
Tobacco increases work capacity (2011) - swah
http://www.dengulenegl.dk/English/Nicotine.html
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gwern
Nicotine is great. I find it very useful. The claims about its stimulant
effects are perfectly plausible.

But there is _zero_ need to consume/use _tobacco_ to get nicotine.

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psbp
What methods do you recommend?

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refurb
Use an electronic cigarette (vaporizer) or use the OTC nicotine replacement
therapies (gum, lozenges, sprays).

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psbp
Any good ones? I researched a year or so ago and all the brands seemed a
little bit..sketchy.

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tlarkworthy
eGo-T is amazingly close to actual smoking. Get a tank upgrade like the Vivi-
Nova and boom, you get a hit so strong you might cough at first.

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throwaway0094
For non-smokers, less is more... nicotine is a pretty powerful stimulant, you
don't necessarily want strong hits. My 2¢.

(I am a non-smoker; have tried 2mg and 4mg gum, and find 4mg similar in some
ways to having a 'bad trip'. (Light-headedness, freaking out, nausea, time-
dilation.))

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tlarkworthy
true, as a smoker trying to ween myself to something a bit safer that lack of
hit is what annoyed me with other e-cig solutions I tried. The nova tank
though is a very tolerable substitute to actual smoking.

If I was a non-smoker though I would not start a nicotine habit at all. I wish
I had never started smoking, it's a very difficult habit to reverse.

~~~
throwaway0094
Anecdotal, but as a non-smoker, I don't find any withdrawal or cravings
symptoms at all when I stop consuming nicotine. It's milder than stopping
caffeine.

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r0m4n0
You don't hear about the benefits of smoking because of the obvious
downsides... I will contribute to the benefits. "Although tobacco smoke
decreases life expectancy and quality of life, it may reduce the risk of PD by
a third when compared to non-smokers"
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_disease](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_disease)

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visakanv
I've smoked on and off for about 6 years, with the past year being about 98%
off. I can tell you that I do FEEL more focused and clear after a cigarette,
but that all the negative side-effects that come with them are totally not
worth it. If you really want a stimulant, stick with caffeine.

I've actualy been meaning to write a blogpost about it. Some of the things
I've noticed from being on and off cigarettes:

Cigarettes (edit: nicotine, actually) are a depressant (EDIT: and a
stimulant), they make the world feel less colourful (LITERALLY), less "noisy".

EDIT: I realize I'm being psuedosciency and imprecise with the previous
statement. I'm not sure about the precise distinctions between
stimulant/upper/downer, etc. What I CAN tell you is that cigarettes have the
following effects for me and my smoker peers, as far as I've known ->

When I'm on cigarettes, my field of vision narrows, colours become duller, I'm
marginally more focused on specific tasks, better able to "tune out 'random
noise'". Whenever I go off cigarettes, the world feels a little overwhelming
and chaotic for a while- my skin is more sensitive to the wind, my eyes are
more sensitive to the light, the whole nervous system just gets overwhelmed
(because the cigarettes kinda suppess them, in my opinion.)

The short-term gain in focus is nothing great. You can get it by sitting in
silence for a minute, breathing deeply, psyching yourself up with a youtube
video. Not worth the damage you do to your eyes, nose, gums, teeth, not worth
the cough, not worth the smell, the taste... all of that is underreported
because there's a "frog in boiling water" effect- the damage is so cumulative
that it feels tolerable.

Yes, I remember when cigarettes helped focus my thoughts as a writer, or over
conversations with friends... but honestly, taking a walk achieves superior
returns, on both counts.

\--

Commander Shepard: "What's your opinion of this? The drugs, I mean."

Legion: "These substances enhance short-term performance at the expense of
long-term platform survivability. It is fundamentally similar to "over-
clocking" geth hardware. We do so whenever necessary. However, should our
platform be damaged by overclocking, we can be repaired. Why an organic would
choose this is puzzling."

~~~
harvestmoon
Thanks for sharing and glad you've been almost off cigarettes entirely.

