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Comment by oceanplexian | Hacker News Reader

It’s not tobacco (Which I’m convinced is not all that bad when stripped of all the processing and chemicals) but it’s whatever they are putting in the cigarettes.

Like about of folks here I enjoy a cigar from time to time (1-3 times a year) and suffer none of the addiction problems. The taste and aroma is legitimately nice, like having a nice cup of coffee or a scotch. But after smoking one there is no desire to have more and I’m usually smoked out for a few months to a year.

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It's not just "whatever they are putting in" that makes them addictive or pleasurable. There's just something about inhaling through a little stick and breathing out smoke/vapour.

I almost got addicted myself when someone gifted me a nicotine-free e-cigarette. At first it was a curiosity, then I ended up puffing it regularly. When it ran out my mind went immediately to acquiring more, but luckily I was able to catch what had happened and learnt something about cigarettes.

I wonder if there is a "sports stick" which doesn't use any vapor altogether and is just a stick with a paddlewheel which just makes inhaling harder lol

I use nasal snuff, it seems much less addictive.

> There's just something about inhaling through a little stick and breathing out smoke/vapour.

i think it might be related to the same breathing exercises some people do to control the vagus nerve, with the added help of some mild stimulants

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagus_nerve#Stimulation

slow breathe in (through some restrictor), small hold, then steady release

It’s tobacco - nicotine is highly addictive.

I never smoked normal cigarettes only used self-rolled tobacco without additives and I am still addicted.

Smoking cigars is different since they take out most of the nicotine carrying parts - at least that’s how a Cuban cigar maker explained it to me.

Nicotine is addictive, but not for long - somewhere between 3 days and one week. I don't smoke cigarettes anymore, but switched to vaping. Despite using no-nicotine liquid for ages, I still have cravings - not at all for real cigarettes, just for inhaling. The psychological addiction is far greater than the physical one.

So it is addictive long-term, the addiction is just psychological and little to no physical side effects. It still has the highest psychological addiction of any drug I tried (never used opiates which is the one that is more addictive imo)

I hear from people who did both that smoking is harder to quit. It's just not the nicotine itself, from experience.

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