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Nicotine / smoking mega-thread *mega merged*

I smoked about a pack a day from 16-24 and I'm 26 now, haven't smoked tobacco since May 09 with the exception of blunt wraps with marijuana in them

When I used to work out my lungs would hurt first, now it's my back and my lungs never hurt
 
I commend you for having the strength to quit. I need to as well but damn it's
hard because I live with my dad and he smokes 2 packs a day easily. I might
do almost one pack a day and developed a gross burning cough and that's
no good. I think your lungs are simply trying to expell all the toxins that have
built up over time. It might be best to see a doctor, but I do understand you
not being able to see one. I have no health insurance and mine charges 150
dollars for each visit. If it persists, I really would get it checked if you can.
 
How harmful is light smoking?

I've been curious lately as to how harmful a fairly moderate consumption of cigarettes would be. Say, if somebody were to smoke half a pack a week or so, without being fully dependent on nicotine.

My general philosophy tends to be that moderation in most things is usually acceptable, but I've been reading a bit about smoking and some studies seem to indicate that even very light smokers are causing damage to their arteries.

I don't really know much about this, does anybody happen to have a better idea about how harmful this actually is?
 
Nicotine is used as a pesticide btw.

Why do u neeeed this half pack of smokes a week.
You don't want to be addicted ( which is the reason most people continue to smoke. They don't want to but to satisfy their cravings they do)

I don't see the point .....

Just smoke something else that's worth smoking.
And no it's not called meth :-P
 
Smoking is a habit that moves from moderation to full blown addiction much more stealthily than many others. In a social sense it is far less damaging then most drugs. Its toll is cumulative and may be years off.

I think anti-smoking forces are sometimes slightly exaggerating about the totality of smoking's health effects. There is such an extensive, well proven body of knowledge that positively concludes that smoking is causal and contributory to grave health problems and death. Exaggerations aren't really necessary.

I'm sure smoking small amounts is in some way better than large amounts. Given that escalation can happen easily and that quitting is hard I'd suggest you quit if you can.
[I say all this as a heavy smoker]
 
Thanks for the feedback. I was actually a heavy smoker until last December, when I stopped. Last weekend I did some MDMA and that night I smoked a couple of cigarettes, which I enjoyed.

So yeah I've seen how cigarettes can easily escalate. I've quit several times only to start again within a few days/weeks/months. The thing is I never really tried to smoke occasionally. My intention was always to smoke every day all day, I just assumed it wasn't possible to smoke once in a while. But I know two people who were regular smokers who now smoke occasionally without any problem.

Also because I happen to be quite fascinated addiction lately, I'm kind of curious to see if I can somehow control something that I thought was not controllable. Kind of like I'm doing with other substances at the moment, after having given up for quite a while, trying to use them without causing any problems. So far seems to be going quite well.

I know that may sound a bit odd, but yeah, I'm odd.
 
I've quit several times but started up full time again. It's hard to abstain when you're around people that smoke all day. I cannot do it lightly now and I know it's harmful. Just lack the willpower/motivation to stop. I think of all the money I could save too.
 
I'd think light smoking will decrease the chances of illnesses like COPD dramatically as opposed to heavier smoking.. Smoking is probably to addictive to take this chance though.

I love the actual effect of smoking but I think it's really really gross. That shit sure gives me focus though. I have these moments every year where I will smoke about 5 cigs in a week and sometimes, especially when drinking I'll smoke a whole pack in a night (like a real fiend). I've decided to never do it again though because I might not be able to stop one day -or have a hard time doing it with all the associated wd's, fuck that-.
 
Unlike some other drugs (alcohol, cannabis), I don't think there is any evidence or belief (outside a few 3rd-world countries or the 17th Century ) that moderate tobacco use has any health benefits whatsoever, only parasitic consequences.

It is easy to forget that smoking affects more than just your lungs; everything from your blood to your brain and organs are impacted. A coworker's wife just died from a brain tumor that no doubt was spawned due to chronic smoking (he had some minor cancer a while ago too).

I've never been a "smoker" per se, tho I loved menthols in high school, and sometimes had 1-a-day with my smoking college buddies, or 3-6 when drinking & partying.
The fact that the next morning my throat was extremely sore (something not experienced with cannabis use, even unfiltered) made me realize just how damaging tobacco can be.
 
Legerity said:
I've been curious lately as to how harmful a fairly moderate consumption of cigarettes would be. Say, if somebody were to smoke half a pack a week or so, without being fully dependent on nicotine.

My general philosophy tends to be that moderation in most things is usually acceptable, but I've been reading a bit about smoking and some studies seem to indicate that even very light smokers are causing damage to their arteries.

I don't really know much about this, does anybody happen to have a better idea about how harmful this actually is?
Click to expand...

Well let see here:
Smoking tobacco as in inhaling a combustible material even moderately does not yield worthwhile results of benefit compared to average or heavy smoking.

Does the addiction to nicotine even matter at that point?
There are e-cigs.
In that case it would mater.

Nicotine itself doesn't seem to be that difficult to cease. It's the whole package that many seem unable t shake. This is why chewing nicotine gum to quit smoking does not hold more success IMO.


As to what we know about the physiological addiction to nicotine in reference to minimum dose and use before withdrawals occur, I have no idea.
 
