3 ms·

My pet theory is that nicotine itself isn't particularly addictive to adults. I think the combination of additives in cigs is what makes them so hard to quit.

My pet theory is that nicotine itself isn't particularly addictive to adults. I think the combination of additives in cigs is what makes them so hard to quit. I have quit various forms of pure nicotine with no withdrawals over the years, and treat it a bit like caffeine -- a stimulant that I use for a few months at a time before cycling off. The only time I've _ever_ desperately craved a nicotine product was after 2-3 days of smoking cigarettes. When getting on a near-day-long flight, the whole time back I was thinking "wow, it would be great to have a cigarette right now" every 5-10 minutes. But agreed on lung health with vaping. Also, my whole upper respiratory tract was in shambles. My throat was so dry, and it made me get sick constantly.

throwup238 2y ago
That’s a pretty well established theory: MAO inhibiters in cigarettes (or produced as a metabolic byproduct of smoking or combustion) cause the nicotine to be more addictive [1]. [1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9424897/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9424897/
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AStonesThrow 2y ago
What if it wasn't the ethanol that caused so many horrible health problems in alcoholics, but rather all the nasty additives in the stuff they drank? Imagine how much adulteration goes on, especially with bargain basement liquors and beers. Surely, pure ethanol is not our lone enemy in this fight.
- willy_k 2y ago
  You’re right that it’s not ethanol alone. In a similar (semantic, not physiological) manner to the MAOI hypothesis for cigarettes shared in a sibling comment, the compound responsible for most of the negative health effects (not necessarily intoxication although it is involved IIRC) is acetaldehyde, the primary metabolite of ethanol. As to additives, I’m sure certain ones contribute their own negative effects, sodium benzoate and tartrazine for example, but in that regard it’s the same situation as the food industry.

throwup238 2y ago

That’s a pretty well established theory: MAO inhibiters in cigarettes (or produced as a metabolic byproduct of smoking or combustion) cause the nicotine to be more addictive [1]. [1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9424897/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9424897/

deleted 2y ago

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AStonesThrow 2y ago

What if it wasn't the ethanol that caused so many horrible health problems in alcoholics, but rather all the nasty additives in the stuff they drank? Imagine how much adulteration goes on, especially with bargain basement liquors and beers. Surely, pure ethanol is not our lone enemy in this fight.

willy_k 2y ago
You’re right that it’s not ethanol alone. In a similar (semantic, not physiological) manner to the MAOI hypothesis for cigarettes shared in a sibling comment, the compound responsible for most of the negative health effects (not necessarily intoxication although it is involved IIRC) is acetaldehyde, the primary metabolite of ethanol. As to additives, I’m sure certain ones contribute their own negative effects, sodium benzoate and tartrazine for example, but in that regard it’s the same situation as the food industry.