Drug info - Recreational Use of Nicotine Gum?

[kalininin]

ok, here goes: post swiys experiences with nicotine chewing gum.
not meant for addicts, but for recreational substances enthousiasts.
are there benefits? does itchyness get reduced maybe, sleep-aid or how does it compare to tranquilizers ? these types of questions await answers.

Reputation Comments on this post:

great thread idea!

[PingoTango]

Theres nothing recreational about a nicotine buzz. Think the shakes, nausea, light headedness, fatigue...

[kalininin]

Originally Posted by PingoTango

Theres nothing recreational about a nicotine buzz. Think the shakes, nausea, light headedness, fatigue...

yeah, if some swims would hear these [side] effects n would also be told some interesting-named etnobotanical ancient plant produces them, they would be interested. what swiy is saying basically is, that somehow all the recreational value of cigarettes lies outside the nicotine.
swim himself think that nicotine chewing gum has qualities that valerian root has also. a sacred herb of old, as is tobacco itself.

Reputation Comments on this post:

ok, I guess you are onto somthing

[Paracelsus]

^^^ That sounds like someone took a bit too much. Nicotine is recreational, otherwise people wouldn't smoke or chew tobacco and get psychologically addicted to it. Back to experiences...

Reputation Comments on this post:

concise and helpful

[soma]

To say nicotine is not recreational is highly erroneous. It increases and extends the effects of dopamine in the body, thus producing a 'reward-like' effect in the brain.

"Brief exposure to low levels of nicotine not only boosts the brain’s ‘reward’ system but also blocks a rival system that limits the duration of such rewards, report University researchers in the March 14 issue of the journal Neuron. The finding helps scientists understand why nicotine addiction takes root so quickly and lasts so long.
In 2000, a team from the same laboratory demonstrated how the first exposure to nicotine can create an enduring ‘memory trace,’ which instills the desire to repeat the experience and amplifies the pleasing effects of subsequent nicotine exposure. The current paper reveals how nicotine prolongs the reward period by disabling the system that counterbalances the drug’s pleasant effects.
The reinforcing effect of nicotine is the primary reason people cannot quit smoking, despite widespread awareness that smoking causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, emphysema, bronchitis, vascular disease, cataracts and impotence. The World Health Organization attributes four million deaths each year to tobacco use.
“It would be difficult to design a better drug to promote addiction to this horrible habit,” said neurobiologist Daniel McGehee, Assistant Professor in Anesthesia & Critical Care and director of the study. “It takes only a few exposures to create a lasting memory of the rewards of smoking, which are reinforced by each cigarette smoked. Now we find that nicotine also suppresses the brain’s efforts to limit that pleasure.”
The brain reward areas serve to acknowledge and reinforce beneficial behaviors, for example, eating when hungry. Specialized nerve cells encourage the body to repeat pleasing behaviors by releasing dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with pleasant feelings, into these reward areas. “That was good,” is the basic message of increased dopamine levels. “Do it again.”
Unfortunately, drugs of abuse such as nicotine can usurp those pathways, providing the same sort of encouragement for harmful actions such as smoking.
McGehee and his colleagues, postdoctoral researchers Huibert Mansvelder and Russel Keith, working with brain tissue from rats, demonstrated how nicotine extends the duration of these rewards.
In previous work, McGehee’s team showed that nicotine produces pleasure by attaching to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor found on certain nerve cells. In response to nicotine, these nerve cells release a chemical signal called glutamate, which tells connected neurons to release dopamine. The more these nerve cells are excited, the more dopamine is released and the more pleasant the feeling.
In this paper, the researchers looked at the effects of nicotine on nerve cells that use a different chemical, called GABA, which inhibits dopamine release. These nerve cells have a slightly different version of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Although they respond to the initial nicotine exposure, these receptors quickly become overwhelmed and lose their power to generate repeated releases of GABA. This renders them unable to reign in the excitation caused by nicotine. They remain disabled for up to an hour.
“As a result,” said McGehee, “the reward system is turned on right away and it keeps sending reward signals for 60 minutes even though nicotine levels drop off 15 minutes after smoking. We suspect that this ability to extend the reward only enhances the drug’s ability to reinforce smoking.”
It may also provide a new target for drugs designed to help people stop smoking by interfering with nicotine’s effects."

Source: uchicago chronicle

[PingoTango]

As a heavy tobacco smoker, SWIM would have to disagree with all of you. There is nothing recreational about a nicotine buzz, from SWIM's point of view at least - he is fully familiar with the "reward like" effects of tobacco smoking, but takes no joy from it. He smokes purely out of force of habit, to sustain normality, not because he takes pleasure from the psychoactive effects of nicotine, and would wager that most smokers feel the same - the lack of replies to this thread would certainly reinforce this idea.

Here's a little experiment for all the non-smokers here: Go and buy yourselves a pack of nicotine gum or patches, and use as directed. You won't enjoy it, end of.

Reputation Comments on this post:

straight to the point

[vinylmesh]

yeah, because when you smoke tobacco only a very small amount of nicotine reaches your lungs.

There's loads of drugs out there that won't be euphoric untill you go over the reccomended dose. I remember watching a documentry called "tribe" where this guy goes and lives with some remote tribe or something. Anyway he was chewing tobacco all day and he said he definately felt high.

not sure what a good dose would be. Nicotine gum is expensive.

[Paracelsus]

yeah, because when you smoke tobacco only a very small amount of nicotine reaches your lungs.

Actually, smoking (or vaporizing) tobacco is the fastest delivery mechanism for nicotine. It does reach the brain and does exert its effects. The only thing is that it is enjoyable (and thus highly addictive) for certain people, and doesn't do anything for others. This is well-established by research (the specifics of this are also being uncovered - see, for example, this recent article) and happens with nicotine as well as other addictive drugs.

