4 ms·

Tobacco CEOs testify: "Nicotine is not addictive" (1994)

standardUser 1y ago
> Cigarettes contain nicotine because it occurs naturally in tobacco. Nicotine contributes to the taste of cigarettes and the pleasures of smoking. The presence of nicotine, however, does not make cigarettes a drug or smoking addiction. Coffee, Mr. Chairman, contains caffeine and few people seem to enjoy coffee that does not. Does that make coffee a drug? Are coffee drinkers drug addicts? I think not. Perhaps the true value of executives that justifies their bloated compensation is the ability to deliver bullshit lines like these with a straight face.
- milesrout 1y ago
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deleted 1y ago
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cluckindan 1y ago
As far as I’ve understood, pure nicotine is not significantly addictive in most people. What is very addictive, though, is the synergistic effect nicotine has with MAO inhibitors, such as those found in tobacco smoke or vape/gum/pouch flavorings.
- c0nducktr 1y ago
  I wasn't aware that tobacco alternatives added MAO inhibitors to their flavorings - I thought they were basically, in the case of vapes, propylene glycol and nicotine + "flavor". Is there evidence that the flavors they're including in these are actually MAOIs?
  - cluckindan 1y ago
    Monoamine oxidase inhibitory activity of flavoured e-cigarette liquids https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0161813X19301007 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01618... Reinforcement and MAO-A inhibition in heated tobacco products: flavor and brand variations https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1515519/full https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.... Comparison of monoamine oxidase inhibition by cigarettes and modified risk tobacco products https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214750019304925 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221475001... There is of course variance depending on the exact flavorants used. For example, menthol and mint flavors don’t inhibit MAO, their activity is towards kappa-opioid agonism (induction of dysphoria).
    - c0nducktr 1y ago
      Thanks for this, I'll look into these.
delichon 1y ago
The greater portion of civics education should consist of watching important impressive people say things that are clearly lies with utter confidence. If there's a more important lesson to learn in civics class I haven't learned it yet.

> Cigarettes contain nicotine because it occurs naturally in tobacco. Nicotine contributes to the taste of cigarettes and the pleasures of smoking. The presence of nicotine, however, does not make cigarettes a drug or smoking addiction. Coffee, Mr. Chairman, contains caffeine and few people seem to enjoy coffee that does not. Does that make coffee a drug? Are coffee drinkers drug addicts? I think not. Perhaps the true value of executives that justifies their bloated compensation is the ability to deliver bullshit lines like these with a straight face.

milesrout 1y ago
[dead]

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

cluckindan 1y ago

As far as I’ve understood, pure nicotine is not significantly addictive in most people. What is very addictive, though, is the synergistic effect nicotine has with MAO inhibitors, such as those found in tobacco smoke or vape/gum/pouch flavorings.

c0nducktr 1y ago
I wasn't aware that tobacco alternatives added MAO inhibitors to their flavorings - I thought they were basically, in the case of vapes, propylene glycol and nicotine + "flavor". Is there evidence that the flavors they're including in these are actually MAOIs?
- cluckindan 1y ago
  Monoamine oxidase inhibitory activity of flavoured e-cigarette liquids https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0161813X19301007 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01618... Reinforcement and MAO-A inhibition in heated tobacco products: flavor and brand variations https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1515519/full https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.... Comparison of monoamine oxidase inhibition by cigarettes and modified risk tobacco products https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214750019304925 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221475001... There is of course variance depending on the exact flavorants used. For example, menthol and mint flavors don’t inhibit MAO, their activity is towards kappa-opioid agonism (induction of dysphoria).
  - c0nducktr 1y ago
    Thanks for this, I'll look into these.

delichon 1y ago

The greater portion of civics education should consist of watching important impressive people say things that are clearly lies with utter confidence. If there's a more important lesson to learn in civics class I haven't learned it yet.