Tobacco Q&A

Tobacco wasn't created but rather discovered and used by Indigenous peoples in the Americas long before European colonization. It has a long history of cultural and medicinal use among Native American tribes, who smoked, chewed, or used tobacco for spiritual, medicinal, and ceremonial purposes. Tobacco is so addictive primarily because of nicotine, the primary active substance in tobacco. Nicotine affects the brain in ways that lead to dependence and addiction, making it hard for people to quit once they start using tobacco products.

Nicotine stimulates dopamine cell bodies in the ventral tegmental area directly by interacting with receptors on their surfaces and/or indirectly by altering the activity of other neurotransmitter inputs projecting from distal brain areas. It can also block the inhibitory control of GABA interneurons over VTA dopamine cell bodies, resulting in increased VTA dopamine activity.

This straightforward answer is CASH. Electronic cigarettes sales reached $22.5 billion and are expected to reach $47.5 billion by 2028! Companies that make these have a huge cost-to-benefit ratio. It is a profitable market for them, so why would they stop? The tobacco industry is notorious for marketing to teens because they are entirely aware of & complicit in the knowledge that cigarettes cause the death of 50% of people who use them, so they need to market to find inexperienced users.

Both are harmful. Cigarettes have more chemicals and are linked to lung cancer and heart disease. But vaping is not safe either—it contains nicotine (which is very addictive) and other harmful chemicals that can damage your lungs and brain. For young people, vaping can be especially dangerous because the brain is still developing.

Nicotine, by far.

Nicotine is the most addictive drug; addiction occurs very rapidly and is hard to treat. Heroin (and oxy, Vicodin) are so addictive that they are dangerous; withdrawal becomes worse and worse, and the risk of OD is high.

The reward system in the brain controls pleasure and motivation. Drugs like nicotine cause a rush of dopamine, a chemical that makes you feel good. But over time, the brain gets used to the drug and needs more to feel the same way, which can lead to addiction.

Nicotine is addictive because it quickly reaches the brain and releases dopamine, which makes people feel good. The problem is that this feeling doesn’t last long, so people want to use it again and again. Over time, the brain gets used to it, making it harder to quit. This is why cigarettes, vapes, and other nicotine products are so hard to stop using once someone starts.

Nicotine

It depends on the drug; nicotine is very, very addictive, and leads to compulsive use quickly. It is hard to get off of nicotine, but it is always worth the attempt. The use of nicotine substitution or Chantix helps a lot. If cannabis is being smoked, in the flower form, it takes a few weeks before the onset of tolerance (which means the line is crossed and it will be difficult to stop). Warning signs include needing more to get high than before, starting to use earlier and earlier in the day, increasing boredom when not using, and craving. A new medication, gabapentin, makes it a lot easier to get off of cannabis. Hence, if a user wants not to get addicted, they should not use more than 3 times in a seven-day period. The use of concentrates, like hash, wax/glass, oil, or vape leads to addiction much more quickly than smoking bud. Many kids were shocked that nicotine was considered a drug A “drug” is a chemical that activates the pleasure system in the brain and makes you feel good. Nicotine does this, and also turns on brain pathways that lead to “calm alertness”. Nicotine is one of the most addictive chemicals known, and leads to a high mortality rate, even though it takes decades for it to produce harm. “Juul” is a high nicotine vape delivery system that quickly leads to addiction, with difficult withdrawal symptoms. In people addicted to nicotine, withdrawal leads to the opposite effects, agitation and sluggish thoughts. About half of the people who become addicted to nicotine will die of a nicotine-related disease.

Nicotine

Nicotine intoxication produces a feeling of calm alertness and allows users to moderate how they feel on a continuous basis.

You are correct: if you care about someone you don’t sit there and not offer to help. Tell them that you care about them, but you’re worried about their juuling. They will develop addiction, in a surprisingly short time. Once that happens, the need to vape will continue to increase, and users will spend increasing money to avoid withdrawal symptoms. Your friends should know that there is help for any teen who wants to get rid of the habit. Doctors prescribe medications with proof that they help stop nicotine addiction. Always, don’t just stop smoking, but find other ways of adjusting your mood and calming down. Thinks like going for a walk don’t work at first, but use of nicotine gum makes it much easier until walking kicks in. It often helps teens that are contemplating nicotine cessation to do “the experiment.” Don’t use nicotine and see if any withdrawal symptoms appear. If you really need to smoke and can vape even though that it isn’t good for you—you are addicted to the drug nicotine. Nicotine addiction is increasing as the main cause of death all over the world.

Juuls is a concentrated form of nicotine, together with flavorings. The main problem with Juuls or vaping is addiction: before too long, vapers will have to continue using to avoid nicotine withdrawal, including irritability, trouble concentrating and craving for nicotine. It is expensive to support a vape habit and most people eventually move to cigarettes or chew.

