For what that’s worth, when I quit smoking, I didn’t feel any withdrawal symptoms except being a bit nervous and irritable for a single day (and I’m not even sure if quitting was the cause, since it coincided with some stressful issues at work that could well have caused it regardless). That was after a few years of smoking something like two packs a week on average (and much more than that during holidays and other periods when I went out a lot).
From my experience, as well as what I observed from several people I know very well, most of what is nowadays widely believed about addiction is a myth.
Yes, I would think it would take around 5-10 cigarettes a day (or more) for at least a week to develop an addiction. While cigarettes (and heroin, and caffeine) are very physically addictive, it still takes sustained, moderately high use to develop a physical addiction. Most cigarette smokers describe their addictions in terms of “x packs per day”.
From what I can see before the paywall, it looks like I definitely didn’t meet the threshold under the best science, but I could probably cross it from 5 cigarettes per day. I’d only try that out if I were rewarded for doing it (but not for stopping as that would defeat the purpose of such an experience).
I read the article on paper before it was hidden in a paywall, so I can summarize some of the findings:
1) Rat brains are irrevocably changed by a single dose of nicotine.
2) Brains of rats that have never been exposed to nicotine (“non-smokers”), those that are currently given nicotine on a regular basis (“current smokers”), and those that used to be given nicotine on a regular basis but have been deprived of it for a long time (“former smokers”) are all distinguishable from each other.
3) The author notes that the primary effect of nicotine on addicted human smokers appears to be suppressing craving for itself.
4) The author hypothesizes that the brain has a craving-generating system and a separate craving-suppression system. (These systems apply to appetites in general, such as the desire to eat food.) He further goes on to speculate that the primary action of nicotine is to suppress craving. This has the effect of throwing the two systems out of equilibrium, so the brain’s craving-generation system “works harder” to counter the effects of nicotine. When the effects of nicotine wear off (which can take much longer than the time it takes for the nicotine to leave the body), the equilibrium is once again thrown out of balance, resulting in cravings. (The effects of smoking on weight are mentioned as support for this hypothesis.)
::followed link::
Did you ever experience nicotine withdrawal symptoms? In people who aren’t long-time smokers, they can take up to a week to appear.
For what that’s worth, when I quit smoking, I didn’t feel any withdrawal symptoms except being a bit nervous and irritable for a single day (and I’m not even sure if quitting was the cause, since it coincided with some stressful issues at work that could well have caused it regardless). That was after a few years of smoking something like two packs a week on average (and much more than that during holidays and other periods when I went out a lot).
From my experience, as well as what I observed from several people I know very well, most of what is nowadays widely believed about addiction is a myth.
No, never did. My best guess is that I didn’t smoke heavily enough to get a real addiction, though I smoked enough to get the psychoactive effects.
Yes, I would think it would take around 5-10 cigarettes a day (or more) for at least a week to develop an addiction. While cigarettes (and heroin, and caffeine) are very physically addictive, it still takes sustained, moderately high use to develop a physical addiction. Most cigarette smokers describe their addictions in terms of “x packs per day”.
Okay, then I guess my case isn’t informative … I’d use the pack/year metric instead instead of the pack/day.
I wish I could direct you to this Scientific American article so I could ask how it compares to your experiences, but it’s behind a paywall.
From what I can see before the paywall, it looks like I definitely didn’t meet the threshold under the best science, but I could probably cross it from 5 cigarettes per day. I’d only try that out if I were rewarded for doing it (but not for stopping as that would defeat the purpose of such an experience).
I read the article on paper before it was hidden in a paywall, so I can summarize some of the findings:
1) Rat brains are irrevocably changed by a single dose of nicotine.
2) Brains of rats that have never been exposed to nicotine (“non-smokers”), those that are currently given nicotine on a regular basis (“current smokers”), and those that used to be given nicotine on a regular basis but have been deprived of it for a long time (“former smokers”) are all distinguishable from each other.
3) The author notes that the primary effect of nicotine on addicted human smokers appears to be suppressing craving for itself.
4) The author hypothesizes that the brain has a craving-generating system and a separate craving-suppression system. (These systems apply to appetites in general, such as the desire to eat food.) He further goes on to speculate that the primary action of nicotine is to suppress craving. This has the effect of throwing the two systems out of equilibrium, so the brain’s craving-generation system “works harder” to counter the effects of nicotine. When the effects of nicotine wear off (which can take much longer than the time it takes for the nicotine to leave the body), the equilibrium is once again thrown out of balance, resulting in cravings. (The effects of smoking on weight are mentioned as support for this hypothesis.)