Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Nicotine as a useful stimulant

gwern.net

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 138 posts

Re: Nicotine as a useful stimulant

#31

Post by agumonkey »

cnp wrote: post #27
whalesalad wrote: post #2

I can't imagine life without stimulants. I hope to move off into the woods one day and live a completely natural lifestyle for a while. Reset myself. No caffeine, no nicotine, no amphetamines. Just me, a dog, and a nice ranch property in the middle of nowhere. Meanwhile, nicotine is a staple of my day-to-day. I quit smoking a long time ago, now I stick to Swedish snus and vaping. For a period I was chewing gum too. D…

In an attempt to quit smoking I just discovered the vaporization method and WOW -- I'm so impressed. Its actually enjoyable in the way that smoking is enjoyable, and the stimulant kick is very real.

vaporized liquid nicotine ? Where do you get it ? in Europe e-cigarettes are under scrutiny because the sold product is not guaranteed to be clean of toxic substances, otherwise it would be pretty great I guess.

Re: Nicotine as a useful stimulant

#32

Post by RyJones »

jcromartie wrote: post #22

I don't know, but I think cigar and pipe smoking are a perfectly valid way to get nicotine on your own terms while avoiding addiction. I have never seen someone cowering in the rain cradling a big cigar to get their fix.

Cigar smoker here. Cigars take between 45 minutes and an hour and a half to get through; a little long for a fix. You can get smaller cigars, but they're mostly cigarettes sold as cigars to escape the higher taxes.

Re: Nicotine as a useful stimulant

#33

Post by cnp »

agumonkey wrote: post #31
cnp wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In an attempt to quit smoking I just discovered the vaporization method and WOW -- I'm so impressed. Its actually enjoyable in the way that smoking is enjoyable, and the stimulant kick is very real.

vaporized liquid nicotine ? Where do you get it ? in Europe e-cigarettes are under scrutiny because the sold product is not guaranteed to be clean of toxic substances, otherwise it would be pretty great I guess.

I bought the eGO-T (meant for vaporizing plant matter) with a secondary nicotine adapter. In the US you can find both products at nearly every smoke shop.

One thing that really makes a difference is that the vaporized nicotine is actually somewhat hot, like cigarette smoke, when you breathe it in. Standard pre-packaged e-cigarettes didn't cut it for me specifically for this reason.

Re: Nicotine as a useful stimulant

#34

Post by yetanotherphd »

tunap wrote: post #4

Once demonization has eradicated tobacco from the public's grasp, these benefits may be sold back in pill form for an even greater margin of profit. Yay Capitalism!

More like tobacco is rightly demonized for its harmful effects on health, but nicotine, which does not have these effects, is not. The market responds to informed consumers by providing nicotine without the tobacco.

I would chalk this this one up as a case of capitalism working [for the general good [this clarification shouldn't be necessary but it always is]].

Re: Nicotine as a useful stimulant

#35

Post by Apocryphon »

jerf wrote: post #9
tunap wrote: post #4

Once demonization has eradicated tobacco from the public's grasp, these benefits may be sold back in pill form for an even greater margin of profit. Yay Capitalism!

You should read the article. He prices out nicotene for you. It's... not going to make anyone wildly rich the way cigarettes did.

Gengineered marijuana plants that produce nicotine... somehow.

Re: Nicotine as a useful stimulant

#36

Post by cubix »

jcromartie wrote: post #22

I don't know, but I think cigar and pipe smoking are a perfectly valid way to get nicotine on your own terms while avoiding addiction. I have never seen someone cowering in the rain cradling a big cigar to get their fix.

My dad ends up doing this pretty often. He "quits" cigarettes for a while, but eventually starts smoking cigars, surreptitiously at first, with increasing frequency until he reverts to regular cigarette smoking again.

Re: Nicotine as a useful stimulant

#37

Post by maxander »

If nicotine is supposedly "not highly addictive," what heretofore obscure, hideous compounds are lurking in cigarettes that accounts for their legendary addictiveness?

MAOIs? True, they give withdrawal symptoms. But despite being a widely used pharmaceutical, to my knowledge no MAOI-only drug has seen anything resembling the abuse patterns of tobacco.

The hand-wavy "other compounds" that the article mentions and then doesn't describe? Anyone know what those would be?

So, sure- maybe nicotine isn't very addictive, yet it makes an otherwise non-addictive drug dreadfully addictive. Or perhaps the scientific truth of the matter, whatever it is, is simply complicated enough that someone who really wants one particular thing to be true can twist a bit of evidence around to support his case. Either way- stick to coffee.

Re: Nicotine as a useful stimulant

#38

Post by gwern »

agumonkey wrote: post #31
cnp wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In an attempt to quit smoking I just discovered the vaporization method and WOW -- I'm so impressed. Its actually enjoyable in the way that smoking is enjoyable, and the stimulant kick is very real.

vaporized liquid nicotine ? Where do you get it ? in Europe e-cigarettes are under scrutiny because the sold product is not guaranteed to be clean of toxic substances, otherwise it would be pretty great I guess.

Which is a really hilarious reason to be scrutinizing them, you have to admit.

Re: Nicotine as a useful stimulant

#40

Post by plasmacaster »

I've read about supposed benefits of nicotine a while ago and got myself an electronic cigarette. I have never smoked before.

Not sure if there are any mental benefits. I feel a bit more relaxed right after vaping. No ill effects whatsoever. I made a few week to month long breaks to see if there would be any addiction - there was none. I was able to stop at any time.

It's sort of like snacking for me, but without the calories. Definitely contributed to my weight loss.

Post reply on HN