4 ms·

I am an avid coffee drinker and a former cigarette smoker. While I won't deny that caffeine is addictive, the addictive power is so mild that it's mostly irrele

I am an avid coffee drinker and a former cigarette smoker. While I won't deny that caffeine is addictive, the addictive power is so mild that it's mostly irrelevant. I skip having coffee on some days accidentally. The idea of accidentally going a day without smoking a cigarette is unfathomable. The times I've gone without coffee for a few days or weeks I have felt a little bit sluggish. The times I have gone days or weeks without smoking were nightmarish ordeals that consumed my every waking thought. Point being, I would be very careful to assume things about 'addiction' when it's a phenomenon comes in so many shapes and sizes.

pengaru 6y ago
I'll match your single sample of anecdata as a previous smoker from the midwest and occasional coffee drinker: I never found nicotine addictive. It never compelled me to increase my consumption beyond a few cigarettes a day, usually in social settings. I never became a regular purchaser of cartons of cigarettes. It was purely a social activity as most my peers were smokers and participating in the smoke breaks was a huge part of socializing. But it never escalated beyond that, there was simply no draw and stopping cold-turkey was completely uneventful with zero physiological effects. Coffee however, has such a profoundly stimulating effect on me, it completely derails my life for days after a lone day of consumption. It's a very on-vs-off modal existence, and if I fall into the on mode for more than a couple contiguous days, I begin craving it and actively seeking it out. And when I manage to finally resist those cravings, I end up going through ~three days of hangover-like withdrawal hell which if I'm not up for enduring will just push me back on the wagon to make it stop. For me, coffee/caffeine is far more sinister and addictive than cigarettes.
- doktrin 6y ago
  Without disputing your personal experience, the parents anecdote is reflective of how most people experience the addictive qualities of nicotine vs caffeine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30061507/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30061507/ "Conclusion: Dependence to traditional cigarettes and snus seem to be relatively similar while NR (nicotine replacement) was rated lower and coffee lowest."
- standardUser 6y ago
  The difference between my anecdote and yours is that everything I said is backed up by volumes of medical literature and everything you said sounds like you have a rare sensitivity to caffeine.
maxwellg 6y ago
Purely anecdotal, but for me it was the other way around. Last January, for my New Years Resolution, I kicked my pack-a-day-equivalent e-cigarette addiction. Three to four days of feeling anxious, some weird eating habits, a few headaches, but I still felt fairly productive. In February, I tried to quit coffee. Nonstop headaches for the week, complete inability to keep to a sleep cycle, and the worst irritability I've ever had. (I was at ~3 cups/day prior to quitting) Everyone is different - and some people do have quite terrible caffeine addictions.
- maxwellg 6y ago
  I suppose if my office gave out free cigarettes and the whole team grabbed one after lunch, I would have had a harder time quitting too. Caffeine is so ingrained into my work life that it's impossible to escape from.

pengaru 6y ago

I'll match your single sample of anecdata as a previous smoker from the midwest and occasional coffee drinker: I never found nicotine addictive. It never compelled me to increase my consumption beyond a few cigarettes a day, usually in social settings. I never became a regular purchaser of cartons of cigarettes. It was purely a social activity as most my peers were smokers and participating in the smoke breaks was a huge part of socializing. But it never escalated beyond that, there was simply no draw and stopping cold-turkey was completely uneventful with zero physiological effects. Coffee however, has such a profoundly stimulating effect on me, it completely derails my life for days after a lone day of consumption. It's a very on-vs-off modal existence, and if I fall into the on mode for more than a couple contiguous days, I begin craving it and actively seeking it out. And when I manage to finally resist those cravings, I end up going through ~three days of hangover-like withdrawal hell which if I'm not up for enduring will just push me back on the wagon to make it stop. For me, coffee/caffeine is far more sinister and addictive than cigarettes.

doktrin 6y ago
Without disputing your personal experience, the parents anecdote is reflective of how most people experience the addictive qualities of nicotine vs caffeine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30061507/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30061507/ "Conclusion: Dependence to traditional cigarettes and snus seem to be relatively similar while NR (nicotine replacement) was rated lower and coffee lowest."
standardUser 6y ago
The difference between my anecdote and yours is that everything I said is backed up by volumes of medical literature and everything you said sounds like you have a rare sensitivity to caffeine.

maxwellg 6y ago

Purely anecdotal, but for me it was the other way around. Last January, for my New Years Resolution, I kicked my pack-a-day-equivalent e-cigarette addiction. Three to four days of feeling anxious, some weird eating habits, a few headaches, but I still felt fairly productive. In February, I tried to quit coffee. Nonstop headaches for the week, complete inability to keep to a sleep cycle, and the worst irritability I've ever had. (I was at ~3 cups/day prior to quitting) Everyone is different - and some people do have quite terrible caffeine addictions.

maxwellg 6y ago
I suppose if my office gave out free cigarettes and the whole team grabbed one after lunch, I would have had a harder time quitting too. Caffeine is so ingrained into my work life that it's impossible to escape from.