Weed makes food, sex, music, nature, movies, games, etc feel better and it doesn't kill you. So what do people get out of smoking cigarettes? Why are they worth a small fortune and an early grave?
It keeps me sane throughout the day. Nicotine actually does have some benefits, its the smoking that kills you. Really though I dont know. Im a smoker and ask myself every day why I do it. It gives a mild buzz for about 30 seconds after each drag and thats about it. If im stressed out I smoke and everything is fine. I think I do it because im not happy with being sober, so I do anything that will take me even slightly away from sobriety. Sent from my SCH-R950 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Thanks for the thoughtful reply but how can you be sure the amount of stress you feel before being helped by a cigarette isn't from nicotine withdrawal?
Relaxes me, helps suppress hunger, enjoyable, something to do. Wish I didn't smoke but I don't want to quit.
It probably is. Its an addictive stimulant, so the initial effect is good, but it taxes your bodys natural neurotransmitters. After that its just a nasty self perpetuated cycle. Also there is just something about the act of smoking that I like. I can't legally smoke weed right now, and iv noticed my cig smoking is through the roof. Maybe ill kick the cigs after I can smoke weed again. Sent from my SCH-R950 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
For me it was an addiction. I could say it was because it helped to deal with stress but really most of the time I was stressed because I wanted a smoke, catch 22. It felt like it filled a lot of empty spaces during my day, especially driving in the car or breaks at work. It was sort of ritualistic in a way. Eventually I got sick of it and quit, it took a few tries to quit over the years but it eventually stuck, so far its been 532 days today. The whole reason I even started was to piss my boyfriend-at-the-time off. He hated smokers so I bought a pack of smokes and started smoking. Stupid mistake.
As someone who escaped the clutches of nicotine addiction, but still smokes a cig, pipe, or hookah once every few months or so, I can say without question that the relief is not just relief from withdrawal. A good strong tobacco buzz is one of the most enjoyable experiences you can have as a biological being. It melts away all physical stress immediately and makes you feel like everything is gonna be ok. Though this feeling never lasts more than a couple minutes at the most. Which I think is part of what makes it so easy to get addicted to. It is a wonderous drug, but heed my warning people...you cannot use this one every day without becoming addicted. Go to a hookah bar once every few months and spend an entire evening wrapped in nicotine's warm embrace. But then refrain for months afterward. You will be tempted to tell yourself "oh, I can do it again once more this month." Once more this month will turn into once more this week. Then that will turn into buying cigarettes for once a day. Then twice a day, and so on and so forth.
They're the absolute best thing ever!!! Not really, I just quit about 2 weeks ago and I've been having those cravings...
Nicotine is a relaxant for the nervous system and these days a lot of people have issues with their nervous system.. but its a double edged sword due to its addiction. In small doses, it'll relax you.. in high doses it'll still relax you, but to the point where its basically agitating your nervous system in the long run. Thing is, you can't really say it leads to an early grave.. if you're a self destructive person, you typically put a beating on your body, forcing it to be stronger. I'm sure we've all met people who treat their body like shit and seem to live forever..
Cigarettes kill millions of people every year. Unless all those people are obese or something then it's perfectly reasonable to blame cigarettes for their demise.
And almost the same amount of people die every year from a water related illness. If it is your time to die, it's your time.. no matter what your habits. There is a fine line between everything, smoking a lil bit isn't going to murder you.. it's when it becomes an addiction that it starts to hurt your nervous system. Even then, there are people who treat their body like shit and will live longer than someone who doesn't.. because they are stressing their body and making it tougher. In the US alone there is close to 50 million smokers.. it wouldn't surprise me if there were over a billion in the world, maybe even closer to 2 billion. And tobacco related deaths are at like 5 million per year.. it's really a small percentage. Yes, cigarettes aren't good for you.. but what is these days? Anything in excessively large quantities can and often will kill you.
Nicotine is a CNS stimulant, increasing heart and blood pressure, increasing bowel activity and suppressing the appetite. These effects are all characteristics of stimulants like coffee and others which cannot be discussed. Relaxing effects on anxiety/stress levels are mainly due to a user feeding their addiction, and could also be attributed to a smoker's controlled inhalation/exhalation similar to someone doing yoga or relaxing breathing exercises. EDIT: As for myself, I did smoke. The main effects I noticed were dizziness and nausea, which went away the longer I kept up the habit as my body got used to it. Since I stopped, even if I take one drag I will experience these effects along with a headache that may last the rest of the day. I still enjoy the occasional cigar though!
Well on average cigarettes kill you ten years earlier than usual. Maybe it's worth it, maybe it isn't. This thread is about figuring out which.
It is also a relaxant.. as oxymoronic as that sounds. That is the point of it, it is one of it's defenses. Insects that feed on tobacco plants get a dose that relaxes their nervous system.. usually making it easier for them to be picked off by a predator. If they continue, it builds up and wrecks havoc on their nervous system. It's the same with us, only takes much larger doses. http://www.quit.org.au/about/frequently-asked-questions/how-does-smoking-affect-my-body/muscles-fat-bones.html Talking about your skeletal muscles, which pretty much go hand in hand with your nervous system.. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090423193946.htm Demonstrating the calming effect in non-smokers.. meaning they aren't feeding their addiction and experiencing the calming effect. Bet you can't find any legit scientific literature to back that claim up.. I never said smoking is worth anything. Did you miss where I said they aren't really good for you and that they're a double edged sword? You seem to be against cigarettes, so when someone takes a neutral approach to them that doesn't agree with you, your brain automatically assumes they're trying to say they are good. Cigarettes aren't good for you, but they're not as bad as people who fear monger say they are. Claiming that you'll see an early grave, that they will kill you 10 years earlier than usual is fear mongering..
Bet I can: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/tobacco_related_mortality/?mobile=nocontent And denying that cigarettes cause premature death isn't a neutral position.
Already seen that one and it's a bullshit study.. It only looked at about 200,000 people over a 7 year period. That's not enough to make a judgement claim like this, especially when there are about a billion smokers world wide right now. Not only that, it makes another bullshit claim that quitting smoking will gain you years back on your life. Sorry, but that's bullshit. No amount of anything can accurately say a person will gain years to their life.. so please, find me something legit that doesn't reference this bullshit study. Every thing I found that made this 10 year claim references this study.. you'd think there would be more than one. And never did I deny that they can kill you.. You are making the claim that they WILL, not that they might. Anything in mass can kill you.. that's a no-brainer. Water and oxygen can kill you if you overdo it. You're on some next level fear mongering like those lame Truth commercials. Yes, they are harmful when you're a heavy user.. Yes, they can kill you.. but will they for sure? Depends on the person and all their other lifestyle choices. It's but a drop in the bucket leading to your death.. not death itself.