This how I did it; firstly I said to myself that if things got too rough I would have a smoke. Terrible advice I suppose but after dozens of failed attempts I was through with the whole guilt thing and having the kind of alcoholics anonymous approach. I had enjoyed snuff for years but was always a heavy smoker and had never tried to stop using snuff, it just didn’t occur to me. When the smoking ban came in in the UK I had just read Professor Phillips Griffiths site, where he advises taking a pinch only when the desire for a smoke is at it’s strongest. I did that - a large pinch whenever it was bad and eventually - a week or two - the craving slowly changed from cigarettes to snuff. You have to take decent sized pinches or else, obviously, you don’t get sufficient nicotine and importantly the alkaloids that are just as much a part of the addiction as nicotine (one reason why patches and gum have a high failure rate apparently). Snuff is amazingly good when you take enough but I believe a lot of people only ever learn to tolerate it, not get the most from it. I was a walking ash tray for 30 years and nothing ever helped me, with snuff I kicked the habit in ten days.
You have to take decent sized pinches or else, obviously, you don’t get sufficient nicotine and importantly the alkaloids that are just as much a part of the addiction as nicotine (one reason why patches and gum have a high failure rate apparently).
@Abraxas, have you got any good information about these “other alkaloids”? I like the idea, I always think it’s terribly reductionist to try to reduce the impact of a herb or spice or even a vegetable to a single active ingredient. I always think the active ingredient of a good cup of tea is the tea, not the tannic acid or theobromine or caffeine or whatever the hell.
If you Google ‘tobacco alkaloids’ or ‘whole tobacco alkaloids’ you will see numerous articles and extracts from basic stuff on vaping sites to scholarly articles.
Yes, this is true. In my experience as a biomedical science major, I can say without a doubt that nicotine itself is probably the least influential factor in the addiction to cigarettes. It is a factor, but probably the least impacting factor. The addiction to cigarettes is, I believe, upwards of 80% (or more) psychological. The vast majority of people who are addicted to smoking are actually addicted to the activity of smoking, and it stands to reason that of all of the methods of tobacco usage, smoking cigarettes is the highest in addictive potential. The various forms of smokeless tobacco, though they can also too be addictive, do not carry with them the immense addictive qualities that cigarettes do. If the culprit was nicotine and only nicotine, then NRT (nicotine replacement therapy) in the form of patches, gums, etc. would not have the extremely low success rate that they do (around 16% success rate, I believe). There is partly a biological component to cigarette addiction, but it is mostly psychological. Classical conditioning and operant conditioning are the two components of psychology that are involved and implicated in cigarette addiction, and one of the reasons why it is worse with cigarettes than other forms of tobacco is because the onset of nicotine’s effects with smoking is far quicker than others. Next to intravenous injection, inhalation is the fastest drug delivery method. It takes about 7 - 10 seconds for nicotine to hit the brain and start binding to their target receptors. For snus, dip, chew, etc. it takes about 5 - 10 minutes (sometimes more). For snuff, I believe it is around the 2 - 5 minute mark. Either way, the sooner the desired effects hit after you partake in the activity responsible for it, the stronger the psychological link between the two is made (this is a form of classical conditioning). When you then pair that stimulus with other activities (having a smoke ritualistically at certain times of the day, having a smoke with coffee, having a smoke after a meal, having a smoke with buddies, etc.), that stimulus is linked with those activities, which is again classical conditioning and is very hard to break. There are also other ritualistic habits/activities associated with smoking that do not exist with other forms of tobacco use (the hand-to-mouth oral fixation, the lighting up a cigarette with your lighter, the huddling in groups with your smoking buddies, etc.). You need to actively resist those urges to light up a smoke that have been conditioned over the time you were a smoker, however long that may have been. Eventually you will adjust psychologically, but it takes some time. The media and the anti-tobacco movement have drummed into everyone’s heads that nicotine is the sole reason for cigarette addiction, and it is NOT. Nicotine is no more addictive than caffeine, and I know plenty of people who are addicted to their coffee drinking habit just as a smoker is addicted to their smoking habit - both caffeine AND nicotine are addictive. Addiction overall is very complex and involves more than just a single solitary organic chemical compound, and psychology has much more to do with it than the biochemical basis.
