Is Nicotine addictive like crack?

[nznity]

As a Heroin addict, the comment "cigarettes are more addictive than Heroin" never made any sense at all to me.

I've only known a few dope addicts that don't smoke and even when they quit, it's very common In NA that they offer ya coffee and cigarettes. Most junk addicts that quit Dope continue smoking tobacco too. At least at the beginning, only a very small percentage are able to quit everything at the same time. They have to replace it with something though, whether it's gym, painting, singing, running, etc. Idk but u can't get rid of an addiction without having to replace it with something else.
Every addict is a different unique world on its own too, so this topic is a very complex thing to analyze and we could spend months talking about it without reaching a consensus lol cheers buddy

 

[Deru]

I was thinking the exact same thing lol. Look at every single NA, HA, CA, rehab, whatever. Everyone is out there smoking cigarettes. Totally agree ultimately we all just replace it with something else. Mine wound up being the gym. So far it's been an exceptional replacement

 

[Deru]

And honestly I'd rank cigarettes up there with heroin in terms of difficulty to quit. Each in their own very unique ways. If I didn't have to spend in a year in a hospital I honestly probably would have never been able to quit cigarettes.

 

[new2drugs]

I dunno. There's some truth to what y'all are saying. A lot of the pleasure is the release from cravings. However, when I'm smoking tobacco, if something is happening to stress me, nicotine will calm me. That's not 100% just release from craving. @plumbus-nine , you even said that you started smoking after a serious breakup. You smoked to calm yourself.

The very first dose of nicotine in a day wakes you up. You immediately feel focus and wake up. I don't think all that is exclusively due to release from cravings.

I'm not smoking 'baccy now. When I get up, I have a cup of coffee (another addiction ) and I sit on the couch. I sit there till I feel the caffeine kick in in 20 minutes or so. Then I get up and go about my day. It takes me a while to wake up. When I smoked, I would go out on the back porch, have a smoke, and wake up right away.

Nicotine is psychoactive, even when hooked. It doesn't give you a "high", but it's psychoactive.

@new2drugs , maybe nicotine gives you the ability to feel how a non smoker feels when calm and awake, even while under stress, even early in the morning, and even if it's only temporarily.

Your first cigarette of the day feels good because you are in withdrawal overnight.
It will be a more powerful hit too.

 

[brokedownpalace10]

Your first cigarette of the day feels good because you are in withdrawal overnight.
It will be a more powerful hit too.

"I'm not smoking 'baccy now. When I get up, I have a cup of coffee (another addiction ) and I sit on the couch. I sit there till I feel the caffeine kick in in 20 minutes or so. Then I get up and go about my day. It takes me a while to wake up. When I smoked, I would go out on the back porch, have a smoke, and wake up right away."

 

[Keif' Richards]

Correct.. nicotine doesn't really do anything other than make you feel how a non smokers feels.
Been compared to wearing tight shoes just to have the pleasure of taking them off.

For the record, I love that. Very poetic and I believe sums it up pretty well!

 

[negrogesic]

Out of curiosity I once tried to see how addictive nicotine really and vaped it daily at high concentration for a month. I didn't feel much of any habituating effects from. I wrote a thread here about that "experiment" (probably a decade ago). I've never been a smoker nor ever understood it as a drug since it has never produced any significant high for me. Cigarette addiction seems like a communicable disease in the sense that rarely does anyone take up smoking in the absence of being around non-smokers. People generally "catch" tobacco addiction from someone who also "caught" the addiction from someone else. In that sense its one of the more dangerous communicable diseases.

In any event I suspect that the other alkaloids present (particularly harmane as well as perhaps the various nicotine like alkaloids) in tobacco leaf significantly contribute to the addictive and reinforcing effects of nicotine.

 

[Skorpio]

(reversible MAOI - strangely nobody ever got dangerous drug-drug interactions from tobacco)

This has always baffled me. I would expect to see more reports of say mdma toxicity after smoking a cigarette. I wonder if tetrahydroharmine and friends are just low affinity enough to be displaced by large concentrations of monoamines or something like that.

 

[plumbus-nine]

This has always baffled me. I would expect to see more reports of say mdma toxicity after smoking a cigarette. I wonder if tetrahydroharmine and friends are just low affinity enough to be displaced by large concentrations of monoamines or something like that.

Ever since I read about the harmine content in tobacco I wanted to mix a vaping liquid with peganum harmala extract in addition to the nicotine but my extract never arrived and it probably wouldn't have worked anyways due to residual plant material in it. A working MAO inhibitor which gets displaced by large amounts of monoamines but inhibits the degradation of normal levels would be a precious finding.

