What does cigarette smoking do for people?

Submitted ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨dan1101@lemm.ee⁩ to ⁨[deleted]⁩

I’ve never smoked, but I’ve been around people that do. What do people feel during/after smoking? It doesn’t seem to make people high or hallucinate or anything. It maybe mildly relaxes them?

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willya@lemmyf.uk ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Nicotine creates a temporary feeling of well-being and relaxation, and increases heart rate and the amount of oxygen the heart uses. As nicotine enters the body, it causes a surge of endorphins, which are chemicals that help to relieve stress and pain and improve mood.

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- squirrel@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  After you’ve experienced all the above, it’s incredibly difficult to stop. Never start smoking!
  
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- FrasseFisk@feddit.nu ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Who are you the Marlboro Man? Nothing you wrote is correct at all. You don’t get any feeling other than nicotine withdrawal. Relieving the nicotine withdrawal will of course feel good but if you never had any nicotine in your body to begin with, nicotine does nothing to make you feel good. It does not cause a surge of endorphins. For sure it makes your heart rate go up, because it contracts your blood veins, but that’s not good either…
  
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  - Sami@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Nicotine feels great. It’s why I still crave it after giving it up a while back. Everything else involved is horrible but there’s a reason people get hooked to begin with.
    
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  - Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    I'm going to disagree with you on that. Prior to smoking cigarettes I would have a cigar every couple months. This wasn't nearly enough to develop dependency, but I could feel a sense of well-being and relaxation when I had one.
    
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  - willya@lemmyf.uk ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    No but my dad let me redeem his Marlboro miles when I was a kid.
    
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- TheButtonJustSpins@infosec.pub ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Huh. TIL
  
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- False@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I smoke a cigar once every year or so and this sounds about right to me.
  
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- SeducingCamel@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Only thing nicotine ever made me feel was lightheaded
  
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Bwaz@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Former heavy smoker here, quit two decades ago. It creates a strong craving, which briefly supplies pleasure when you appease it. It provides (or at least used to) social connection with other smokers, particularly at “smoking breaks”.

And it gives you something recognizable to do while waiting for something. Rather than sitting there, staring out with a stupid look on your face, you instead sit there smoking a cigarette.

It’s an incredibly difficult addiction to break, it’s expensive, and these days identifies you as either very old or more or less a loser. Avoid, avoid.

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- all-knight-party@kbin.cafe ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Mentioning smoking breaks is a big part, I think. At a place I used to work if you smoked you basically got free extra breaks to take care of it that other associates did not, and depending how tough your job is it could be an incentive.
  
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  - number6@feddit.nl ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Yes, where I worked they generously gave you a 10 minute mid-morning break. Unless you were a smoker, and “needed” to slip out 5 minutes every hour. I often wondered if I could get away with just “smoking” a straw.
    
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RanchOnPancakes@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Initially you get pretty buzzed.

But that wears off. It becomes nothing but jonesing for the next one.’

The moment you are done you want another, and the anxiety builds until you feed the craving.

You’re not getting anything but a very temporary relief from the need.

Source: Quit 2 years ago after over 25 years.

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eezeebee@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
There’s a mild light-headed “high” when you start.

It surpresses appetite (at first).

It can help make “going to the bathroom” easier.

It pairs well with coffee, marijuana, and alcohol.

In social or work situations, it’s a way to get 5 minutes to yourself, or at least break off to a smaller group with just the smokers.

Due to the addiction it’s a constant vicious cycle of cravings -> appeasement. It’s terrible for you and costs a fortune. Prices have doubled in the last 10 years in my area. Besides the cost of your health which has always been high.

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brenstar@midwest.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
When you first start it can relieve stress and be relaxing, but that is a trap. Those effects will fade and what will be left is a habit. A habit that your brain will do some pretty large mental gymnastics to justify.

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FrasseFisk@feddit.nu ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I don’t get why there are so many pro-nicotine people here. I guess they have to defend their addiction?

If you try nicotine for the first time, you will feel dizzy and sick. But you will start to crave more nicotine. When you redeem that craving you will feel “good”. But that “good” is actually just feeling normal. Think of it as if you put on too tight shoes, walked around with them, and then took them of again for a little while and then put them back on.

I smoked and used other nicotine products for 10 years, but after learning the truth about nicotine it was easy to quit. It’s a very pointless drug but also very lucrative for those selling it…

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- AmidFuror@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I didn't see much in the way of pro-nicotine comments. People just answered the question about what they got out of it. Most also said it was a terrible habit.
  