Vapers are in serious danger of developing a serious and deadly lung disease. There have been 15 deaths so far, and many others developed lung disease and survived. This appears to be seen in vapes that are bought on the street and aren’t “name brands.” There is early evidence that vapes contain chemicals that can cause cancer. Although it may take years for cancer to develop, it is often fatal. Of course, the most common and serious complication of vaping is addiction: inability to stop using, causing problems, development of craving, and confused thinking that leads to relapse. Many nicotine addicts will turn to smoking tobacco, which leads to early death for about half of people who smoke it.

You are doing the right thing by being worried. If you care about a person, you offer them help. Continue to let your friend know that you care about them and are worried about their habit of vaping. Explain to them that there are resources if they want to stop vaping such as medication and there are other ways to adjust to the absence of nicotine like going on walks or chewing nicotine gum. Let them know that vaping can lead if it isn’t already to a nicotine addiction that is very difficult to stop. Since they are getting angry when you take the vape away, they are most likely experiencing withdrawal symptoms which is not a good feeling. Ultimately you cannot control their behavior and it is not your responsibility to take their vape away but by sharing this information they will know that you are a good person to go to if they want to stop.

Vaping addiction, primarily caused by nicotine dependence, can be challenging to overcome, but recovery is absolutely possible with the right strategies and support. Like other addictions, quitting requires breaking both the physical dependence on nicotine and the psychological habit of vaping. Steps include: Recognize the addiction Set a quit date and plan Use nicotine replacement therapy or medication Behavioral support and therapy Replace vaping with healthy habits Prepare for withdrawal symptoms Stay accountable and prevent relapses

There is little chance of a nicotine overdose by using a vape. However, it does mean that you are MUCH more likely to begin using addictively and suffer from long-term health issues as a result.

Drugs of abuse all activate specific chemical pathways in the brain, especially the part of the brain that senses pleasure and reward. Overuse of substances causes the brain to “neuroadapt” leading to the need to use larger and stronger doses to get high (tolerance) and a crash after using, going as low as you were high. Weed, alcohol and nicotine all overstimulate the pleasure system, so that using all three leads to appearance of tolerance/withdrawal sooner. Someone using a lot of drugs should ask themselves if they’re doing it only to get high, or because their sad, angry, bored, depressed, anxious. When a drug is used for more than just getting high, risk of relying on the drug to feel better sets in, higher risk of addiction, and worsening of their unhappiness.

Medically, this is called “Bullshit.” Nicotine vaping relieves anxiety stress very well, but it only lasts about 30 to 60 minutes after vaping. Cannabis vapes relieve stress but make you stupid.

The number of vape flavors is virtually endless, as the vaping industry has created a wide variety of flavors, many of which are constantly being developed, modified, and marketed. Flavors can range from simple options like fruit and mint to more complex blends, including desserts, beverages, candies, and even savory flavors.

Vapes, also known as electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), are battery-powered devices that heat a liquid (often referred to as e-liquid or vape juice) to produce an aerosol that is inhaled. The process mimics smoking but without the combustion of tobacco.

Nicotine is poisonous in high doses. This is particularly concerning when concentrated e-cigarette liquids are ingested, or nicotine patches are used improperly. Calls to the Poison Control Center have increased and deaths have been reported in young children who accidentally ingest e-cigarette refills, since the flavored vaping liquids look and taste enticing to them. In fact, ingesting one teaspoon of concentrated liquid nicotine can be fatal for the average 26-pound toddler.

A single cigarette isn’t harmful; however, if the user really likes how tobacco makes them feel they will keep doing it until they get addicted to it. From that point, they will want to smoke for the rest of their life.

This depends on the doses of nicotine in the vape and the cigarette, the number of puffs a person would take vaping or smoking, how much the person inhales, and how each person processes and metabolizes nicotine. For a very general difference, a 20mg/ml vape, with 40mg of nicotine is the equivalent of smoking one or two packs of 20 cigarettes.

Nicotine in vape pens is highly concentrated nicotine, enough to use as an insecticide. In high doses, nicotine is fatal for humans. Contacting the fluid when refilling a vape is risky and immediate hand washing is necessary to prevent getting sick. The vapor from a vape probably has other chemicals in it besides nicotine. They can irritate the throat and lungs, and possibly increase the risk of cancer. Vapes are extremely expensive, and the nicotine high is pitifully weak. However, nicotine will lead to the death of half of the people who use nicotine.

The most addicting drug is nicotine, because users learn how to manage how they feel, moment to moment. Nicotine produces “calm alertness” and the withdrawal is “anxious brain fog.” Other than that, addicting drug repetitively overstimulate the brain pleasure centers until they stop producing interest, pleasure or reward. In this group, opiates (especially heroin/fentanyl), methamphetamine, and cocaine. How quickly and severely a drug becomes addicted depends on how fast and high they come on, and how quickly the high fades off. Eating drugs is the least addicting, snorting drugs is more addicting, smoking drugs is more addicting, and intravenous or intra-anal injection are the most addicting and produce the most overdoses.