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Nicotine is not harmful. It's a stimulant, like caffeine. https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine I propose an alternative - a charity s

Nicotine is not harmful. It's a stimulant, like caffeine. https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine I propose an alternative - a charity should just give nicotine gum or patches to smokers to help them quit. For many smokers this is enough (it's how I quit) and would improve their lives. Nicotine gum is cheaper than cigarettes, too. There seems like a market opportunity here for insurance companies who are paying for smoking-related treatments; why aren't they offering free gum to their clients? Even a percentage uptake should save them money if their incentives are aligned.

orev 6y ago
Everyone is different, so it’s worth exploring different options. It’s widely recognized that a big part of smoking is not the nicotine addiction itself, but also the social aspect. Reduced nicotine cigarettes would enable people to still smoke and participate in the social part, while reducing the nicotine addiction. It’s better to address one thing at a time than to try to go cold turkey on everything at once.
yodsanklai 6y ago
> nicotine gum or patches to smokers to help them quit A friend of mine is now addicted to nicotine gum (and still smokes). I'm glad it worked for you but I think there's no silver bullet to fight nicotine addiction. I'm convinced the best way is to prevent people (mostly teenagers) from starting. At least the US has strong laws to prevent selling cigarettes to minors. In my country, it's still somewhat tolerated to do so. It really makes me furious against our politicians.
smeeth 6y ago
>Nicotine is not harmful This is simply not true, and demonstrably so. There have been numerous studies in both animal and human models showing adverse effects to the cardiovascular system and tumor promotion in particular [0]. The link you provided seems to have a dog in the fight, I encourage you to read more on this. No question it’s better than smoking, but you’re fooling yourself if you think it’s caffeine. [0] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4363846/#!po=0.909091 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4363846/#!po=0....
nix23 6y ago
>Nicotine is not harmful It's cancerous and one oft the most highly toxic substances (even insecticides are made out of it..well the plant produces it for that exact reason), but on the other hand your smoked beef jerky is cancerous too. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine#Pesticide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine#Pesticide >At environmental levels of 5 mg/m3, nicotine is immediately dangerous to life and health. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine#Toxicity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine#Toxicity https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19371-tobacco-plants-outsmart-hungry-caterpillars/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19371-tobacco-plants-...

orev 6y ago

Everyone is different, so it’s worth exploring different options. It’s widely recognized that a big part of smoking is not the nicotine addiction itself, but also the social aspect. Reduced nicotine cigarettes would enable people to still smoke and participate in the social part, while reducing the nicotine addiction. It’s better to address one thing at a time than to try to go cold turkey on everything at once.

yodsanklai 6y ago

> nicotine gum or patches to smokers to help them quit A friend of mine is now addicted to nicotine gum (and still smokes). I'm glad it worked for you but I think there's no silver bullet to fight nicotine addiction. I'm convinced the best way is to prevent people (mostly teenagers) from starting. At least the US has strong laws to prevent selling cigarettes to minors. In my country, it's still somewhat tolerated to do so. It really makes me furious against our politicians.

smeeth 6y ago

>Nicotine is not harmful This is simply not true, and demonstrably so. There have been numerous studies in both animal and human models showing adverse effects to the cardiovascular system and tumor promotion in particular [0]. The link you provided seems to have a dog in the fight, I encourage you to read more on this. No question it’s better than smoking, but you’re fooling yourself if you think it’s caffeine. [0] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4363846/#!po=0.909091 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4363846/#!po=0....

nix23 6y ago

>Nicotine is not harmful It's cancerous and one oft the most highly toxic substances (even insecticides are made out of it..well the plant produces it for that exact reason), but on the other hand your smoked beef jerky is cancerous too. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine#Pesticide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine#Pesticide >At environmental levels of 5 mg/m3, nicotine is immediately dangerous to life and health. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine#Toxicity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine#Toxicity https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19371-tobacco-plants-outsmart-hungry-caterpillars/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19371-tobacco-plants-...