You didn’t mention dopamine?
You didn’t mention dopamine?
Don’t necessarily need to mention dopamine. We know that of the multiple effects of Nicotine, one of them (a major one) results in an increase in dopamine, which feeds the mesolimbic reward pathway in the brain. The other part of tobacco are the “other alkaloids” as people have mentioned here, which contain MAOIs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors), which inhibit the enzymes that break down dopamine, hence you get not only the increase in dopamine secretion but also more of it lingering around for longer periods of time.
The benefits discussed here - in my personal opinion - are only apparent if you are replacing the nicotine and TA’s at roughly the rate you are losing them. That means one or two pea sized pinches whenever you feel in urgent need of a cigarette. If you have a heavy smoking habit you really do need to use snuff at that level to get results. New users often report that a small can lasts for weeks - for a heavy smoker that just won’t cut it. When I was a smoker I used snuff as a kind of exotic treat, but in no way the amount needed to help me stop smoking. Stepping up to those big, counter-intuitive pinches (in the sense that they are actually easier to take) was a major challenge but I was amazed at how it worked for me. It was the first time I had ever actually noticed the nicotine in snuff.
I’ve not kicked the rollies yet, but a combo of vaping and snuff do help cut out many of them. As Nigel says earlier, I don’t feel guilty for having the cigs I take when only a cig will do, and you can’t be shy with the amount of snuff consumed. For me in my life, it’s not always practical to take a nose full of snuff, and for much of the day a roll up is the most convenient way to get my levels up. Maybe one day I’ll be ready to take the leap and ditch the cigs altogether, but I’m not there yet, so it’s a triad of cigs, vape and snuff for me. Overall the cig quantities are significantly lower though, as is the weekly expenditure
im going to throw this out there- it is another tobacco product to add into the mix but i dont think thats such a big deal since its relatively safer than smoking, you are already addicted and seem open to trying new things (you did start smoking, and start sticking it up your nose after all haha) but have you tried/heard of swedish snus (clicky linky)? the american stuff doesnt cut it, but the swedish stuff is what got me off cigs in the first place, though ill smoke now occasionally because i havent been able to get hold of snus due to lack of any real funds (the odd cigs are easier for me to get with leftover cash in the uk rather than ordering snus online). snus is a portion of tobacco you leave in the top lip for an hour (depending) and unlike other oral tobaccos there is no need to spit. it comes in loose (i find for better flavour/absorption) or portions (that are cleaner to use, particularly for beginners) and varying strengths, from mild regular strength white/dry portions to ‘put-people-new-to-nicotine-in-a-tobacco-induced-coma*’ ultra strength, and various flavours (though not as diverse as snuff) like mint, traditional, fruits, liquorice etc. not as quick a hit as smoking but it builds up and definitely did the trick for me in conjunction with snuff. *seriously- my girlfriend has tried my odens cold regular (its slightly stronger than other regulars), and it lays her out haha, and i cant use anything stronger than skruf stark/strong
im going to throw this out there- it is another tobacco product to add into the mix but i dont think thats such a big deal since its relatively safer than smoking, you are already addicted and seem open to trying new things (you did start smoking, and start sticking it up your nose after all haha) but have you tried/heard of swedish snus (clicky linky)?
Great stuff for long haul international flights!
Chewing tobacco is incredibly potent stuff, I remember the first time I tried some GH bogie and had to sit down so that the world would stop spinning!
@DopamineRush Well said! You’re right, the whole thing is so absurd. I’ll watch the vid later when I’m not at work. ;p
That means one or two pea sized pinches whenever you feel in urgent need of a cigarette. If you have a heavy smoking habit you really do need to use snuff at that level to get results. New users often report that a small can lasts for weeks - for a heavy smoker that just won’t cut it. When I was a smoker I used snuff as a kind of exotic treat, but in no way the amount needed to help me stop smoking. Stepping up to those big, counter-intuitive pinches (in the sense that they are actually easier to take) was a major challenge but I was amazed at how it worked for me. It was the first time I had ever actually noticed the nicotine in snuff.
