Is cocaine really less addictive than nicotine

[AvenaSativa]

I've never really ever sought out powder cocaine. I smoked crack once but I know it's way stronger. That being said I think crack is way more addictive than nicotine, although I never got addicted to it I have been addicted to nicotine for the past 6 or 7 years. It's just crack is so powerful one time is all it takes. I've been vaping as a form of nicotine replacement, and it's been keeping the real withdrawal away, but I've been craving a cigarette nonstop for a while now. But cocaine at least gets you high, is it really less addictive? Nicotine is powerful but it's not really a high.

 

[gmlifer]

I've been hooked on Coke before. It even got to the point of being a daily habit. I would consume at work and at home. I would go as far as to say it was a VERY large habit. I've also smoked for 20 years. I was able to quit the Coke but I still smoke.

I'm not sure that smoking is that much more addictive but with Coke you know you are putting your life at risk because if you are a person that has done a lot of it then at some point you have almost overdosed or did overdose. Because of overdosing I believe it makes the motivation to quit the Coke much higher than smoking.

 

[Slow_Mobius]

Individually, it will vary, but they're usually considered similar addiction liabilities.

The fact that nicotine is more available and is a very functional buzz might be part of the reason why many people are more likely to get addicted to nicotine

 

[mike.vick]

I bet if they sold 20 bumps for $5 a pack they would be at least equivilant and one would make you psychotic possibly (cocaine)
But if the US FDA can regulate 9 grams of cold medicine per month with I.D. - they could do ~1.35 g of coke per month

 

[kleinerkiffer]

Od -> DC

 

[Cocaine_Brain]

Actually, research has shown a link between nicotine addiction and the potential of being addicted to cocaine. It has something to do with the way both drugs stimulate similar areas of the brain and in similar ways I believe.

I was a smoker for a year and a few months, but I quit because smoking isn't good. Now, I can't say if I had been addicted to it or not since I could weeks without needing to consume, but I just felt like I needed it. It was a very mild sense of "need," like "Oh, I wish I had a smoke or two right now. Let me just go get one."

In the eyes of most people, yes, cocaine is addictive. But I personally don't think its addiction potential compares to those of methamphetamine or alcohol. Even heroin I find is not really addictive.

The only thing that determines whether an individual becomes addicted to something is the existence of self-control/moderation, or lack thereof. If you have will power to put down the pipe or put the cocaine away and use another day, you can go a great way towards living an addiction-free life.

 

[mike.vick]

^^^ cocaine (and I think all addictive drugs) change a gene in your brain called FOS, the changed-FOS gene is appropriatley called C-FOS and this is believed to be a big factor in addiction..

But yeah, the grimy feeling coke gives you is aversive to continued use, and the exponential expense in comparison to anything else.

Heroin is INCREADIBLY addictive, the most addictive drug, with ~30% of one-time users eventually report becoming addicted.

Alcohol is INCRADIBLY aversive to addiction considering the horrible hangover, taste, ect..

The only thing that determines whether an individual becomes addicted to something is the existence of self-control/moderation, or lack thereof. If you have will power to put down the pipe or put the cocaine away and use another day, you can go a great way towards living an addiction-free life.

I disagree with this statement as well, very over-simplified and simply false. The most self-controlled person can become addicted to opiates to the point of fatal ODs, The most self-controlled person can easily become dependent on benzos, to the point of fatal WDs. "Putting the pipe or putting the cocaine away" is VERY easy to say, but it just doesn't work that way.

 

[SirTophamHat]

IIRC, the notion of nicotine being more addictive than heroin, crack, etc. is based on dosage. An average cigarette only contains a couple mg of nicotine, and even less than that is fully absorbed or bioavailable.

So if you consider that a dose of nicotine is in the range of a couple milligrams or less, you can see how a single cigarette may be more addicting or relieving to an addict than a couple milligrams of diacetylmorphine, cocaine in base form, whatever.

 

[Cocaine_Brain]

I disagree with this statement as well, very over-simplified and simply false. The most self-controlled person can become addicted to opiates to the point of fatal ODs, The most self-controlled person can easily become dependent on benzos, to the point of fatal WDs. "Putting the pipe or putting the cocaine away" is VERY easy to say, but it just doesn't work that way.

If that is how you feel. Firstly, it is not over-simplified; it is the foundation of all addictions. If any "self-controlled" individual is using drugs such that he becomes addicted to them, he clearly is not self-controlled. There is a mighty difference between using drugs for their recreational value and using drugs because one is addicted to them and needs to use to fight off withdrawal.

It does work that way. Everybody has his or her own patterns of drug use; some use more, some use less. But in any case, there was no self-control if one has become addicted to drugs.

Also, alcohol isn't "aversive," as you say, and neither is cocaine. Cocaine doesn't give me any comedown; I just gradually level off with no craving. If there are cravings, they exist when I'm peaking and not when I am coming down. The easiest thing to do to avoid hangovers is to just drink water. Literally. Drink as much water as you are drinking alcohol and you'll wake up the next day with 0 migraines. The hangover is caused by your cells becoming extremely dehydrated.