  Your experience with it being easy to quit doesn't seem to be typical, but it was great that it worked out that way.
  
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- Serinus@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Because lying to people doesn’t make them want to avoid smoking. The best antidote is telling them the whole truth, “good” and bad.
  
  The DARE program didn’t work.
  
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Nemo@midwest.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
It reduces anxiety and suppresses appetite. It satisfied both oral and digital fixations. It looks and feels cool as hell.

Now, all that is more than overcome by the significant downsides, mind.

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- SeducingCamel@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I have an RDA mod that I hit on occasion, although it seems like everybody just uses disposables now
  
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theKalash@feddit.ch ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
*With a hidey lidey lidey and a hidey lidey lay We work and we make cigarettes all hidey lidey day So folks can get a breaky from their stressful lidey lives And relaxy with the cigarettes we make all day and night

I like to have a cigarette every now and then It makes me feel calmer when the day is at an end.

And if it gives me cancer when I’m eighty I don’t care Who the hell wants to be ninety anyway?

So with a hidey lidey lidey and a hidey lidey lay We work and we make cigarettes all hidey lidey day So folks can get a breaky from their stressful lidey lives And relaxy with the cigarettes we make all day and night*

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- number6@feddit.nl ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Most of the smokers I’ve known don’t even get close to 80, and are often very sickly when they do. Two family members that didn’t make it to 60. A healthy looking co-worker who dropped dead in the parking lot. A former boss who didn’t get to enjoy more than two years retirement.
  
  Cigarettes are the only consumer product that, when used as directed, kill their consumers.
  
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  - PickTheStick@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Nah, alcohol shares the same boat. There are lots of examples if you really dig into the effects of various things. Alcohol and tobacco just kill you so slowly that it doesn’t drop profits.
    
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kttnpunk@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
It’s a little bump of energy and a calming ritual that’s all too intoxicating. Perfect for when you wanna sip a cup of coffee and/or decompress in a cozy hammock but only have 3 minutes to spare or else your boss will yell at you. I’ve found cannabis to be far more effective and safer-feeling.

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ilovesatan@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Being a stimulant, I used it for many years to self-treat my ADHD. I did the same with caffeine. Coffee and cigarettes got me through highschool.

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- Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  
  It also contributes to the high.
  
  When I was smoking I found that they enhanced the effects of other drugs. Since it's a stimulant it keeps you from getting sleepy when you're drinking or smoking weed. With coffee I found it smoothed out the jitters and let me work a lot longer without needing food.
  
  That being said, the constant stink on my clothes and the huge price of cigarettes got me to switch to vaping, and I'm reducing the nicotine concentration to help me kick it entirely.
  
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  - ilovesatan@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    I haven’t smoked in years, but in the off chance I go out for a beer, I will usually bum at least one from somebody.
    
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- ASeriesOfPoorChoices@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  It is both a stimulant AND a relaxant, depending on dosage. AFAIK, unique in that regard.
  
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Kolanaki@yiffit.net ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
It makes me not want a cigarette for a while.

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Pratai@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Nothing good.

Source: was a smoker for 35 years. Quit last year.

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- OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Hey, congrats. I’ve been a smoker for 20 years, and I’m getting sick of it. I hope I can quit soon.
  
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  - Pratai@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    You absolutely can! What helped me immensely was Wellbutrin. Was on it for about 2 months. NO cravings at all. That shit is like magic!
    
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Anamnesis@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Nicotine is an awesome drug. Increases your focus and provides a mild euphoric effect. Of course it’s not good for you, and if you’ve got to do it, it’s better to get it in some other way than to smoke cigarettes though.

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- can@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I think people saying that think the “feel good” only comes from satisfying the craving. And that is a big part of it.
  
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- havokdj@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Nicotine is a shit drug, it just happens to be one of the few that are legal.
  
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crypticthree@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
It works as an appetite suppressants

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- driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  It does or is one of those myths created by the tobacco industry to market cigarette consumption with women?
  
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  - ante@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    It makes food taste like shit and by extension you want to eat less. At least, that was my experience with smoking for years. When I quit I gained like 40 lbs.
    
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  - Sami@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    I could go until the late afternoon without eating with the power of nicotine. I would say it’s about the same as coffee but you can smoke more frequently than you can drink coffee (usually).
    
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  - eezeebee@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    It did supress my appetite during the first year or so, but after that the effect wore off.
    
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  - fubo@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Like other stimulant drugs (including caffeine and amphetamines), nicotine suppresses some of the signals your body uses to register being hungry.
    
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morgan_423@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago

What does cigarette smoking do for people?

