4 ms·

Also alcohol companies as well.

by RcouF1uZ4gsC 7y ago

drdeca 7y ago
I’m under the impression that alcohol is substantially less chemically addictive than Nicotine. Is that correct?
- jowday 7y ago
  Substantially less chemically addictive, but causes a much higher degree of social harm for those who do get addicted.
  - ainiriand 7y ago
    Much more harmful even if you are not addicted. Take road accidents and fights for example.
- joecool1029 7y ago
  This is actually a surprisingly difficult question to answer. If you had asked specifically about tobacco, you'd be correct. But, nicotine itself may not be as addictive as tobacco products are. Remember that tobacco contains many other compounds that influence how the body metabolizes things (MAOI's and such). Here's a link with some citations: http://www.healthnz.co.nz/Addiction_TobNic.htm http://www.healthnz.co.nz/Addiction_TobNic.htm EDIT: My personal anecdote is that I tried vaping when the first 901 ecigs started to hit the US market: the idea was twofold. I wanted to assess whether there was any cognitive benefit in using nicotine through a cleaner delivery system and I also wanted to get my dad to quit smoking cigarettes. Both goals were failures, I found it too difficult to dose reliably using this method and the side effects weren't worth it to me. I did not find myself addicted after around a month of use.
- reaperducer 7y ago
  I’m under the impression that alcohol is substantially less chemically addictive than Nicotine. Is that correct? Doesn't addictiveness vary from person to person?
- aianus 7y ago
  You can die from quitting alcohol cold-turkey, which is not true for nicotine.
  - fenwick67 7y ago
    Was about to post this. They're really very different addictions. Nicotine withdrawal is mostly medically harmless.
  - drdeca 7y ago
    This is a good point, and I either didn’t know or forgot that
stared 7y ago
Most alcohol users (in many countries, the majority of the adult population) are not addicts. As far as I know, most cigarette and e-cigarette users are addicted. Also: there are some computer games, which have the potential for addiction. Some others (especially "free to play") shamelessly monetarize on addiction. Similar things goes from other businesses: e.g. loans, dating websites, social media, etc.
- freepor 7y ago
  Yes, but I think that the majority of alcohol is consumed by addicts. I have a few 750mL bottles of liquor that I use to make a drink for myself once or twice a week. My alcoholic childhood friend has drunk an entire handle of liquor (1.75L) in a day and then walked to the liquor store in the snow to get more. I’m counted as an alcohol user, but my usage is a rounding error of his.
  - bcrosby95 7y ago
    Yes, in the past I knew a couple people that were addicted - as in, they got the shakes if they didn't drink. They would drink several 750ml bottles of vodka per day.
  - fjp 7y ago
    I'm struggling to find a source, but I was taught in school that some large majority of the total beer consumption is by a core group of beer drinkers that average > 3/4 gallon (around eight cans of beer) per day
    - Loughla 7y ago
      I was staggered, at my last health physical, to learn that --light to light/moderate-- alcohol consumption for someone my size is 14 beers a week. I have 14 beers (or its equivalent hard alcohol) over the course of a month or two, and that still seemed like a lot.
      - kortilla 7y ago
spicymaki 7y ago
> Also alcohol companies as well. Indeed, death in the US due to alcoholism is about 88,000 a year it is the #3 leading preventable cause of death. [1] Tobacco related deaths is #1 (preventable) by 480,000. [2] Obesity is #2 for completeness. I have loved ones that have died or are dying from one or a combination of these vices. [1] https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/alcohol-facts-and-statistics https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sh... [2] https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/tobacco_related_mortality/index.htm https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/heal...

Also alcohol companies as well.

drdeca 7y ago

I’m under the impression that alcohol is substantially less chemically addictive than Nicotine. Is that correct?

jowday 7y ago
Substantially less chemically addictive, but causes a much higher degree of social harm for those who do get addicted.
- ainiriand 7y ago
  Much more harmful even if you are not addicted. Take road accidents and fights for example.
joecool1029 7y ago
This is actually a surprisingly difficult question to answer. If you had asked specifically about tobacco, you'd be correct. But, nicotine itself may not be as addictive as tobacco products are. Remember that tobacco contains many other compounds that influence how the body metabolizes things (MAOI's and such). Here's a link with some citations: http://www.healthnz.co.nz/Addiction_TobNic.htm http://www.healthnz.co.nz/Addiction_TobNic.htm EDIT: My personal anecdote is that I tried vaping when the first 901 ecigs started to hit the US market: the idea was twofold. I wanted to assess whether there was any cognitive benefit in using nicotine through a cleaner delivery system and I also wanted to get my dad to quit smoking cigarettes. Both goals were failures, I found it too difficult to dose reliably using this method and the side effects weren't worth it to me. I did not find myself addicted after around a month of use.
reaperducer 7y ago
I’m under the impression that alcohol is substantially less chemically addictive than Nicotine. Is that correct? Doesn't addictiveness vary from person to person?
aianus 7y ago
You can die from quitting alcohol cold-turkey, which is not true for nicotine.
- fenwick67 7y ago
  Was about to post this. They're really very different addictions. Nicotine withdrawal is mostly medically harmless.
- drdeca 7y ago
  This is a good point, and I either didn’t know or forgot that

stared 7y ago

Most alcohol users (in many countries, the majority of the adult population) are not addicts. As far as I know, most cigarette and e-cigarette users are addicted. Also: there are some computer games, which have the potential for addiction. Some others (especially "free to play") shamelessly monetarize on addiction. Similar things goes from other businesses: e.g. loans, dating websites, social media, etc.

freepor 7y ago
Yes, but I think that the majority of alcohol is consumed by addicts. I have a few 750mL bottles of liquor that I use to make a drink for myself once or twice a week. My alcoholic childhood friend has drunk an entire handle of liquor (1.75L) in a day and then walked to the liquor store in the snow to get more. I’m counted as an alcohol user, but my usage is a rounding error of his.
- bcrosby95 7y ago
  Yes, in the past I knew a couple people that were addicted - as in, they got the shakes if they didn't drink. They would drink several 750ml bottles of vodka per day.
- fjp 7y ago
  I'm struggling to find a source, but I was taught in school that some large majority of the total beer consumption is by a core group of beer drinkers that average > 3/4 gallon (around eight cans of beer) per day
  - Loughla 7y ago
    I was staggered, at my last health physical, to learn that --light to light/moderate-- alcohol consumption for someone my size is 14 beers a week. I have 14 beers (or its equivalent hard alcohol) over the course of a month or two, and that still seemed like a lot.
    - kortilla 7y ago

spicymaki 7y ago

> Also alcohol companies as well. Indeed, death in the US due to alcoholism is about 88,000 a year it is the #3 leading preventable cause of death. [1] Tobacco related deaths is #1 (preventable) by 480,000. [2] Obesity is #2 for completeness. I have loved ones that have died or are dying from one or a combination of these vices. [1] https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/alcohol-facts-and-statistics https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sh... [2] https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/tobacco_related_mortality/index.htm https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/heal...