t overdose on Nicorette chewing gum, he said.

“Studies have shown that none of the nicotine replacement therapies — chewing gum, inhalers, patches — none of those are addictive,” he said. “Nicotine is not addictive. So what’s going on?”

 

[Will Cunningham]

(Sorry for the lack of organization, trying to edit it better)

But this really makes me wonder - Perhaps most insidious is what's known as ammonia technology. Through the addition of ammonia, cigarette smoke's pH is altered, turning the nicotine molecules into a vapor air “freebase.” This vapor nicotine is more readily absorbed into the smoker's bloodstream and brain. The blood-brain barrier is more easily compromised, allowing for the quickest hit of nicotine.

They are freebasing it? Is this in anyway like how powder coke can be made into freebase (crack)?

 

[Jdsmith]

Hmmm, I guess quitting smoking in favour of vaping is different for each person, I quit smoking 4 weeks ago and started vaping as an aid with the overall goal of completely quitting smoking and vaping. I enjoyed smoking at work on breaks and at home, nice way to start the day and a nice way to chill down after a hard days graft. I must say since I quit I kept the habit of going outside to vape and vaping the same routine as I would with smoking. I can't say I've had any cravings or withdrawals from cigs and the only time I've opted for a cig it's been when I've either ran out of juice or charge and not brought spares with me.

I smoked for 7 years, around 20 roll ups probably more a day and I honestly can't say I've missed cigarettes since I started vaping. I feel healthier, I smell healthier and I've stopped coughing my guts up in the mornings.

So i guess it's like patches or gum or other smoking cessation aids it's all about finding something that works for you.

I would say try following the routine of smoking a cigarette when vaping if it's a mental addiction. Though I say all this and I smoked roll ups which didn't have all the other chemicals added it was just tobacco, paper and a filter?

 

[EBates]

This whole thing has little to do with harm reduction. It's purpose is to help the Tax man, Big Tobacco, Big Pharm! The driving force is MONEY and POWER.

 

[township]

If you can't feel satisfied with chain vaping 24 mg liquid, perhaps it is the MAOI's mentioned in your second article that you are missing, and not nicotine at all.
Maybe try some WTA eliquid or some snus. It might help with your "mental withdrawal."

The chemicals in tobacco(the natural ones, not the added ones) can be very beneficial to many folks. It is the combustion delivery system that is evil.( and the FDA).

 

[AndriaD]

+1 on the suggestion of WTA; I've heard it can really help.

Also... one of the major "additives" of cigarettes is something called MAOIs.. monoamine oxidase inhibitors, which are frequently used as antidepressants. Apparently at *around* 3wks and 3mo after the quit, your body has eliminated a certain percentage of these, and I'm here to tell ya, you can really feel that. At 3wks after quitting, I thought everyone on this forum hated me, in fact the WHOLE WORLD hated me. At 3mo after quitting, I hated the whole world and everyone and everything in it.

Thankfully, these phases don't last too long; each time it was maybe a week, 10 days, and I was over it.

Andria

 

[DrMA]

<snip>
“Studies have shown that none of the nicotine replacement therapies — chewing gum, inhalers, patches — none of those are addictive,” he said. “Nicotine is not addictive. So what’s going on?”

^^^^This is the truth. There is no evidence that nicotine itself is addictive. In fact, all the studies on NRTs suggests that nicotine has little or no addictive potential.

 

[Raex]

I've always wondered how addictive nicotine truly is on its own.
One general, less scientific way to find out would be to ask people that have been vaping for years but never smoked cigarettes.
I'm curious if there's anyone on these boards with insight that simply picked up vaping nicotine without a history of smoking. I know there is but it would be interesting to hear from them.