this post was submitted on 05 Oct 2023
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[–] [email protected] 182 points 1 year ago (125 children)

Everyone here is arguing the benefits of prohibition. I'm just interested to know how much money Rishi (and/or his family members/friends/donors) have invested in vaping and nicotine alternatives.

[–] [email protected] 101 points 1 year ago (95 children)

It always confuses me to learn that when people want to ban smoking it somehow means ban "cigarettes" and not "nicotine"

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (14 children)

Nicotine is one of the safest stimulants we know, up there with caffeine in terms of safety. There's little meaningful reason to ban nicotine. You're more likely to harm yourself with any number of other things we readily allow.

The addiction potential of nicotine alone is also far lower than people assume, because smoking is highly addictive both due to the rituals and the other substances involved. I tried to get used to nicotine via patches years back to use as a safe stimulant, and not only did I not get addicted, I couldn't get used to it (and I was not willing to get myself used to smoking, given the harm that involves). That's not to say you can't develop addictions to patches or vapes etc. too, but much more easily when it's as a substitution for smoking than "from scratch".

Restrictions on delivery methods that are harmful or not well enough understood, and combining nicotine with other substances that make the addiction and harm potential greater, sure.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I tried to get used to nicotine via patches years back to use as a safe stimulant, and not only did I not get addicted, I couldn't get used to it

Well of course not. You weren't getting the dopamine rush of a large acute dose rushing from your lungs directly to your brain in a matter of seconds.

What the heck kind of hot take is this?

Regardless, the dangers – including ease of addiction – are well-known and are scientifically proven. Your anecdata of one does not change that.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

Well of course not. You weren’t getting the dopamine rush of a large acute dose rushing from your lungs directly to your brain in a matter of seconds.

So in other words, you're saying I didn't pick the right delivery method to get me addicted. Which was my point.

Regardless, the dangers – including ease of addiction – are well-known and are scientifically proven. Your anecdata of one does not change that.

Missing the point: 1) a large part of the addiction for most people is down to delivery, not nicotine itself - something you yourself used as an argument against my anecdote above -, and most of the research focuses on that. 2) the remaining addiction potential of nicotine is real, and proven, but it's also nothing particularly special compared to other things we're fine with seeing the addiction to as ranging from a nuisance (e.g. caffeine) to a problem that doesn't justify prohibition (any more), like alcohol.

My point was not that it's impossible to get addicted to nicotine, but that confusing nicotine vs. nicotine via a given delivery method is not helpful.

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