2 ms·

The problem is not tobacco or nicotine, it's smoke. Nicotine alone isn't really addictive and yields almost no reward [0], which is why nicotine replacement th

The problem is not tobacco or nicotine, it's smoke. Nicotine alone isn't really addictive and yields almost no reward [0], which is why nicotine replacement therapies are so useless [1]. It's only addictive due to other substances, majorly MAO inhibitors. However, these same MAOIs protect tobacco users against Parkinson's disease [2]. Given all that, along with mild caffeine-like effect from nicotine, smokeless tobacco (including tobacco extract eliquids) is probably beneficial. Banning tobacco in general would be very bad. [0] http://www.jneurosci.org/content/25/38/8593.full http://www.jneurosci.org/content/25/38/8593.full [1] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.12429/abstract http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.12429/abstrac... [2] http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/155/8/732.full http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/155/8/732.full

jspiral 12y ago
I used to be a smoker. I was at about a pack and a half a day, inhaling deeply. Smoke first thing after waking up in the morning, agony on international flights, that sort of thing. Very addicted, a couple failed quit attempts. I switched my addiction to nicotine lozenges, and now prefer them to cigarettes. I don't really like cigarettes anymore, never crave them, and the couple of times i've tried smoking one in the last few years have just confirmed that. When I run out I feel pretty bad and eventually go get more. I would say i'm now very addicted to the lozenges. How would you interpret my story? I'll read the links but it sounds like you've already done your homework.
- duckingtest 12y ago
  >When I run out I feel pretty bad and eventually go get more. The same applies to caffeine. It's a very mild, short-term physical addiction. Nicotine replacement probably helped a bit, but I think you would be successful even without them. I like nicotine too, for short term effects.

jspiral 12y ago

I used to be a smoker. I was at about a pack and a half a day, inhaling deeply. Smoke first thing after waking up in the morning, agony on international flights, that sort of thing. Very addicted, a couple failed quit attempts. I switched my addiction to nicotine lozenges, and now prefer them to cigarettes. I don't really like cigarettes anymore, never crave them, and the couple of times i've tried smoking one in the last few years have just confirmed that. When I run out I feel pretty bad and eventually go get more. I would say i'm now very addicted to the lozenges. How would you interpret my story? I'll read the links but it sounds like you've already done your homework.

duckingtest 12y ago
>When I run out I feel pretty bad and eventually go get more. The same applies to caffeine. It's a very mild, short-term physical addiction. Nicotine replacement probably helped a bit, but I think you would be successful even without them. I like nicotine too, for short term effects.