Good points. I find it interesting that even among most drug users, smoking is discouraged. I remember when I was a teenager and starting to get into trouble with drug use, my father didn't try to do anything to stop me. But when he saw me start smoking he tried to suggest I try those herbal cigarettes without nicotine if I was going to smoke, he said that out of all the stupid things I was doing he felt the worst about the smoking. And sure enough, nicotine was more difficult to stop than anything else.

I was under the impression that more casual smokers were not doing any harm, but I think I was mistaken about this. I really doubt that once a month or something like that would cause any significant damage, but barely anybody, even "social smokers", will smoke that rarely.
 
I've been a light smoker for a couple of years, and I generally smoke about half a pack to a pack per week. I don't think I'm addicted to it - while home for the summer, I often don't smoke for days at a time because my parents don't know that I smoke, so I don't smoke when I'm around them. And apart from cravings, I've never experienced any signs of physical withdrawal, and I'm not sure if that has more to do with the actual habit of smoking or with the nicotine itself.

I only smoke additive-free tobacco, however, leading me to believe that perhaps there's some truth to the notion that you get just as addicted to the additives as you do to the nicotine. That said, I have no delusions about the dangers of smoking. But if I do catch my habit escalating, that'll be the end of it.
 
Secondhand Smoking and its Effects

Tobacco smoke is a byproduct of cigarette, cigar or pipe smoking. The burning of tobacco produces smoke which is exhaled by the smokers and inhaled involuntarily by non smokers and this is called second hand smoking or passive smoking. Second hand smoke is of two types. The first one is called the Mainstream smoke which is exhaled by a smoker. The second type is called Sidestream smoke which is released from the burning end of cigarette, cigar or from tobacco burning in the pipe.

During second hand smoking a person happens to inhale the cancer causing chemicals that is inhaled by the smokers. This smoke is known to contain 4000 chemicals out of which 250 are carcinogens and toxins. Both sidestream and mainstream smoke is known to be dangerous. But sidestream smoke is known to contain greater concentration of toxins as it is generated at lower temperatures and under different conditions. Second hand smoke is designated as a known human carcinogen and is also listed as an occupational carcinogen.

Second hand smoking is dangerous to individuals with asthma, bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease and other health issues. It affects children adversely by doubling the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease and increasing the risk of bronchiolitis, pneumonia, tonsillitis and asthma. The other effects of second hand smoking are irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, headaches, dizziness, nausea, aggravation of lung disease, reduction of good cholesterol in blood, increased risk of cold, flu and bronchitis.

A smoke free environment is the only way to reduce the dangers of second hand smoking. Quit smoking benefits include the reduction in second hand smoking too.
 
I've been using the NJOY brand with the new 2-n-1 cartriges (so theres only two pieces, you don't have to buy seperate atomizers). These things are fucking great. I get a big vapor hit and blow out a lot of vapor, so that satisfies my addiction to the actual smoking process. I can actually catch a buzz from a hard pull of an e-cig, especially if I'm buzzed already. I can 'smoke' in class and at work. I don't smell like shit around all them danm non-smokers. I don't have to buy gum/candy everyday to make my breath smell a little better.

Are e-cigs 100% safe? NO. They still contain carcinogens and some chemicals found and not found in regular cigarettes. BUT, the vapor contains about 20-30 ingredients, while real cigs have something like 1500-2000 chemicals (something like that).

My lungs are so much healthier now. I always ran long distances even after smoking cigs, 1-2 packs a day, for 6 years. But now when I run, I don't have that pain in my chest. It's not like I can run farther or anything, because I was always a great runner, but I just feel so much healthier. I feel cleaner. I feel good.
 
I got addicted while studying for the bar exam. I hated it... up and down, cranky as hell. Just awful. I went on bupropion (generic wellbutrin or zyban) and quit... effortlessly. It made cigs taste disgusing, and rendered all forms of nicotine completely inert. I had no choice in the matter. Even wiped the cravings out. I have no interest in having a cig, no matter how drunk I am, no matter the circumstance.

Speaking of alcohol...it also brought my craving for alcohol down by a good 80%. I had no intention of drinking less, but with the wellbutrin on board, I don't have that "itch" to get fucked up, I feel just fine to good socially, and the "poisonousness" of alcohol is a lot more apparent. You also get worse hangovers, which is a serious motivator. Whereas I used to go out and have 5-6 drinks and the same number of cigarettes, no I average 1-2 drinks, zero nicotine. Helps with the whole "remembering what happened" thing, and it's great to wake up on Saturday without feeling like shit.

Highly recommend at least checking it out.
 
The Hebrew Hammer said:
when i looked into e- cigarettes a while ago all my research told me there was no nicotine in them, that was the major reason I decided not to look into them anyfurther, I dont know if i read some bad info , or if things have changed in the last year or so.... can someone enlighten me?
Click to expand...

You can get cartridges with high, medium, low, or no nicotine.
 
I found it useful to quit, but ultimately, it did make me just "want a cigarette" instead of some substitute. I think the key with quitting any addiction/habit is that there is not a "one size fits all" answer. Some people use gum, some the patch, some an e-cig, others quit cold turkey. More important than the means is the desire.

I admire your desire to quit and certainly hope that you can. I would just recommend trying different things until you find out what works for you!
 
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