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I've started chewing nicotine gum while in the office/class and found that it helps a lot with making the noise more tolerable. I have a history of smoking and

by scythe 7y ago

I've started chewing nicotine gum while in the office/class and found that it helps a lot with making the noise more tolerable. I have a history of smoking and vaping, so I don't recommend it to naive people. It appears to be bad for me so I try to minimize it: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/01.cir.94.5.878 https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/01.cir.94.5.878

cowpewter 7y ago
Do you have (or suspect you might have, but be undiagnosed) ADHD? Nicotine is a stimulant. It improves concentration for individuals with ADHD, for much the same reasons that prescription stimulant drugs do. I picked up nicotine gum, and eventually switched to vaping myself, as a form of self-medication for my ADHD. If it really helps you block out distracting noises and sights from a busy office, that might be part of why.
- giggles_giggles 7y ago
  If I could go back a few years and warn you against using nicotine to self-medicate ADHD, I would. I also have ADHD and kicked a 5 year vaping habit about a year ago. Nicotine might help you focus in the very short term, but if you can't re-up every half hour, it makes it a lot harder to focus in the long term! I spent 4 years as a developer, unable to vape in my shared office, being interrupted every hour by the need to consume more nicotine! Every time I'd come back in from a smoke break it felt like a race against the clock to get back into "the zone" before the nicotine cravings kicked me out again. You know what has really helped my focus? BREAKING THAT ADDICTION. Please, if anyone else is reading the parent I'm replying to and thinking about starting to use nicotine to self-medicate ADHD trust me it is NOT worth it. It's not worth not being able to enjoy a whole movie or show because you need to intake nicotine. It's not worth being trapped in airplanes without being able to vape. It's not worth the chemical dependence, even if you "only" get addicted to the gum or patch. Please hear my appeal to what a terrible idea the parent comment is proposing! Nicotine is the absolute worst drug.
  - cowpewter 7y ago
    Oh geez, yeah, I'm definitely not endorsing self-medicating with nicotine, just saying, that I did, and that if nicotine helps you concentrate, you might wanna get evaluated for ADHD. I was never a smoker, and I vape the lightest dose nicotine available (3mg/ml). I have definitely developed a light addiction over the years, but I can go all day without needing my vape. The worst my cravings get are a feeling of "Man, vaping would be really nice right now." I even went on a week-long vacation last year, left my vape at home, and didn't even think about the nicotine I was missing until I got home. But please! Don't take my anecdotal evidence and think it means you should pick up vaping! I know it's not the best for my health, and you may become far more addicted than I am.
    - decebalus1 7y ago
      Huh.. your experience sounds similar to mine, although I was a heavy smoker for ~10 years. I currently vape 3mg and a) my vape never leaves the house (I never vape at work or around town) b) I often forget about vaping c) I left on a two week vacation, forgot my vape at home and nothing happened. I have the exact same craving sensation 'would have been nice to have a vape right now', usually when I'm bored. But I am a strong advocate against smoking (obviously) and vaping. Nobody should pick up vaping unless it's to attempt to give up smoking. It's still a nasty habit and super dangerous. When I say dangerous I mean the fact that in contrast to smoking, vaping has the risk of becoming a hobby.
      - cowpewter 7y ago
        It does. A very fun hobby, with lots of cool toys. I already mix my own juice. Originally that was just to save money, but now mixing is its own hobby. What do I feel like this week? My usual apple-flavored juice? Do I want to throw a little cranberry in this week just for fun? Or maybe I'm in the mood for something minty, my wife likes mints so we've always got an array to choose from. I haven't even gotten into the world of rebuildables or anything like that. I use a basic Smok sub-ohm box (a T-priv), that I'm probably going to upgrade to the latest model in a few months, but I know there's an entire world of vape devices out there I've barely even glimpsed over the horizon, let alone explored. Luckily it's not too hard to talk myself out of fancy new hardware ($$) when my current mod gets the job done. But flavors? I went and spent around $70 on flavors a couple weeks ago. Sounds crazy, but it's still cheaper than spending $100/month on commercial juices. And now I have a vast array of cool flavors to play with, and design my own recipes from. Vaping can absolutely become a dangerous hobby.
asdf21 7y ago
Great study, thanks, I had no idea that had been studied so specifically.