I’m currently up to a heaping snuff spoonful per side, and with pretty strong snuffs such as F&T HDT and Viking Brown. That does the trick for me! The only problem is my tolerance has gone up some, and other snuffs that aren’t as strong don’t give me that tear-inducing rush that I can’t get enough of. Call me a hypocrite, but I bought cigarettes today and I feel guilty about it, and that’s right after saying on here that I quit smoking! It’s probably been about a month since my last pack. Talking about it on here is a small reason why; it’s mostly cuz I’m out of my favorite snuffs and my order is delayed! I’m sure it’ll last a while though since I’ll still end up snuffing most of the time. I just don’t like the taste of cigarettes anymore really and the feeling afterward doesn’t help either.
@psybin don’t beat yourself up over it. As long as your progressing in your journey all is well.
The feel of shame, lonesomeness, and dirtiness. Kind of like a Big Mac.
keep snuffing until it becomes a habit and then chances are you’ll either smoke less or quit all together. Iv quit for almost a week now.
Yes, this is true. In my experience as a biomedical science major, I can say without a doubt that nicotine itself is probably the least influential factor in the addiction to cigarettes. It is a factor, but probably the least impacting factor. The addiction to cigarettes is, I believe, upwards of 80% (or more) psychological. The vast majority of people who are addicted to smoking are actually addicted to the activity of smoking, and it stands to reason that of all of the methods of tobacco usage, smoking cigarettes is the highest in addictive potential. The various forms of smokeless tobacco, though they can also too be addictive, do not carry with them the immense addictive qualities that cigarettes do. If the culprit was nicotine and only nicotine, then NRT (nicotine replacement therapy) in the form of patches, gums, etc. would not have the extremely low success rate that they do (around 16% success rate, I believe). There is partly a biological component to cigarette addiction, but it is mostly psychological. Classical conditioning and operant conditioning are the two components of psychology that are involved and implicated in cigarette addiction, and one of the reasons why it is worse with cigarettes than other forms of tobacco is because the onset of nicotine’s effects with smoking is far quicker than others. Next to intravenous injection, inhalation is the fastest drug delivery method. It takes about 7 - 10 seconds for nicotine to hit the brain and start binding to their target receptors. For snus, dip, chew, etc. it takes about 5 - 10 minutes (sometimes more). For snuff, I believe it is around the 2 - 5 minute mark. Either way, the sooner the desired effects hit after you partake in the activity responsible for it, the stronger the psychological link between the two is made (this is a form of classical conditioning). When you then pair that stimulus with other activities (having a smoke ritualistically at certain times of the day, having a smoke with coffee, having a smoke after a meal, having a smoke with buddies, etc.), that stimulus is linked with those activities, which is again classical conditioning and is very hard to break. There are also other ritualistic habits/activities associated with smoking that do not exist with other forms of tobacco use (the hand-to-mouth oral fixation, the lighting up a cigarette with your lighter, the huddling in groups with your smoking buddies, etc.). You need to actively resist those urges to light up a smoke that have been conditioned over the time you were a smoker, however long that may have been. Eventually you will adjust psychologically, but it takes some time. The media and the anti-tobacco movement have drummed into everyone’s heads that nicotine is the sole reason for cigarette addiction, and it is NOT. Nicotine is no more addictive than caffeine, and I know plenty of people who are addicted to their coffee drinking habit just as a smoker is addicted to their smoking habit - both caffeine AND nicotine are addictive. Addiction overall is very complex and involves more than just a single solitary organic chemical compound, and psychology has much more to do with it than the biochemical basis.
You didn’t mention dopamine?
and some wish to see him gone-- good one, @shezzuk1 and glad to see you round mate :))
When I was quitting I found one or two pea-sized pinches actually not nearly enough. I would take two or even three and four massive pinches (easily as big as two or three peas each if dropped on the hand) if I was really jonesing. This was a temporary measure though, my snuff use has actually moderated quite a lot. If I’m working I might take two pinches smaller than a pea every hour and a half (granted it’s white snuff).