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Nicotine (2016)

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Re: Nicotine (2016)

#131

Post by extr »

mpreda wrote: post #41

I'm a non smoker, I never smoked. Once I decided to try a nicotine chewing gum, took one pillow and chewed it thoroughly. After about 5-10minutes I suffered some very very severe effects, including: I started sweating extremelly such that all my clothes become wet quickly and sweat was dripping down my nose, ears, and into my eyes. I felt an intense and urgent need to urinate and defecate, which luckily I could do on…

FYI, nicotine poisoning is uncomfortable but if it happens to you, you can greatly reduce the effect by eating something sweet, the effects seem to be blood sugar dependent. Try a spoonful of honey or a can of coke, you will feel better almost instantly.

This tip brought to you by cigar smokers.

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#133

Post by binary132 »

dijit wrote: post #32

After being on IRC for the best part of two decades (and the fringe groups who frequent the medium) I have seen the word “nootropics” banded about. The first time, I thought it was a fun idea but nothing I wanted, see; my brain is all I have so I dont much fancy experimenting with it- this is also why I avoided alcohol and coffee despite social pressures. The community that formed went away as quickly as it had been…

I know how these communities can be and it honestly sounds much more like a community problem than like a “people who drink some coffee and smoke some cigarettes” problem, because there are many millions of those who don’t have crazy, out-of-control behavioral problems.

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#134

Post by warent »

meepmorp wrote: post #112
reactordev wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The withdrawal effects are more like kicking a heroin addiction.

That's somewhat person dependent. I was a heavy smoker (3-4 packs a day) for several years, but quitting cold turkey was very easy for me. I basically had no cravings unless I was drinking, and those went away after a month. I realize I'm an outlier.

WOW that's amazing how different people's experiences can be.

I smoked one pack spread out 2 or 3 days, for about 3 years (in college). Rarely would do a full pack in a day.

Quitting was pure torture. I stayed up 24 hours walking laps around my campus. Took like four full days for cravings to go away.

Haven't had a cigarette in 10 yrs. Occasionally enjoy a cigar without problems

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#135

Post by incrudible »

Turing_Machine wrote: post #128
insanitybit wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't sound true.

Purely anecdotal, but I believe Keith Richards is on record stating that kicking heroin was far easier than kicking nicotine. There's evidence for this, too -- he quit using heroin decades ago, but only managed to quit smoking a few years back. So it seems to be true, at least for him.

That is different from withdrawal being worse. Opiate withdrawal can be rather severe from a physical standpoint. Nicotine withdrawal simply is not.

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#136

Post by pawelwentpawel »

nannal wrote: post #118
jtriangle wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdotally, I've accidentally quit vaping several times, because I don't vape when I've caught a cold and that's coincided with me needing to buy supplies. I've gone back to it because I find it enjoyable, but, having watched my father quit smoking several times, I can't say that I've ever had withdrawals like that, or really at all. So my theory is, really, that cigarettes and tobacco in general is far more addicti…

I have quit cigarettes successfully (for ~10 years now) and found it wasn't too difficult. However, I have known people who could quit indefinitely and pick it back up without issue and people who are going through rounds of quitting, returning, quitting and so forth. I personally believe there are additional elements involved that could be genetic or psychological.

I used to both smoke and extensively used pure Nicotine (gums, sprays etc.)

In my opinion, majority of the people who are stopping Nicotine (not just smoking) approach it as an incredibly hard challenge. The process is demonised and described as something that is really hard to complete. That's exactly what I would like people to think if I'd be to work in a marketing department for tobacco corporations.

While there is a longer story behind it, I quit cold turkey in March this year. This time was much easier - I didn't approach it as something that is hard to do. While this might sound banal, I focused on what am I getting out of it, not what I'm loosing. Everything, from my gums to my muscles got better.

Nicotine in its pure form is definitely great brain stimulant, I'm still a big fan. I just don't think it's worth the cost, both from financial and health perspective to use it often.

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#137

Post by thebigspacefuck »

Turing_Machine wrote: post #128
insanitybit wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't sound true.

