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Nicotine (2016)

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Re: Nicotine (2016)

#171

Post by joshjob42 »

imsurgio wrote: post #76

I am a smoker. I wouldn't advise this. Before you get any stimulant effects. Which are minimal. You get very sick at first. By the time you have enough tolerance you are addicted physically. Some can quit easy but it can be a slippery slope. It's too risky as you don't know how hard it is to quit for you in advance. I've tried off and on to quit for 20 years at least. Don't do it, it's a lot of work to get past the s…

I occasionally use a 2mg piece of nicotine gum as a pick me up if I've already had too much caffeine or if it's late at night (or if I'm at a conference where I'm getting little sleep), and I certainly feel the stimulant effect and nothing else. Never had any sort of tolerance, never felt any draw to take it except in the sense of "Boy I'm really dragging, I need a stimulant. Should I get coffee or a piece of gum?".

Most weeks I use none, some conferences I've used 2 pieces a day every day for 4-5 days straight. No problems stopping afterward.

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#172

Post by bjw4 »

I've been addicted to Nicotine lozenges for nearly 10 years now, and have tried to stop multiple times over the past 2. The withdrawal effects are horrific, and I'm pretty much unable to function for a week and have brain fog for a further 3 weeks. Does anyone know if there is something that would counteract the withdrawal effects? My doctor unfortunately just keeps handing me stop smoking leaflets.

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#173

Post by fwungy »

namanyayg wrote: post #164
fwungy wrote: 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.

How long does the effect last? I started taking caffeine pills before working out (a ~100mg dose) and it works really well, I wonder if I should try out nicotine gum too

Nicotine gum just gets me on track. No buzz really, I just get more directed, keep my eye on the prize better.

I don't do it everyday and I take breaks. It all comes very organically, I don't have to plan it.

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#174

Post by adrianN »

insanitybit wrote: post #125
justsomehnguy wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most people can't understand why they aren't feeling well after 1kg of pasta with meatballs. I love caffeine and coffee , but if we are talking about well-feeling, 5 minute calistenics would make you feel better in 99% compared to a cup of sugar laden cappuccino

None of that is relevant. Caffeine has a blatant cognitive effect.

So do sleep exercise and sunlight

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#175

Post by throwbadubadu »

standardUser wrote: post #154

The addictive properties of nicotine aren't magic. It requires sustained, repeated consumption, like any physically addicting substances. And research has shown that different people have different propensities for addiction (same with cocaine and alcohol). But if you do become addicted to nicotine, and are one of the people with a high propensity for nicotine addiction, you're fucked. It's one of the most challengin…

As a former smoker I think you didn't fully read the article und understood author's and other's thesis that it is actually not the nicotine that makes for the strong cigarette addiction.

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#176

Post by Clubber »

binary132 wrote: post #151
dan_man wrote: post #70

Quoting one of the reply [0] from the linked thread in the OP: Nicotine is considered one of the most (if not THE most) physically and psychologically addictive substances in the entire world. Prior to introducing nicotine into your body, there is no compulsion for your body want/need it. However, as SOON as you introduce it for the first time, it gives birth to a "little monster" of need within you. This monster wil…

I used to smoke cigarettes fairly frequently (about 1-2 a day perhaps 10-15 years ago) and have never experienced this. Every now and then, perhaps every few months, I think it might be pleasant to get into pipe tobacco, try snuff or snus, or enjoy a cigar. I can categorically say that I experience nothing I would remotely categorize as regret or craving whatsoever.

Did you inhale? Once I learned how to inhale I got hooked pretty quick. I do know people who can put them down whenever they want, but I wasn't one of them.

The one good thing I got out of it was knowing what addiction felt like. I'm sure it kept me from getting addicted to more dangerous things when I was younger.

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#177

Post by iteygib »

whoodle wrote: post #165
iteygib wrote: post #8

I use nicotine gum (2mg) to concentrate on reading or programming tasks from time to time. I have never smoked. I prefer it over caffeine as I do no get the irritable withdrawals. The only noticeable side affect I experience is some sleepiness after the effect wears off (around 30-40 minutes).

I’ve done this too as someone diagnosed with a lot of daytime sleepiness. Any worry about longterm effects of nicotine? I’ve tried to find good studies online but most center around smoking, not the gum or pure nicotine.

I have been using it for about 3 years, perhaps at a max of twice per week. I started using it for the same reason as you, I had issues staying awake. I only drink coffee when absolutely needed as I get very irritable withdrawals when off it. I gave the gum a try after hearing about the use of it from a Hamilton Morris podcast.

I personally have not felt any lingering affects outside of some drowsiness after wards. It seems like an easy enough habit to drop as well, as I have done so for a few months at a time for surgery recoveries. I am in agreement with the study linked in this article that nicotine by itself seems the same (for me, better) as similar stimulants like caffeine. I would never smoke however, as that seems to be the real issue.

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#178

Post by camgunz »

insanitybit wrote: post #23
camgunz wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100% correct. This article circulates every so often but it's basically just super dangerous. Recommend just looking at NIH [0] here. [0]: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=nicotine+site%3Awww.ncbi.nlm.nih.g...

Could you provide something way more specific than a DDG search?

No the thing I'm doing is burying this armchair gwern hogwash with tons of actual research that spans decades.

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#179

Post by geraldwhen »

coldblues wrote: post #52
johnwheeler wrote: post #34

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 have ADHD; getting Concerta here is near impossible, so I've been using Modafinil. It's been extremely effective.

That’s incredible. Unlike adhd meds, modafinil is neither addictive nor neuro toxic.

Re: Nicotine (2016)

#180

Post by friend_and_foe »

standardUser wrote: post #154

The addictive properties of nicotine aren't magic. It requires sustained, repeated consumption, like any physically addicting substances. And research has shown that different people have different propensities for addiction (same with cocaine and alcohol). But if you do become addicted to nicotine, and are one of the people with a high propensity for nicotine addiction, you're fucked. It's one of the most challengin…

I used to smoke cigarettes for many years. Over a decade. In the last few years of smoking, I tried to quit numerous times, trying to replace it with vaping because nicotine is what I'm addicted to, right? So I shouldn't have that hard a time, it's about breaking the physical habit not the drug addiction since I'm not quitting that. Often I would go a few months. The last failed attempt, withdrawals gave me panic attacks well into 3 months in. So I gave up, got some cigarettes, a year later I tried again and succeeded, I'm a few years smoke free.

I'm still addicted to nicotine, I vape. But I wake up, where my vape is is not the first thing I think about. I dont plan my day by how much nicotine I have left. When I get under the weather I can give it up for a few days with no problem. This is not the same addiction I had when smoking cigarettes, this is a milder, more casual thing, I don't get cravings, I get these small little desires for a puff. Whatever is going on with cigarettes, nicotine is only a small part of that. Quitting cigarettes is one of the hardest things I've ever done, I could not vape for the rest of the day and only feel a mild annoyance. In my experience the article is correct, there's something more going on with cigarettes than just nicotine.

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