Btw, anybody having an explanation. why smoking cigs (much less vaping) on a dissociative is such an euphoric experience? I always forgot about that but it was the reason why I got hooked on tobacco. With DXM it doesn't work probably because of antagonism at the nAChR's but try smoking on e.g. ket - also wonder whether this is common or specific to my own body/brain chemistry.

 

[new2drugs]

Out of curiosity I once tried to see how addictive nicotine really and vaped it daily at high concentration for a month. I didn't feel much of any habituating effects from. I wrote a thread here about that "experiment" (probably a decade ago). I've never been a smoker nor ever understood it as a drug since it has never produced any significant high for me. Cigarette addiction seems like a communicable disease in the sense that rarely does anyone take up smoking in the absence of being around non-smokers. People generally "catch" tobacco addiction from someone who also "caught" the addiction from someone else. In that sense its one of the more dangerous communicable diseases.

In any event I suspect that the other alkaloids present (particularly harmane as well as perhaps the various nicotine like alkaloids) in tobacco leaf significantly contribute to the addictive and reinforcing effects of nicotine.

Michael Mosley did an experiment on British television where he tried his first ever cigarette and of course coughed....but a few seconds later he said he "got it" felt buzzy.

He then tried to vape over a few weeks or months but couldn't get addicted ( like he had to remember to take it and set an alarm)

I think it's a panarama program from early 2010s. Might be on YouTube

 

[negrogesic]

Harmane Potentiates Nicotine Reinforcement Through MAO-A Inhibition at the Dose Related to Cigarette Smoking

Nicotine is the primary addictive component in cigarette smoke, and dopamine release induced by nicotine is considered a significant cause of persistent smoking and nicotine dependence. However, the effects of nicotine replacement therapy on smoking cessation were less effective than expected...

www.frontiersin.org

Here's some research (and I believe there is quite abit more than this on the subject).

Are there "full spectrum" vape liquids that mimick the alkaloid profile of tobacco? My crude experiment leads me to believe that a full-spectrum vape product might result in greater adoption of vape products by hard-core cigarette smokers who were resistant to change due to inferior effect (which might have life-saving implications, at least under the assumption that vaping is safer than smoking?).

 

[deadhead4lyfe89]

Kind of a tiny bit random but it has to do with nicotine addiction.
It might sound crazy to some people but my sister and I have this genetic thing (mutation?) where we don’t get fully 100% addicted to nicotine like most people. I smoked cigarettes for like 6 years but I could very very easily not smoke for a week or a month and be fine , whereas most people I know freak out if they haven’t had any nicotine in 2-3 hours.

I researched the genetic thing online because my friends and I thought it was kind of wild. There’s legit scientific papers I’ve read about it.
When I smoked I mostly just liked the act of smoking,the “ritual” but I don’t smoke anymore because I felt like I smoked long enough and it’s easy for me to quit.

Also cigarettes can go well with certain drugs or all drugs lol, as most people know. Opiates/opioids while smoking is very nice. Extra enjoyable. And I remember when I used to drink alcohol years ago it made cigarettes even better.

 

[new2drugs]

 

[jambabomba]

What I've understood nicotine is actually quite good chemical while acting as an potential antioxidant and neuroprotectant in brains and also possibly slowing development of degenerative neurological diseases like Alzheimer and Parkinson. It can also increase oxidative stress but epidemiological evidence seems to indicate antioxidant action is more potent. Also it acts as an aromatase inhbitor and lowers estrogen and increases testosterone and DHT which in turn are powerful antidepressants and increase dopamine and cognitive functions too.

Epidemiological studies have found negative correlation between smoking and incidence of neurodegenerative diseases and protective cause has been implied to be nicotine, despite the toxins and oxidants and other harmful chemicals in tobacco, it might actually be beneficial to brains.

Anyway, when using pure nicotine like nicotine pouches, one can get nicotine's cognitive/antioxidant benefits without increasing inflammation in whole body like with commercial tobacco products full of unhealthy destructive chemicals.

I like to use those nicotine pouches rather than smoke. The subjective effect and cognitive enchancement is even better in my opinion.

Edit: And yes, when it comes to severity of addiction, nicotine is very high on the list. But not because of physical elements or addiction but because of the strong psychological element it includes. It is so ingrained in the ego and normal everyday life/functioning/state of consciousness that it would be compared to like attachment to wife, children or to one's sense of self. It is hard to change because it is part of you. Egosyntonic rather than egodystonic. I even use nicotine 24/7, I have those nicotine pouches under my lips even at night. All night, all day, have been like this more than 10 years. Only when I eat or drink I am off from nicotine and I eat only once a day.

