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What nicotine does to your brain

economist.com

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Re: What nicotine does to your brain

#91

Post by r_singh »

sph wrote: post #70
r_singh wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who can relate: nicotine spray has been a great alternative for me with the following advantages: - better dose control for sensitive people, since you can use just one puff (unlike a patch, which delivers the full dose) - much faster onset Downsides: strong flavour and the need to spit it out if you have a sensitive stomach.

> much faster onset That's what causes addiction though, which is a function of how quick and how large is the spike in dopamine levels over baseline. Nicotine patches take ~4 hours to reach peak dosage in the bloodstream, which is why I even considered them in the first place, as an ex-smoker that doesn't want to get addicted to the stuff ever again. Nicotine from a cigarette, in comparison, takes about 7 seconds to…

Great point. If addiction is a concern (and rightly so with nicotine), that makes faster onset a bug rather than a feature. For me it’s fine, because a single pack lasts me a year.

Re: What nicotine does to your brain

#92

Post by nandomrumber »

array_key_first wrote: post #87
pseudalopex wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You did not understand it was a suggestion to provide sources?

There are no sources because nobody is really studying this, he's just speculating. Which he is allowed to do, since he didn't say it was a true thing. To me, it read very clearly that he was just speculating.

Thanks for helping clarify what was being asked.

I find it baffling when a misunderstanding occurs and the person being misunderstood just repeats their words.

You also motivated me to open a tab and enters some text.

This study indicates at least some benefits for transdermal nicotine for ADHD.

https://scholars.duke.edu/publication/659499

Re: What nicotine does to your brain

#93

Post by nandomrumber »

array_key_first wrote: post #88
IAmBroom wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You die of mouth cancer instead of lung cancer. So....

Most smokers actually don't die of lung cancer. I think it's something like only 15% of lifetime smokers get lung cancer? They die of heart disease, mostly, which is caused by... drumroll please... prolonged nicotine use! At least, in part. It's actually more complicated and we don't know for sure.

I don’t believe it’s primarily the nicotine that is causing the heart disease.

It’s the damages caused by deliberately concentrating and inhaling the combustion products of drier leaf matter.

Re: What nicotine does to your brain

#94

Post by array_key_first »

nandomrumber wrote: post #93
array_key_first wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most smokers actually don't die of lung cancer. I think it's something like only 15% of lifetime smokers get lung cancer? They die of heart disease, mostly, which is caused by... drumroll please... prolonged nicotine use! At least, in part. It's actually more complicated and we don't know for sure.

I don’t believe it’s primarily the nicotine that is causing the heart disease. It’s the damages caused by deliberately concentrating and inhaling the combustion products of drier leaf matter.

I guess the question is, how does leaves in your lungs cause your blood vessels in your, say, legs, to get damaged? Makes no sense.

The answer is, probably, nicotine. We know, for sure, nicotine contracts blood vessels and raises blood pressure. And we know high blood pressure over time damages blood vessels.

Re: What nicotine does to your brain

#95

Post by nandomrumber »

array_key_first wrote: post #94
nandomrumber wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t believe it’s primarily the nicotine that is causing the heart disease. It’s the damages caused by deliberately concentrating and inhaling the combustion products of drier leaf matter.

I guess the question is, how does leaves in your lungs cause your blood vessels in your, say, legs, to get damaged? Makes no sense. The answer is, probably, nicotine. We know, for sure, nicotine contracts blood vessels and raises blood pressure. And we know high blood pressure over time damages blood vessels.

You do realise whatever your blood absorbs in your lugs is distributed throughout your body? Some tissues will absorb certain types of chemicals more so than others.

You’re right though, nicotine is a CNS stimulant, which by definition does indeed constrict peripheral blood vessels, and raise blood pressure.

However, it is well documented that tobacco smoke contains many nastiest.

Check out the Health section here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco_smoking

And well documented that wood smoke, and smoke from burning plant matter more generally, is a health hazard, and not just from the acute carbon monoxide risk.

Re: What nicotine does to your brain

#96

Post by pseudalopex »

nandomrumber wrote: post #84
pseudalopex wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Nothing is stopping you from looking it up. You made the claim. Supporting it is your burden. And a few searches found no comparisons of weight training to other high intensity exercise. Or meditation. Or puzzles. Or nootropics. > You can even perform the experiment yourself. Is this a funding offer? Or ignorance of experiment design?

I’m saying you can do each of those separately for six months, and you’ll probably find the resistance training to be the most beneficial. It will make your dick harder (or clitoris, whatever), your muscles bigger, your mind clearer, your sense of purpose more apparent. It will increase your bone density, and improve your sense of well being. Things that aren’t doing you any favours will tend to fall by the wayside.…

You said I could look it up. Where could I look it up?

> Imagine it’s 2025, there’s an obesity epidemic, and people still think they can sit around and do fuck all to get well.

This was a straw man. I said weight training was beneficial. I named beneficial activities you did not. And the context was cognition and sense of well being. Not obesity. Many weight training advocates say cardio is more beneficial to lose weight. Taking drugs is the most effective activity to lose weight arguably.

> I’m saying you can do each of those separately for six months, and you’ll probably find the resistance training to be the most beneficial.

Probably was based on what?

There are many nootropics. There are many forms of exercise. There are many other activities or substances to improve cognition or sense of well being. Someone could spend decades trying each 6 months. And there would be not much reason to do this if the most beneficial activity was well established.

Many people who meditate would dispute 6 months would be adequate.

> Failing that, asking people who’ve tried the resistance training / puzzles / nootropics / meditation experiment themselves is a low effort way of revealing a pattern.

I know or knew many people who tried at least 1 of these. Few or none who tried all. Using this standard it is well established meditation is superior to weight training to improve sense of well being. Puzzles and strong cognition were correlated. But I suspect puzzles were not the cause.

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