Gives them an assortment of cancers with a side of breathing and cardio issues.

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Tigbitties@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Everyone here is forgetting one of the main things: It gives you an escape from work and awkward socaial situations

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- valek879@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  It also gives you a way to interact with social situations where you feel awkward. Or if you’re like me and you are awkward it gives you positive learning social situations. Makes it much harder to quit when you get suicidal interactions that you’re craving and don’t otherwise get.
  
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  - xX_fnord_Xx@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Yeah, I’ve definitely met interesting people at work or outside of a bar that I never would have said two words to otherwise.
    
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- dan1101@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I guess cell phones can substitute for that now to an extent.
  
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scytale@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
It satisfies the craving for nicotine, if they’re already dependent on it. Others need a smoke to poop.

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peto@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Nicotine (the main active ingredient in tobacco) is a mild stimulant. It can help people relax or focus better. You can also get a bit of a headshot if you smoke intensely

There are also cultural benefits. Hanging out informally with others, especially at work can be useful. A 10 min informal tea break every now and again would be better but that’s the world we have got in many workplaces.

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- ivanafterall@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  I started smoking because I realized I'd be disadvantaged (and miss out on friends) by not participating in my former office's smoke breaks. It's really hard to understate the social aspect. I met so many people by just standing places with a cigarette. Potential dates/partners, work connections, etc... Standing out with a cigarette is like a beacon for people to chat with you or ask to bum one. It's a shortcut to socialization.
  
  But don't do it. They're awful, take all your money, and make you feel and smell like death.
  
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nottheengineer@feddit.de ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
It relaxes and grounds you. I started during a particularly stressful exam phase and it helped with managing stress.

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Hairyblue@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I never smoked but know smokers who could not sleep through the night. They would wake up ever couple of hours to smoke. That is miserable.

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ForestOrca@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Increases risk for periodontal disease.

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Tom_bishop@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
It forces you into addiction. It alters the feel-good hormones in you brain. And every addict will tell you the same thing, their poison will give them relaxation and clears their mind. Same as alcoholic, watching frequent porn, frequent coffee drinker and drug addict. The difference is how strong/mild and how harmful it is to the human body. The more they do it, the more they built up tolerance, hence doint more of the same activity.

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LanternEverywhere@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
It's very satisfying. A significant portion of that feeling is caused by the chemical dependence that the nicotine addiction itself caused in the first place, but that doesn't change the fact that the feeling is very satisfying.

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driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Rise their life insurance costs on 30%.

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Zippy@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I never smoked for any length. What everyone says is pretty much correct. I did occasionally take a few puffs when I was younger. Did give you a bit of a short rush but also could make you feel bit gross after.

Nasty habit though and seriously hard to break.

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Aggravationstation@lemmynsfw.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I think the main reason it helps people reduce stress is they have to leave a situation to go outside or to another room in order to smoke and they’re taking a deep breath. I found the feeling of breathing in the smoke (throat hit I believe it’s called) and then breathing it out and seeing the smoke cloud very satisfying. Similar to chewing gum I suppose. Also, I rolled my own filter-less cigs so I had the added element of rolling it and picking out strands of tobacco hanging out of the end whilst smoking as a kind of fidget action. I prefer vaping now and don’t think I’d go back to smoking cigarettes regularly but I have started smoking a cigar with a beer some weekends just in the last few months. As some have stated the actual feeling from the nicotine is similar to caffeine but more short lived.

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wasabi@feddit.de ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Because it stops them from feeling like shit because of withdrawal.

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binboupan@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I’ve been smoking a pack a day for the last 12 years or so. At first smoking felt great, these days it only gives me a “high” when I smoke after waking up. Been trying to switch to nicotine pouches instead to break my habits first and then quit nicotine cold turkey.

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Smokeydope@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Nicotine high is very heady and can be relaxing. However the body quickly develops a tolerance and nicotine is physically addictive, meaning that smoking turns from a relaxing voulentary experience to a entirely habitual one that does nothing for you but ruin your lungs really quickly. Most cigarette smokers start in very early teens, by adulthood they haven’t had a true nicotine high in years and chainsmoke out of physical addiction. Smoking weed is much healthier by comparison as the high is much ‘nicer feeling’ to me and is not physically addictive. Smoke is still bad for your lungs but can be mitigated with edibles or dry herb vaporizers. source: parents and many friends were chainsmokers and I picked up the habit for a few months in late teens.

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ASeriesOfPoorChoices@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
scienceabc.com/…/how-does-nicotine-act-as-both-a-…

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