 

[new2drugs]

What I've understood nicotine is actually quite good chemical while acting as an potential antioxidant and neuroprotectant in brains and also possibly slowing development of degenerative neurological diseases like Alzheimer and Parkinson. It can also increase oxidative stress but epidemiological evidence seems to indicate antioxidant action is more potent. Also it acts as an aromatase inhbitor and lowers estrogen and increases testosterone and DHT which in turn are powerful antidepressants and increase dopamine and cognitive functions too.

Epidemiological studies have found negative correlation between smoking and incidence of neurodegenerative diseases and protective cause has been implied to be nicotine, despite the toxins and oxidants and other harmful chemicals in tobacco, it might actually be beneficial to brains.

Anyway, when using pure nicotine like nicotine pouches, one can get nicotine's cognitive/antioxidant benefits without increasing inflammation in whole body like with commercial tobacco products full of unhealthy destructive chemicals.

I like to use those nicotine pouches rather than smoke. The subjective effect and cognitive enchancement is even better in my opinion.

Edit: And yes, when it comes to severity of addiction, nicotine is very high on the list. But not because of physical elements or addiction but because of the strong psychological element it includes. It is so ingrained in the ego and normal everyday life/functioning/state of consciousness that it would be compared to like attachment to wife, children or to one's sense of self. It is hard to change because it is part of you. Egosyntonic rather than egodystonic. I even use nicotine 24/7, I have those nicotine pouches under my lips even at night. All night, all day, have been like this more than 10 years. Only when I eat or drink I am off from nicotine and I eat only once a day.

What about vaping?

 

[jambabomba]

What about vaping?

Well, have not studied it much but have used electric cigarets myself too and at least I think it is much better option than commercial tobaccos. Organic or self grown tobacco without toxic additives would be good also. I think American Spirit Tobacco is quite good in that regard but I prefer nicotine pouches as they are like snus (Swedish snus) as I am from Scandinavia (North Europe).

 

[Señor Moreno]

Nicotine wds are terrible.
Sure you don't suffer stim wds depression, the agony of opis or the hell of gaba, but you simply can't stop smoking. You fucking can't
Said it in another post, years ago spent a month at the hospital, my bed was the one besides the wall with a window. Old hospital, you could open the window
I was legs inmobilized and couldn't move too much, but I managed to rappel half body out of the window to smoke, several times a day and more at night.
Of course medical stuff caught me and severely warned me against doing it again. Of course, I did again. And again. I even ask my then wife to supply me with one of those anti mosquito spray, to try and mask the smell. It didn't mask shit and made the smell much worse. Didn't care and kept smoking. By the end of that month we can say I wasn't the most popular impatient of the hospital.

Kind of feel embarrased remembering those days, but that was the way things happened
I can't see myself overcoming nicotine addiction. Just No fucking way

 

[crazyhairman]

Me exactly

 

[nznity]

And honestly I'd rank cigarettes up there with heroin in terms of difficulty to quit. Each in their own very unique ways. If I didn't have to spend in a year in a hospital I honestly probably would have never been able to quit cigarettes.

X2 man haha

 

[Oldcrackdude]

As one that’s addicted to nicotine and cocaine/ crack here are my two cents
Nicotine is more addictive than crack…. For me anyway and I do have a crack addiction.
I can keep my crack use down to once or twice a month tops. I have an old friend that deals legit and safe. I get what I pay for and more usually ( sometimes this is a pain because sometimes I really only WANT the amount I want so as to be sobered up and not a weirdo later and when I use I have to finish it all there is no saving for later).
I smoked for 16 years ( cigs ) and quit cold turkey many years ago. Unfortunately I vape now which is a shame because I started doing that years after a quit.
I only crave crack really bad when I know I’m going to get some. Nicotine is a constant urge. Having said that the craving of either is the same and I have studied this thoughtfully within myself. Here the difference lies in how long the craving lasts. Nicotine cravings last less that an hour usually minutes only. Crack craving can go for hours on end to a fully day or so. After I’ve had my crack session I’m good for a month. I can use again ( why sometimes it’s twice a month ) but the urge is more of “ it’s fun and I have time “ I’m not pissed off if I can’t or don’t and half time I chose not to the second session. Nicotine is a constant temptation. Still I would not go inviting monkeys on your back. Addiction and overcoming is mental play unless you’ve fallen into a physically addictive substance. I have for whatever reasons never been into those chemicals. Good luck.