Purely anecdotal, but I believe Keith Richards is on record stating that kicking heroin was far easier than kicking nicotine. There's evidence for this, too -- he quit using heroin decades ago, but only managed to quit smoking a few years back. So it seems to be true, at least for him.

You’re conflating nicotine with tobacco again.

For me, quitting smoking was easier than quitting coffee addiction. Coffee is everywhere, cheap, and consumption is all but encouraged. If I were to smoke I take on all sorts of baggage. Much of smoking is about being a smoker which is a mindset and community that is hard to leave. Social effects can be much stronger than physical dependence.

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#138

Post by steeleyespan »

Findecanor wrote: post #71
steeleyespan wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's some studies suggesting nordic Snus (like all natural chew w/o chemicals added) is fairly harmless. Anecdotally I've read people highly addicted to it, so very suspicious of any claim that nicotine itself isn't addictive and just smoking is.

Snus is quite common in my country, Sweden. Many users are former smokers who "quit" by using snus instead as their source of nicotine. Users I know have said that they feel that it is highly addictive. Studies of snus users have indicated increased risks of cancer in the mouth, throat and gastrointestinal system but have not been conclusive as to how. There's also a newer type of snus not made from tobacco, with pur…

It appears there are some conflicting studies, like with everything.

My best interpretation is that nicotine itself probably isn't the-worst-thing-ever if it was restricted to occasional usage, like having a beer on the weekend.

It's probably not a good idea to make a habit of though like with coffee.

There's a theory floating around that it may help with long-Covid symptoms, but there's not a lot of evidence. This may be in part due to the general opposition towards tobacco as extremely unhealthy.

I only heard of this because a neighbor says using nicotine gum restored her sense of smell.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9845100/

Again, anecdotally I had a relative, very heavy smoker, who got Delta and had very mild symptoms. She's 80 and in pretty poor health. Others younger in the same household had it much worse.

https://aacijournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s1322...

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#139

Post by retrac »

meepmorp wrote: post #112
reactordev wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The withdrawal effects are more like kicking a heroin addiction.

That's somewhat person dependent. I was a heavy smoker (3-4 packs a day) for several years, but quitting cold turkey was very easy for me. I basically had no cravings unless I was drinking, and those went away after a month. I realize I'm an outlier.

I was terribly addicted for a decade, smoking and then vaping, and for me, withdrawal was almost intolerable. For about three days, it was a terrible experience. I felt sick, raged with anger, cried, felt unhinged, and even had minor visual disturbances. It can really only only be compared to a bad psychedelic trip. But once I did manage to get through it, that was it. It hasn't much bothered me since. Stopped thinking about smoking about a week after. I can't say I crave it really, and I cannot relate to the long-term experiences where people say it takes months or years to get fully over it. We're all different.

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#140

Post by dml2135 »

jtriangle wrote: post #37
insanitybit wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have zero interest in cigarettes though. So like, let's say I started chewing a gum and then I became addicted to the gum. I'm assuming the downside here would be primarily withdrawal effects of not chewing the gum? It's not like it's going to be a gateway to cigarettes for me. You'll experience caffeine withdrawal too, so I'm not sure that's really a problem. From the article, > There is little evidence from the N…

Anecdotally, I've accidentally quit vaping several times, because I don't vape when I've caught a cold and that's coincided with me needing to buy supplies. I've gone back to it because I find it enjoyable, but, having watched my father quit smoking several times, I can't say that I've ever had withdrawals like that, or really at all. So my theory is, really, that cigarettes and tobacco in general is far more addicti…

I dunno about that. Personally, I smoked cigarettes for about 5 years, then quit for about a decade, and then picked up vaping a few years ago.

I’m definitely just as addicted to the Juul as I ever was to cigarettes, if not more so, and it definitely seems like it will be harder to quit. Cigarettes are so gross it’s almost a benefit, you need to go outside to smoke, the vape is just so easy and so much cleaner, I’ve definitely found it much harder to cut down.

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