Misc How long does it take to become addicted to cigarettes?

[Branggen]

How much/long were you smoking when you realized that you were addicted? Im taking a break from smoking pot and I get a lot of agitation and want to smoke a cig, Ive started to smoke like 1 a day for the past couple days

 

[negrogesic]

Not sure but you shouldn't wait and find out. Once it sinks its teeth into you it can become a lifelong affair. Nicotine seems to be the worst drug to get addicted to in terms of the high it produces relative to the risk. It seems like a huge majority only get addicted via social situations because other people are using it. For instance, no
26 year old who has never smoked nor been exposed to smokers suddenly thinks, "hey i should go get some cigarettes" and goes and gets a pack and finds the effect irresistible. Its sort of like the STD of drugs; you catch nicotine addiction from other people.

Ive never been addicted to cigarettes or nicotine. Out of curiosity I once intentionally tried to get myself addicted to nicotine itself (in the form of vaping) but oddly enough it didn't catch. My theory is that pure nicotine is significantly less addictive then tobacco because of the lack of other alkaloids found in tobacco (specifically, harmine). I tried a number of weeks at high doses of nicotine but failed to become addicted (and I have an extremely addictive personality and get addicted easily).

I bet if i smoked an equivalent amount of nicotine via cigarettes in that same time period I may have felt more of a pull.

My guess is that it takes a very minumum of 10-14 days of daily usage for it to catch. Significant physical addiction probably takes around a month.

 

[atara]

It can happen very fast, or very slow. Nicotine becomes a severe addiction because it gets integrated into your functioning. You smoke to get work done, or to wake up, or to handle stress, and you might start to crave it after you've done that just five times.

Ironically a good rule is to only smoke cigarettes when you've had a few drinks, so your sober mind doesn't realize its potential. At least that seems to work for my brother.

I'm semi-addicted to vaping and chewing nicotine gum. Semi- because I stop every now and then and it doesn't bother me too much, but definitely relying on it to focus. But I used to be prescribed Ritalin, and the side-effects of that were worse, so...

 

[tweakerguy]

I feel like i was addicted to tobacco long before i even started smoking. I remember absolutely loving the smell of pouched indian tobacco my grandparents sold at their shop, and always wondering what smoking a cigarette would be like. So when i did for the first time, i think they were literally discarded butts a friend and I found in the park, yes i wanted more.

 

[JessFR]

In hindsight? Probably from the first cigarette.

Same with opioids. Only I've been able to quit smoking for extended periods of time. Whereas it wouldn't surprise me if it turns out I'll be using opioids in some form for the rest of my life.

Addiction isn't like dependence. You can't become dependent immediately. But if you're susceptible to it you can essentially become addicted and unable to control your use of a substance or behavior as soon as you experience it.

 

[Keif' Richards]

This questions is impossib to answer really. Some people might never become addicted to cigarettes. Some people get turned on right away and are smoking two packs a day in no time.

Really, what you're doing right now is the most sensible way of approaching tobacco use. Only using one or two cigarettes a day not only makes the experience more enjoyable, but will also help prevent you from developing a serious nicotine habit.

You will ultimately be the best judge of your addiction/dependence upon this stuff. Recognize when you're using more than you were previously and try to address the cravings as they come.

I would recommend just sticking to your one to two cigarettes a day. I believe if you maintain that you will be fine.

 

[Shady's Fox]

Not much, I smoke'em daiily. It's not about addiction it's a well known schizophrenia effect if you pardon my slangs, it boils down to boredom although I can't leave'em behind even if I were to do something every 1sec, don't over-think that's all.

 

[Anonymous Dissident]

It took me less than a pack to get hooked in 9th grade. Just dont do it, quitting is just so damn hard because it's so easy to get stressed out and run to any gas station and grab a pack. It took me years of trying to quit, then I started again, mostly due to boredom after surgery when I was still totally incapacitated, and am down to 3 a day. With any luck I'll be fully quit again by the end of the month...

 

[HoldBack]

Nicotine is truly the most insidious addiction there is. There’s no point where you are or are not addicted.

by no means is it an especially tough addiction or unbeatable. It’s rather easy to stop in my experience. It just never seems to go away.

I stopped smoking and chewing but now I suck on lozenges all day. I pray that someday I can get rid of all my addictions and I can picture getting off opis for life. I don’t feel as though I’ll ever overcome nicotine.

 

[iLoveYouWithaKnife]

25 years.

 

[Opi_Kid_Rock]

I really believed that I quit smoking for the 6th time in my life until now when I’m watching a gangster movie with all these people smoking stylishly while I scratch my leg and react intensely. I’m chewing gum trying to hold off the craving but the thought of consuming a cigarette and the thought of that feeling of my blood rushing through my veins; I’m probably going to buy a pack tomorrow or vape. I understand that my personal addictive relationship with cigarettes is not so much the “motion” or something else nebulous that I am addicted to but rather the very real entrenched memory of getting off in the form of relaxed rushing of blood through my veins... That is what I am addicted to; purely carnal,logical, and pointed towards the science of addiction. By writing this, I have understood the nature of my own addiction; thank you OP.

Regards,