Nicotine Addiction...as bas as they say, or all in your head?

[CascadianExotics]

For the past few days I've been doing an experiment on myself. NO NIC!!!! (insert impending doom theme music here while everybody gasps in surprise and terror) Now, since I started trying my hand at DIY a couple months ago I got in the habit of making 0mg juice to try new recipes so I do not waste precious nicotine. However, the juices I've liked, I've vaped so as not to waste precious clouds. All of a sudden, I found myself inadvertently going stretches of 6 hours or more without nic...and not missing it at all! So, I decided to go without nic for a day...then one day turned into almost a week. At this point, I am treating nic like I would caffeine. A short vaping session here and there as a pick-me-up, but nothing more as I really do not need it. This got me thinking. Is the nicotine addiction merely a leftover thought-program from being convinced by the Surgeon General throughout all these years of smoking that it (nicotine) is a "powerfully addictive substance," rather than the 4000 OTHER chemicals intentionally put into cigarettes? If not, then why are patches, gums, lozenges, and inhalers not more effective? But if it is, then why is it that vapers refuse to let go of the nic (and thereby subject themselves to FDA regulation)? Or at least dose it down, and use responsibly? All rhetoric aside, I am interested in hearing YOUR thoughts on the matter. Please discuss!!

Edited September 16, 2013 by CascadianExotics

[CascadianExotics]

Forgot to mention that I've been without a real cig for over 8 months....

[IMEDICx90]

Ah so we meet again. haha I have noticed the same thing. I'm only 3 months in but I have been trying out 0mg and 2mg nic. I don't need the nicotine as much as I did... But there are times where I grab some 2-4mg juice and vape on it for a few minutes... Then I go back to my original juice. I think the act of vaping more so then the nicotine satisfies me. And the clouds..... Gotta have the clouds......

[mcquinn]

I think there are other components in tobacco that make it so addictive. I also have noticed not being able to vape or vaping no nic doesn't bother as bad as not smoking did. Back in the day people just smoked occasionally and would go for long periods without .Being hooked is a pretty modern problem it seems. And the old timers didn't have the health problem we are having. Could have to do with other lifestyle factors as well though.

[bcartervol98]

If I could vape 0% nic I would have a lot of stuff for sale lol. Dropped to 18 but am noticing my Vamo is rarely anywhere but in my hand. At 24mg I would get to they point where I knew I had enough. I guess over time the body adjusts. I kinda see vaping 0nic as the same thing as drinking Odouls or any other non alcoholic beer, etc... Nothing wrong with it, just not something I would ever do.

I never know how to say this but I like "not smoking" a lot more than the act of vaping if I am being real. Filling tanks, charging this and that...it's really something I do not enjoy. But I enjoy not smoking, not coughing up brown crap, not dropping $500-$600 a month on smokes, not stinking without realizing it, tasting food, the list goes on and on.

But let's be real, for a lot of people this is a safer way to get nicotine not a way to kick the nicotine addiction. I cannot see this advancing for me beyond what it is now, but I do it because I am addicted to nicotine and this is what it takes to not get lung cancer, emphysema, COPD, or any of the diseases smoking causes.

I prefer vaping to smoking, but if I could blink my eyes and not be addicted to nicotine tomorrow I would happily do neither if that makes sense.

Just realized that became a bit of a rant lol.

[Bebop]

I may or may not be addicted to nicotine. Can't say for sure.

I'm definitely addicted to the action of smoking. Which may have something to do with how easily I was able to drop the analogs when I found vaping.

I definitely have an unpleasant reaction to too little nic. I inadvertently dropped my nic levels too fast - 24mg to 6mg and I got moody, lol.

But I don't think that negates any addiction to other substances as well.

I think, as with ANY addiction, there are psychological/spiritual elements playing in tandem with chemical physiological addiction.

Vaping surely removes many of the physical aspects of addiction. It's, hands down, superior to smoking in regard to physical addiction.

[CascadianExotics]

By the term, "physical addiction, " do you mean, "physical reaction to a chemical addiction?" Because, vaping is HIGHLY physically addictive. On the one hand, you have Throat Hit upon inhalation, and the visual reward of blowing out a cloud of vapor upon exhale. On the other hand, you have the hand-to-mouth addiction similar to biting nails or sucking your thumb. @Bcartervol98: I understand the viewpoint, and completely relate to the O'Dhouls comparison...no freaking way would I ever drink that crap!!! However, at only a couple months in, you've not had time to fully detox either. Probably should have put that in the original post, but wasn't thinking about that at the time, lol!

Edited September 17, 2013 by CascadianExotics

[Bebop]

By the term, "physical addiction, " do you mean, "physical reaction to a chemical addiction?" Because, vaping is HIGHLY physically addictive.

By physical addiction I mean the body's dependence on continuing to receive the various chemicals introduced in to it and the reactions the body has to the withdrawal of those chemicals.

On the one hand, you have Throat Hit upon inhalation, and the visual reward of blowing out a cloud of vapor upon exhale. On the other hand, you have the hand-to-mouth addiction similar to biting nails or sucking your thumb

See, I think of those as psychological reactions, sensations, compulsions and the desire to maintain those or seek them out.

[bcartervol98]

The last analog I had was on April 19th, a little more than a couple months imo.

[CascadianExotics]

Still not enough to fully detox from however many decades of smoking... Not trying to minimize the accomplishment, because 5 months is a great feat, indeed! Congrats!

Edited September 17, 2013 by CascadianExotics

[bcartervol98]

Thanks Cascade. I get what you are saying. I know I will never smoke a cigarette again either way. I do know that I have physical withdrawals without nicotine. It took me a week or so to adjust to the drop from 24mg to 18mg without having a hard time sleeping, on edge the whole time, and sort of being an A-hole to those around me. I dropped because the 24mg was dehydrating me too bad. The 18 has now become the norm and after another 3-4 months I may try a drop to 12 but I would say that's as low as I will go without a plan to quit.

I have always struggled to consider vaping "quitting smoking" in a sense but more like choosing a healthy alternative since I truly believe nicotine is one of the most addictive substances humans use and that addiction is at the core of smoking. I would imagine if nicotine could be removed from a smokers analogs without them knowing it, they would have the same physical withdrawals as someone quitting cold turkey even though they are satisfying their oral fixation and also that the act of smoking might prevent psychological withdrawals to an extent.

Edited September 17, 2013 by bcartervol98

[Havamal]

I think that addiction is relative to the individuals biochemistry, some people are just more susceptible to addiction than others. I have known people that have done hard drugs and just stop and others that can't without rehab assistance. Smoking is a rather unique addiction because stress plays a key factor in smoking levels. I know people that literally start to twitch if they go to long with out a smoke and then there are people like me that only smoked when I was at work (high stress job), I could go an entire week on vacation without even thinking about a smoke but as soon as I jumped in the car to come to work that was all I could think about.

My personal opinion is that the habit of smoking is the bigger addiction than the actual chemical make up of a cigarette, however that being said, the chemicals that are present in cigarettes do play a big part and react differently with an individual depending on how susceptible they are to addiction. The one thing that I miss from analogs is the head rush you would get, I don't get that vaping so the "head rush" must be from the tobacco itself and the chemicals they add not the nicotine.

As far as the older generation not being as addicted as bad, I think if you could go back and track when cigarette companies started adding more chemicals to their product you probably could see a matching trend with the addiction levels. The cigarettes of our grandfathers was a much purer product.

(I hope my early morning ramblings make sense )

Edited September 17, 2013 by Havamal