[vinylmesh]

When smoked it reaches your brain faster making it way more addictive but the effect of smoked nicotine isn't that great because although it's faster, less of it reaches your brain.

It's more addictive And it has a weaker effect.

That gene thing is interesting. Obviously nicotine would still have an effect (albeit weaker) on the people witout the gene.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine#Chemistry

"As shown by the physical data, free base nicotine will burn at a temperature below its boiling point, and its vapors will combust at 308K (35°C or 95°F) in air despite a low vapor pressure. Because of this, most of the nicotine is burned when a cigarette is smoked; however, enough is inhaled to provide the desired effects."

[Mutil]

Swim is a very infrequent smoker (and intends to keep it that way, but that's beside the point) and very much enjoys not only the action of smoking, but the effects it produces. They only last for a minute after he smokes, but they're really quite pleasant. he's enjoyed every cigarette he's had so far.

so Swim would say that yes, nicotine gum has some recreational value.

[wings of wax]

You talk about the pleasures of smoking, yet your conclusion is about nicotine gum.

[Mutil]

true...perhaps it would have been better to say that Swim assumes nicotine gum would have some recreational value.

[acid_phlux]

As Swim is a fairly heavy smoker, swim would also have to concur that smoking happens purely out of habit, and not for recreational reasons on Swims part anyway. There clearly is chemical behaviour going on in the background, that can't be denied, but on a level of awareness that Swim does not notice so therefore it feels just out of habit and not particularily for pleasure.

[tryptamaster]

swim actually jsut got some gum today. swim never smokes tobacoo.today he chewed a 4mg piece and initlly noticed an increased heartbeat and this weird burny feeling in the back of his throat. that always happens with ANY nicotine product. is that typical? then tho, swim got the usual relaxation and kinda buzznof the nictoine which was semi-enjoyable. swim plans to take his usual 10mg detroamphetamine tmrow and chew the gum all day and jsut drink alot of fluid to combot the burny feeling. swim thinks people who speed smoke like feinds so hes geusiing maybe the amp will make the gum more enjoyable. swim will report back on this. swim is actually going to go eat another peice...haha. swim really wants to see mre reports ffrom non-smoker.

[cuddlesthefox]

Just have a ciggie, at least you look cool.

[tryptamaster]

ya i mean, swim doenst find nicotine like, really cool or anything. hes jsut bored off his ass and was experimentign a lil.

[libertalism]

The only recreational use Nic gums have is to give it to none smokers saying that its just a gum and after they feel weird tell 'em you gave 'em a "insert evil sounding drug".

[Stop SWIMing and Drown]

Originally Posted by libertalism

The only recreational use Nic gums have is to give it to none smokers saying that its just a gum and after they feel weird tell 'em you gave 'em a "insert evil sounding drug".

That wouldn't work. You don't use nicotine gum like regular chewing gum. You have to chew it for a little to activate it and then rub it between your lip and gum for the nicotine to be absorbed. Just chewing it wouldn't do anything. And the people in this thread who think they have got a buzz from just chewing it are just experiencing a placebo effect.

You guys all sound really silly with this SWIM business. You guys do realize that nicotine is legal right? -_-

Stop SWIMing and Drown added 3 Minutes and 7 Seconds later...

I can't edit my post, but nicotine doesn't have much of a recreational value except for non smokers. Once you are a regular user of nicotine it really doesn't have any effect on you and you only take in more of it to feel normal. So no, those 1.2 billion daily smokers are not getting any recreational value out of nicotine, we are just feeding an addicition because we get cranky when we go without nicotine.

[doggy_hat]

Wouldn't chewing tobacco be just as effective(if not more so) as gum and be not as expensive, since dip isn't a heavily overpriced smoke cessation product?

[libertalism]

Yea but it tastes like fuck and you don't get the relaxing effect from breathing in and out deeper like with a cig.

Reputation Comments on this post:

	good point
	good point, helpful info

[Potter]

Nobody's consort mentioned that her friends who've used the patch, putting it on before going to sleep, all report very intense dreams. Neither of us has any personal experiences to back this up though.

[libertalism]

Did those ghosts have any tolerance for tobacco?

[Potter]

@ Libertalism - IF that was for nobody, yes, they were all addicts attempting to quit. Unfortunately nobody's consort is not a walker of the path of poisons and did not investigate these claims further, so the information she passed on, has been written above in its entirety.

[maletwickenham]

Swims friend read a guide on the internet to extract nicotine from tobacco. he tried it and said it was knock yourself down strong, he past out and had to drag himself to this bed. Swim's friend did way too much and he even said it felt more like a suicide attempt but heard from a forum that it was pleasurable. Swim will tell his friend to try chewing nicotine gum.

[Potter]

Be careful, the LD50 of nicotine is quite low, 40–60 mg (0.5-1.0 mg/kg) can be a lethal dosage for adult humans. 10mg is probably going to get rather uncomfortable. If you wish to pursue large dose nicotine experiments, go it in graduated steps and keep a bucket ready. The human body is not well designed to eject nicotine and once you start feeling it, it's going to be to late to stop. Do not do this if you have any heart issues.

Traditional tobacco shamans go through a dangerous, systematic initiation/addiction process to build huge tolerances, what they consume could easily kill a room full of American smokers.

Scolanacea are demons, and not to be tempted lightly. If you do not have the Solar Salt, they can easily overpower the unwary sorcerer.

Reputation Comments on this post:

	I did not know that, thanks for the info :)
	A very informative addition to the thread