When did you realize smoking became an addiction?

onesixonetwo

onesixonetwo

Well-known member
If you think you are (or may be) addicted to smoking, when did you come to this conclusion? Hopefully this doesn't come off as stirring the pot; I just have been thinking about this for myself.

For the past few years I was smoking about a couple pipes a month at most. Late last year I had a bad bout with depression and was told that if smoking helped me cope it would be fine to do more of but keep it in moderation. I moved up to smoking 2-3 times a week then eventually daily. I wanted to see if I was starting to be addicted and took the past week off to see what its effects on me would be. I’ve thought about and missed smoking more and more with each day and I think about it a lot. I’m sure I could continue not smoking but that craving feeling is definitely there. My conclusion for myself is that I (at the very least) might be addicted.
 
The Postman

The Postman

Well-known member
I smoke a couple bowls a day monday thru friday. On the weekends unless Im camping I rarely have time to smoke. But it doesnt bother me. I dont get cravings or anything. I used to smoke cigarettes years ago and now that was an addiction and it was hard to overcome. Pipes, I just enjoy it when I can and when I cant Im fine.
 
George from Manchester

George from Manchester

Member
I replaced a 20 year cigarette habit with 10 years of vaping but have long since fallen out of favour with inhaling anything into my lungs hence the starting of pipe smoking.

Now, I'll happily have a single bowl of an evening and sometime not even that much. I suspect I still very much have an addiction to Lady N but I guess, I must be lucky as the 'need' to do it too frequently doesn't rear its head. However, the 'want' to sometimes have more bowls I attribute to the many varieties of tobacco I have yet to try. I'm sure there's some logic in that statement somewhere.:wizard:
 
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Siv

Siv

Mg4Si6O15(OH)2·6H2O
Addition is only when you don't have control over the thing you're doing.

I smoke rarely these days but have been using snus regularly for many years. Over the summer, while on holiday, I ran out. So I was forcibly stopped for a week and I was fine - yes, I missed it but I was able to manage without it - I didn't go crawling the stores trying to find some. I did miss it but I could live without it. I got back home to my stash and have not felt the need to go back to my previous consumption rate, in fact I now go days without it. I think if you have control and you're able to stop then you're not addicted.

I gave up meat 20 years ago - I still miss my Mum's mutton curry. Doesn't mean I'm addicted to it...
 
Bach6032

Bach6032

Well-known member
PappyJoe said:
Not an addiction for me either. I went from a bowl a day in July to maybe three bowls (outside of our pipe club meeting) in August.
I also often go three or four days without a bowl when traveling.

I'm more addicted to my afternoon nap every day.
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^^^^ THIS ^^^^

Earlier this year I was ill, subsequently diagnosed with pneumonia, and felt as sick as a dying horse. I didn't touch my pipe for days on end and didn't miss it at all. It's truly warm, relaxing, flavorful, comforting and all those things but I accurately describe this pastime as '...a hobby, not a habit.'

I, too, am far more addicted to a daily nap.
 
ClinchKnot

ClinchKnot

Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em
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I’m not physically addicted to pipe smoking and that is why I allow myself to continue it. Twenty years ago I was very much physically addicted to cigarettes and that vicious cycle of need is something I never want to experience again.

For me, smoking pipes is a pleasant diversion, not a cruel addiction.
 
Chicken Man

Chicken Man

Well-known member
I vaped for years, and when I quit that, the withdrawal was quite difficult for the first week (In my experience, nicotine withdrawal disappears almost completely after a week or so).
I smoke at least one pipe a day, and have been in scenarios where I've been separated from my pipes and tobacco for several weeks. For the first week, yes, I do have a fairly potent desire to smoke my pipe. After that initial nicotine withdrawal though, I still do want to have a smoke, but I don't crave a smoke. Even during the first week, it's leagues easier to not smoke a pipe than not to vape.
 
baublitz

baublitz

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ClinchKnot said:
I’m not physically addicted to pipe smoking and that is why I allow myself to continue it. Twenty years ago I was very much physically addicted to cigarettes and that vicious cycle of need is something I never want to experience again.

For me, smoking pipes is a pleasant diversion, not a cruel addiction.
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Why is this usually the case? I'm the same way. I can smoke multiple bowls a day and then there are seasons when I go weeks or months without a single bowl. Is that just that pipe tobacco, especially of the milder variety, has less nicotine than cigs? Is it the lack of inhaling into the lungs that far reduces nicotine intake?
 
Chicken Man

Chicken Man

Well-known member
baublitz said:
Why is this usually the case? I'm the same way. I can smoke multiple bowls a day and then there are seasons when I go weeks or months without a single bowl. Is that just that pipe tobacco, especially of the milder variety, has less nicotine than cigs? Is it the lack of inhaling into the lungs that far reduces nicotine intake?
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While it could be an old wive's tale, I have heard that nicotine isn't even the most addictive component of cigarette tobaccos. It does make sense to me considering all the stuff they throw in there.
 
onesixonetwo

onesixonetwo

Well-known member
Siv said:
Addition is only when you don't have control over the thing you're doing.

I smoke rarely these days but have been using snus regularly for many years. Over the summer, while on holiday, I ran out. So I was forcibly stopped for a week and I was fine - yes, I missed it but I was able to manage without it - I didn't go crawling the stores trying to find some. I did miss it but I could live without it. I got back home to my stash and have not felt the need to go back to my previous consumption rate, in fact I now go days without it. I think if you have control and you're able to stop then you're not addicted.

I gave up meat 20 years ago - I still miss my Mum's mutton curry. Doesn't mean I'm addicted to it...
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Bach6032 said:
^^^^ THIS ^^^^

Earlier this year I was ill, subsequently diagnosed with pneumonia, and felt as sick as a dying horse. I didn't touch my pipe for days on end and didn't miss it at all. It's truly warm, relaxing, flavorful, comforting and all those things but I accurately describe this pastime as '...a hobby, not a habit.'

I, too, am far more addicted to a daily nap.
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Good distinctions here about what is an addiction. The American Society of Addiction Medicine states that "People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences."

I think under that definition I wouldn't be addicted. I just have a strong craving for it but that's more like the @Bach6032 and @PappyJoe being "addicted" to naps (of whom I’m envious that they get to indulge those addictions).
 
Chicken Man

Chicken Man

Well-known member
onesixonetwo said:
Good distinctions here about what is an addiction. The American Society of Addiction Medicine states that "People with addiction use substances or engage in behaviors that become compulsive and often continue despite harmful consequences."

I think under that definition I wouldn't be addicted. I just have a strong craving for it but that's more like the @Bach6032 and @PappyJoe being "addicted" to naps (of whom I’m envious that they get to indulge those addictions).
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Yeah man I wouldn't get disheartened or worried over cravings. I'm much the same and it doesn't bother me. Sure I may get into the occasional illegal underground boxing match with the local codgers for a pouch or two of Condor, but that doesn't mean I'm an addict!
 
ClinchKnot

ClinchKnot

Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em
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baublitz said:
Why is this usually the case? I'm the same way. I can smoke multiple bowls a day and then there are seasons when I go weeks or months without a single bowl. Is that just that pipe tobacco, especially of the milder variety, has less nicotine than cigs? Is it the lack of inhaling into the lungs that far reduces nicotine intake?
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I suspect that the different experience is by design.
 
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