by scythe 7y ago

cowpewter 7y ago

Do you have (or suspect you might have, but be undiagnosed) ADHD? Nicotine is a stimulant. It improves concentration for individuals with ADHD, for much the same reasons that prescription stimulant drugs do. I picked up nicotine gum, and eventually switched to vaping myself, as a form of self-medication for my ADHD. If it really helps you block out distracting noises and sights from a busy office, that might be part of why.

giggles_giggles 7y ago
If I could go back a few years and warn you against using nicotine to self-medicate ADHD, I would. I also have ADHD and kicked a 5 year vaping habit about a year ago. Nicotine might help you focus in the very short term, but if you can't re-up every half hour, it makes it a lot harder to focus in the long term! I spent 4 years as a developer, unable to vape in my shared office, being interrupted every hour by the need to consume more nicotine! Every time I'd come back in from a smoke break it felt like a race against the clock to get back into "the zone" before the nicotine cravings kicked me out again. You know what has really helped my focus? BREAKING THAT ADDICTION. Please, if anyone else is reading the parent I'm replying to and thinking about starting to use nicotine to self-medicate ADHD trust me it is NOT worth it. It's not worth not being able to enjoy a whole movie or show because you need to intake nicotine. It's not worth being trapped in airplanes without being able to vape. It's not worth the chemical dependence, even if you "only" get addicted to the gum or patch. Please hear my appeal to what a terrible idea the parent comment is proposing! Nicotine is the absolute worst drug.
- cowpewter 7y ago
  Oh geez, yeah, I'm definitely not endorsing self-medicating with nicotine, just saying, that I did, and that if nicotine helps you concentrate, you might wanna get evaluated for ADHD. I was never a smoker, and I vape the lightest dose nicotine available (3mg/ml). I have definitely developed a light addiction over the years, but I can go all day without needing my vape. The worst my cravings get are a feeling of "Man, vaping would be really nice right now." I even went on a week-long vacation last year, left my vape at home, and didn't even think about the nicotine I was missing until I got home. But please! Don't take my anecdotal evidence and think it means you should pick up vaping! I know it's not the best for my health, and you may become far more addicted than I am.
  - decebalus1 7y ago
    Huh.. your experience sounds similar to mine, although I was a heavy smoker for ~10 years. I currently vape 3mg and a) my vape never leaves the house (I never vape at work or around town) b) I often forget about vaping c) I left on a two week vacation, forgot my vape at home and nothing happened. I have the exact same craving sensation 'would have been nice to have a vape right now', usually when I'm bored. But I am a strong advocate against smoking (obviously) and vaping. Nobody should pick up vaping unless it's to attempt to give up smoking. It's still a nasty habit and super dangerous. When I say dangerous I mean the fact that in contrast to smoking, vaping has the risk of becoming a hobby.
    - cowpewter 7y ago
      It does. A very fun hobby, with lots of cool toys. I already mix my own juice. Originally that was just to save money, but now mixing is its own hobby. What do I feel like this week? My usual apple-flavored juice? Do I want to throw a little cranberry in this week just for fun? Or maybe I'm in the mood for something minty, my wife likes mints so we've always got an array to choose from. I haven't even gotten into the world of rebuildables or anything like that. I use a basic Smok sub-ohm box (a T-priv), that I'm probably going to upgrade to the latest model in a few months, but I know there's an entire world of vape devices out there I've barely even glimpsed over the horizon, let alone explored. Luckily it's not too hard to talk myself out of fancy new hardware ($$) when my current mod gets the job done. But flavors? I went and spent around $70 on flavors a couple weeks ago. Sounds crazy, but it's still cheaper than spending $100/month on commercial juices. And now I have a vast array of cool flavors to play with, and design my own recipes from. Vaping can absolutely become a dangerous hobby.

asdf21 7y ago

Great study, thanks, I had no idea that had been studied so specifically.