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Nicotine (2016)

gwern.net

211–220 of 273 posts

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#211
post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve never heard this idea. It seems like coffee bucks this trend though? I’ll take 20 minutes to drink a cup but still wildly addicted.

I don’t think people are addicted to coffee in the same way they’re addicted to cocain

Agreed. I drink coffee because I like the taste and the caffeine gives a little boost. I could be said to be dependant on caffeine, as I get withdrawal symptoms on cessation (headaches) - but I feel no compulsion to drink coffee, as there would be with addiction.

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#212
post #155

I've used 2mg nicotine gum as a mental clarity aid for years. It's cheap, effective, and harmless AFAIK. I have stopped using it for months at a time and never has any withdrawal symptoms. Caffeine otoh is addictive for me and will cause withdrawal symptoms if I indulge too often. The caffeine buzz can make me jittery and increase ADHD type behaviors for me. Ymmv.

You say it's harmless, but are there any negative health effects? (I seem to recall reading nicotine can cause thinning of the arteries, or something like that)

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#213
post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve never heard this idea. It seems like coffee bucks this trend though? I’ll take 20 minutes to drink a cup but still wildly addicted.

I don’t think people are addicted to coffee in the same way they’re addicted to cocain

You'd be surprised! Some people have as hard a time quitting coffee as they do nicotine. And lots of people do coke and never become addicted. It varies a lot from person to person, which is a fact that is underappreciated. Luckily, there is a lot of research now to support this.

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have zero desire to smoke or vape now but the usual way is you end up having a strong craving for your preferred mode of delivery (gum in your case) when it’s not available and then attempt another one to tide you through till your order gets here. Now you have two modes of delivery.

I am committed to not smoking or vaping, no matter what. So far, I haven’t experienced any strong cravings for the gum when not taking it for a day or two. When I decide to stop in about a couple months, I will power through with discipline.

Easy to say. I have excellent discipline in most areas of my life but nicotine is a hard one. Doesn’t help that I don’t want to quit either because the actual health risks seem minimal (I vape, flavorless, lab grade)

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no such thing as a cigarette addiction. Nicotine is the addictive chemical in cigarettes. Yes, method of consumption matters, but if you regularly consume an addictive chemical you are at risk to develop an addiction to that chemical, regardless of method (though not necessarily regardless of quantity).

You seem pretty confident about this despite there being thousands of chemicals in cigarettes and presumably the companies being very interested in hooking their users.

Lots of people manage nicotine addiction with the patch or gum or vapes. None of those contain the chemicals in tobacco, but all of them sustain the addiction.

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#216

Modafinil is a Dave Asprey bullshit lie. It does not promote nootropic benefits or flow work or anything like that. Pretty much anything Dave Asprey says is bullshit.

I wrote some terrible code on modafanil but I did write it for 6 hours straight.

That's called a work day.

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no such thing as a cigarette addiction. Nicotine is the addictive chemical in cigarettes. Yes, method of consumption matters, but if you regularly consume an addictive chemical you are at risk to develop an addiction to that chemical, regardless of method (though not necessarily regardless of quantity).

You might be overlooking a chemical conditioning element. A smoker gets a dopamine hit every time they take a pull from their cigarette. The smell, the sizzle, and the routine - all become associated with a reward pathway. Nicotine is the chemical that causes this, but the addiction is far more than just nicotine alone.

As I just said in another comment, the fact that people can maintain their nicotine addiction with vapes or patches or gum shows that the primary addictive substance is nicotine and it can be effectively addictive all by itself.

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no such thing as a cigarette addiction. Nicotine is the addictive chemical in cigarettes. Yes, method of consumption matters, but if you regularly consume an addictive chemical you are at risk to develop an addiction to that chemical, regardless of method (though not necessarily regardless of quantity).

Not really right.. but again you also either didn't read the article, didn't get the point, or strongly object it? (And also ignore authentic experiences other people give here)? Beyond nicotine, which is addictive yes, there is more in the cigarette cocktail (especially in nowadays highly optimized industrialized ones) that is also addictive. So there is such a thing as a cigarette addiction. Or in other words: Why…

Third time I'm writing the same comment - nicotine addiction can be formed and sustained without tobacco. This is obvious.

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that the stimulant property is felt less if you are not used to nicotine. You would notice a lot more of the dizziness/light-headedness. But on the other side it could be just the fact that when you are hooked, you need it just to not feel the withdraw. As with some drugs this one can be used beneficially if well spaced (idk a full week, then 3m without it?). To me any use beyond this small period is just not…

I tried it once and got super dizzy. That’s a common occurance?

I think so, also nausea in some cases, but it may be related to high dosage. People underestimate how strong this stuff can be.

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#220

author shrugged this off pretty easily but nicotine is a vasoconstrictor which is an issue when combined with it being addictive. that's a problem if you ever have certain types surgery due to wound healing and lack of blood flow. There's more than a few people that effed their plastic surgery results because they immediately went back to nicotine. (note: not all plastics are necessarily volunteer, such as after cert…

Alcohol and caffeine are also vasoconstrictors in high usage one would associate with addiction (they seem to have a lot of paradoxical effects depending on dosage/habit).

If the theory that nicotine alone is not as addictive as smoking is correct I'm not sure the concern makes more sense than concern over other common addictions.

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