That said, nicotine is a mild stimulant, not a depressant, afaik. It's alcohol
that's a depressant.

~~~
visakanv
Thanks!

More anecdotal nonsense: I think almost everybody starts smoking (apart from
the social factors) for the stimulant bit- for the 'kick'. It gets you more
buzzy when you take shorter, quicker drags. It relaxes you when you take long,
slow drags.

I think the net effect of smoking over an extended period of time has a "net
depressant effect" (using term loosely), punctuated by the daily/regular
stimulation. Very loosely, the opposite effect of exercising and eating
healthily over an extended period of time.

That's just my experience, no science involved there. Curious if others relate
to this.

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VladRussian2
>The brain works better when it gets nicotine - almost like an optimized
computer. Nicotine is a "work-drug" that enables its consumers to focus better
and think faster. The brain also becomes more enduring, especially in smokers:
Nicotine experiments show that smokers in prolonged working situations are
able to maintain concentration for many hours longer than non-smokers.

the same can be said about meth or other ADHD drugs. "Magic comes with a
price" :) (i was a smoker of cigarettes for a decade and quit more than a
decade ago)

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throwaway0094
Meth is only prescribed for ADHD in the US. Is it prescribed for ...
nevermind, you edited your post. (Original said something to the effect of
"meth is prescribed for drowsiness in pilots," which is inaccurate for the
US.)

~~~
lolwutf
Meth is quite hard to get, via prescription, unfortunately. Its bad rep in pop
media has resulted in it becoming overcontrolled by the FDA. It's quite a
useful - but little explored and used - therapy for AD(H)D.

You'll nearly universally get straight d-amphetamine at the doctor's office.

~~~
throwaway0094
Really? I thought adderall (contains 1/4 dextro-) or vyvense (don't know which
amphetamines it contains) were pretty common.

~~~
lolwutf
Adderall is a mix of d- and l-amphetamine.

Vyvanse is d-amphetmine bound to lysine, turning it into a prodrug (which
means your gut chemically cleaves off the lysine and, conveniently, you're
left with d-amp sitting in your gut).

~~~
cglace
Vyvanse was a wonder drug for me. Not only helped me concentrate it made me
more outgoing and confident. Left me with horrible dry mouth though.

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sgtpepper
Cigarettes are a nasty filthy habit...

But I find a good cigar or pipe useful for clearing the mind when working on
hard problems.

~~~
sehr
Red Bulls are a nasty filthy habit...

But I find a good espresso or americano to be useful for helping the mind stay
alert.

[http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cigar-
smoking/AN01515](http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cigar-smoking/AN01515)

~~~
sgtpepper
I'm not sure the relevance of the link.. I never said cigars were healthier..
certainly there are risks involved. But there's a huge gulf between a pack a
day habit and a couple day a month indulgence.

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smtddr
If there's anyone on HN who actually believes this scientific study, please
explain why. Right now I think this is complete garbage that I hope never
reaches the eyes of young & impressionable people. Smoking is bad for you any
benefit it may or may not have is completely eclipsed by the mountains upon
mountains of evidence showing the damage to the human body.

EDIT: Removing quotes per comments below.

EDIT2: Ok, I guess even if there are 99 bad things that are caused by smoking
it doesn't mean there can't be 1 or 2 things good from it.

~~~
tlarkworthy
nicotine is a stimulant. That's been known forever. People when tired prop
themselves up with coffee and cigarettes. So it seems totally believable.

The study doesn't say the cancer and heart problems don't exist, or are
outweighed in any way. It just says nicotine has some positive effects. Most
drugs do ... that's why people take them.

I smoke. I don't want to die. So that's why I am trying to switch to a
vapouriser. Every time I give up smoking, I get hit by a crushing amount of
work at some point and then I start smoking again, _because_ it makes me more
effecient and stay awake longer. If I could have the productivity without the
cancer that would be brilliant.

~~~
visakanv
Yep, I remember that I always smoked more when tired, sleep deprived, etc.

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robobro
Beautiful post, I know smoking always helps me!

