Commenters debate addiction science and personal quit strategies
1 Yesterday 7:36 PM · 1d ago · 3 posts · 15 comments · 2 sources · development 1 of 1
Hacker News discussion erupted with users questioning the premise and sharing personal experiences. Commenters cited research on MAOIs in cigarettes making them more addictive, while others described the behavioral and convenience factors that make vaping addiction difficult to break. Multiple users shared successful quit methods using patches, gradual nicotine reduction, snus, or cold turkey approaches.
“Cigarettes are ridiculously more addictive. I know this from experience, but also from a study that found that MAOIs (in cigarettes, but not found in vapes) "dramatically increase the motivation to self-administer nicotine in rats."”
mullingitoverBloomberg News outlet
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What people said 24 voices · best of 56 · verbatim
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There is probably some truth to what you're saying, but also keep in mind that tobacco contains more active compounds than nicotine alone, including MAO inhibitors in the form of harmala alkaloids. These can synergise with nicotine and make it more addictive.Also, I'm dubious about your claim that most people need breaks, or at least any more than…
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Anecdotally, this does work -- whenever I have had a break from nicotine pouches, I have done with cigarettes. The big difference is that with cigarettes you have to excuse yourself to go outside. It's much easier to break the habit this way. Though that might be in part how with nicotine pouches the act is different as well. Note that the…
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Are you speaking at all from experience?>Most people [...] need about an hour break in between smokes.I've never seen anything like that. When there's a group of social smokers standing around, it's very common for something like "Oh, I just finished mine and you're only half-way through yours, I'll light up another one to keep you company" to…
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Tabex (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytisine) is what helped me (and my boyfriend) quit smoking after many years (~30) of smoking and several failed attempts to quit using nicotine gum and patches. We have now been smoke-free for over 5 months, which is still not long, but much longer than we have ever lasted before.It seems strange to me that…
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Did a cigarette write this article?Cigarettes are ridiculously more addictive. I know this from experience, but also from a study that found that MAOIs (in cigarettes, but not found in vapes) "dramatically increase the motivation to self-administer nicotine in rats."[1]I had a wickedly difficult time quitting cigarettes, many failed attempts over…
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I vaped for around a year and each attempt to quit ended in failure.The first attempt, quite early on, I hadn't realised how dependent I'd become and thought it would be easy. Sure, I enjoyed vaping, but I didn't "have" to do it. Give it a couple days and I'll be back to normal. Predictably that went poorly.Various other attempts I'd now look back…
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I'm interested in how addiction is so much more likely in some people than others. For over 20 years I loved to drink all sorts of different things. Once I had kids and hit 40+ it was so unpleasant in the morning so I decided to massively reduce. In the UK drinking is so pervasive. I limited my intake to <=2 drinks per night and never had an issue…
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You're being judgmental but I think you're just misinformed.Vaping can be difficult to stop because:- it's more accepted- it's smoother on the throat, and there's plenty of tastes.- there is no "dose", if you want to you can just vape non stop, and you can pace yourself. With a cigarette, you can't smoke slowly, or you'll loose half the…
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For the past 3 years I have replaced my ADHD stimulant medication with nicotine patches and they’ve been great, cheap, and legal in the country I live in now.Recently I got the urge to try vaping again, bought all the paraphernalia and started vaping like a chimney 24/7. Got light nicotine poisoning as well. After two days, I caught myself…
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I switched to nicotine patches and never looked back, I use them as nootropics now.The key is to break any brain connection between doing something and receiving nicotine, no other method can do this, you will simply keep dosing.I'm at the point where I will often forget to put a patch on. I also cut the patches up to get the desired dose and save…
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> Heck it's been 4 years and I still sometimes get dreams where I'm vaping.It has been way more than four years for me, and I'll smell some cigarette smoke when I'm in a mood and be all like "Man, wouldn't it be nice if I got me one of those?".But, I can say the same sort of thing about my reaction to the odor of coffee or caffeinated tea. Despite…
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In my late 20s and early 30s I would frequently join my coworkers outside while they took a smoke break. I would generally try to stay at the periphery or upwind when possible. Over time, I found myself having inexplicable cravings for a cigarette despite never having smoked one. Presumably this was due second hand exposure. (Acknowledging it…
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A while back I saw this on reddit... in case you don't want to click the link, it's a picture of a cigarette with the caption "This plant-based alternative promises to help high schoolers stop vaping".I would have never thought that people would be stupid enough to try this for real, but here we are...
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I was always taught it's the nicotine in cigarettes that makes them addictive. But it's actually the action of inhaling from a little stick and exhaling visible smoke/vapour that is most addictive. It's quite curious why that is. I have never used nicotine regularly but I did feel this craving after using a nicotine-free vape for a while.So if you…
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Here's what I did to get rid of my nicotine addiction (vaping):- Gradually lower the strength of my liquid until it was at the minimum.- Stop all vaping and switch to nicotine gum- Gradually increase the time between each gum- Stop the gum altogetherThis process took probably 3 months and tbh it was pretty miserable the whole time. It's 100% worth…
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I helped a friend quit vaping with the nicotine patches for smoking. I had to do some math because a vape hit is not 1:1 with a cigarette hit, and found that the highest dose of a patch was too low for her to start, and had to start with a few max dose patches.Those patches aren't cheap, albeit neither is the addiction either, but just like the…
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In early 2025, a Dutch newspaper was also writing about young adults struggling with vaping addiction, and how some switch to smoking as a better alternative.https://www.volkskrant.nl/volkskrant-magazine/als-deze-moede... (
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I am more of a cigar smoker, I used to smoke a cigar every month, every other month and sometimes all month long for several months, but I was never addicted, I have gone a year or two without cigars, currently I have not had one in about five years now, give or take. I could have one any moment, they sit in my humidor, but I did try ecigs for a…
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People don't understand that cigarettes are self-limiting because they literally hurt your throat and lungs. Most people simply can't chain smoke and they need about an hour break in between smokes.With vaping that limit is completely gone. A vaping addiction can keep escalating until you want a puff every 30 seconds, especially once you start…
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I combined a couple of methods:- stop smoking in certain situations (no cigarette at the bus stop, no cigarette after lunch, …)- allow myself to put out a cigarette halfway when I’m smoking. I lapsed and lit one, but that doesn’t mean I have to finish it.- try to feel the downsides of the cigarette while smoking. The nicotine high mostly overrides…
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I assume people must vary in how strong an addiction can be as I have smoked cigarettes but have not become addicted to them. I am able to abruptly stop, get mild cravings and be able to ignore them for a few days and the cravings completely subside. I have another friend who did similar. A regular smoker for years who switched between a few…
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"Nicotine is just caffeine" is too clean given the tumor-promotion evidence. To a large extent, it comes down to the method of delivery: patches are difficult to get hooked on because they do not cause a rapid spike in nicotine levels and are not associated with any ritual; cigarettes are hard to give up due to that spike, the accompanying ritual…
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I wish authorities would punish smoking in public areas more aggressively. I'm so tired of inhaling smoke or vape clouds when walking the streets or at bus/tram stops. Theoretically you are not supposed to smoke at bus stops, but it isn't enforced (EU/PL). Entering an office building means inhaling poison, unless you can hold your breath, because…
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It's about 30 years ago that I quit smoking but it was a real bugger at the time.Here's what helped me the most; every time you try to quit it gets a bit easier next time.So if you try and fail, try again. Then keep trying after that.So many people try to quit and get disheartened when they're pulled back.Instead just think of it as another step…
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