Does anyone know more about how nicotine is delivered to the body from different methods of use? I have smoked cigarettes, cigars, and pipes; and snuffed, dipped, and chewed. I currently mostly snuff tobacco, but sometimes smoke a pipe and occasionally a cigarette or cigar. I can snuff all day long and be fine and then smoke a cigarette after dinner and need to sit down. How is nictotene delivered to the body? I don’t get a body buzz with snuff, just a calmness; but cigarettes hit my body hard. Pipes and cigars seem to be a gradual delivery with cigars packing more of a punch to the stomach? I can’t figure it all out. I know that the amount of nicotine delivered to the body is much greater when inhaled as smoke into the lungs. Well… maybe I don’t know this? I’m trying to also better understand and am probably more interested in understanding this concept within the snuff spectrum itself.

Could be partly the impact of carbon monoxide. I think I’m quite sensitive to carbon monoxide, and cigarettes make my head spin and give me tremors. I don’t get that with a pipe or a cigar, let alone snuff. There’s a lot more to the equation than just nicotine.

From my understanding when inhaling tobacco smoke the nicotine (found in tiny droplets attached to the tar and particulates in the smoke) enters the bloodstream quickly through the capillaries in the lungs. It is the fastest delivery method, second only to injecting it directly into the veins. Also, the addition of PH adjusters in cigarettes, free more of the nicotine available. All this provides for a high spike in nicotine rather quickly, which is probably why you are experiencing the intensified nicotine rush. If not inhaling tobacco smoke, in the case of pipes and cigars, chew, dip, snus, snuff etc the nicotine enters through mucosal membranes in either the mouth or nose albeit at a much slower rate of intake. Although these methods are slower if you dose up enough I think one can get a massive amount of nicotine to please the senses with. You’ll just have to double or triple up what you’re currently doing to achieve similar/greater rushes until tolerance takes over and then it’s just maintenance. That’s my take on it and I could be wrong.

@Twistie‌, I agree with the gist of that, just not that other delivery systems are MUCH slower. Slower, yes, but not that much. Stick some snuss in your mouth and you’ll get something in about ten seconds, it’s not that long to wait. Some snuffs are a bit slower than that, but the fine dries don’t leave you hanging about, either.

I have to say “and from my experience” it not only has to do with the type of tobacco but it has a lot to do with how you do it. I’ll give you an example, I have smoked plenty of good hand made cigars and even some medium to full ones. And I did not get a any buzz. Then on the other hand I’ve smoked lighter cigar’s which I think where pretty fresh as well. Some might of had the ammonia aroma and I got so sick I barely made it home. What I really leaned from it is, If I think I don’t feel right, or even think I’m constipated. I don’t dear smoke a cigar. I was told never to smoke on an empty stomach. I’m not sure exactly what that means because plenty of times I smoked a medium to full cigar in the morning after only after having a like (3 decaf coffees no sugar) while doing my morning brisk walk and I felt ok. I do now you need to do it slow. Smoking a cigar is something to do when you have time. Puffing to fast could mess you up. A cigar has much more nic than a cig or a few pinches. About snuff, I have to say, I was going to post a thread about it and found yours. I suffer from migraines. I take medication to prevent them from happening because once they get here I can not get rid of them so fast. I wasn’t snuffing for a very long time. I did not have migraines for over a year. I recently started snuffing again. I have to admit that it could be I over do it at times. The question is what over doing is. Of course their is other triggers involved but I’m thinking maybe since snuff could end up in my digestive system it causes migraine symptoms? Anyone else have experience with this? And on an interesting note. I don’t smoke cigars every day, but I could do it one day after the other than go weeks or months with out smoking a Cigar. I have to feel right and have the right time and place for it. Now that I had three migraines in the passed 4 weeks. Which I’m still suffering from by the way. (I have pain in my ear. ) I’m just afraid to try it again. But I want to. How do you deal with it? About cigarettes, I never smoked a cigarette so I really cant tell you. I’m thinking that with snuff you might just have the habit of taking smaller pinches. And the cigarette maybe your burning to fast. to much at once??

@JakartaBoy, Timelines are a fairly relative but I’d argue that it takes a little longer than 10 seconds to feel anything from snus apart from a burn in your lip. I can only speak of my experience with snus, which is my main gig when it comes to nicotine abuse, I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything but a tingling in my lip after 10 seconds. Maybe after a couple of minutes the sweet nectar enters my synapses, but everyone’s experience can be different I guess. As for why the OP feels it so much more from cigarettes is still a mystery. In my mind if you have a decent tolerance to nicotine, it shouldn’t make much difference which delivery system it gets it into the brain. Maybe it’s something like what Friendlyman is suggesting, a body chemistry thing. Or maybe it’s because the OP has been snuffing a couple of grams of snuff before dinner and smoking a cigarette after dinner puts him over the edge of his nicotine tolerance.

@Twistie‌, I’m a very occasional snuss user, so I don’t speak with vast experience. You could be right. Still, I don’t think you can just boil these things down to one active ingredient. Just like alcohol, every drinker can tell you that beer, tequila and wine each have a different impact and that the volume of alcohol is not the only factor.

I think you’re correct JakartaBoy. Nicotine isn’t the whole story. If it were I’d be just as happy sucking on NRT as I am snusing or snuffing but it doesn’t seem to work that way for me.