
What would a nicotine patch do to a non-smoker? - amelius
https://www.quora.com/What-would-a-nicotine-patch-do-to-a-non-smoker?share=1
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ot
Gwern has a lot of pointers to research on nicotine, and its effect as a
stimulant.

[https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine](https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine)

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revelation
That needs a whole lot of [citation needed].

It got the basic idea right, a nicotine patch will give the benefits of
nicotine. And there are some, it's pretty much like caffeine, very harmless on
its own.

But of course you can get addicted to it. Theres not necessarily a physical
addiction, but if your ape brain connects a nicotine patch with some perceived
or real benefit, that is all you need for a habit right there. You can get the
same from chocolate.

So sure, withdrawal will not kill you, but it can still be habit forming. And
you just need to look around to know there are plenty of people with
difficulty to get rid of those.

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proksoup
My personal experience, I did nicotine patches before anything else.

I had previously used adderral, and was seeking an alternative that wouldn't
require a prescription. I used nicotine patches for 3 years, before switching
to vaporizing for 2 years now, almost entirely because of the socialization it
has allowed that patches did not.

I'm sure there's more adverse effects from vaping than patches, and I'm sure
long term stimulant use of any sort (caffeine included) can cause problems of
many sorts. I personally don't think adderall or other prescription drugs (or
unmedicated as I had been most of my life) would have been better, but of
course they could have been.

So just wanted to share my experience.

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lj3
How much nicotine do you vape now vs how much did you use with the patches?
I'm told the absorption rate of nicotine through the lungs is higher than
through the skin, but I'm curious to find out from someone who has used both
which method is more effective.

~~~
proksoup
Nothing beats the patch for consistent delivery. With vaping I have it more in
bursts.

It's possible that's true about absorption. I wonder if maybe more nicotine is
wasted vaporizing because you breathe most of it out or something, or maybe
I'm not breathing deeply enough, but with the method of vaping that makes me
most comfortable I "use" >3x the mg of nicotine I had before, 4ml of 6mg/ml
strength juice a day compared to one 7mg patch.

I would say the patch is more consistent throughout the day, and the vape is
easier to adjust throughout the day. Both are effective.

~~~
proksoup
Oh, absorption rate duh, yeah with the patch the onset is like an hour almost,
vape hits you much faster.

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eternalban
Hook them on the patch. [/s]

[edit: add informative metainfo.]

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op00to
Nope, not physical addiction like with tobacco. There are many addictive
things in tobacco products, but nicotine is not one of those.

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whamlastxmas
This is tremendously surprising. Does this mean that e-cigs that are just
nicotine with some flavor and a binding liquid of some sort aren't addictive?

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aisenik
Anecdotally, it's similar to caffeine. Nicotine on its own has proven a mild
stimulant with minimal addictive effect. I like it, I want it, but mostly it
is not something I think about.

~~~
robotresearcher
But caffeine causes strong unpleasant withdrawal symptoms if you quit cold-
turkey...

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kalu
It's on the internet. It must be fact.

