Everyone I know who drinks or does stim drugs like cocaine end up smoking loads of cigs, Is there a reason for it?
In: Biology
I’d say it’s totally a matter of social exposure. If you hang around someone who smokes you are more likely to try it yourself. I drink frequently and at times heavily but have never craved or desired a smoke.
There is no need to “agree”. All cultures eventually figured out how planted behave, which leads to pretty regular cycles.
Only had one puff on a cigarette in my life.
Have drank plenty and used plenty.. never makes me crave?
When I’m drunk I don’t have a need to smoke but I do have a urge to get a greasy pizza or burrito
This sounds like an addiction medicine issue. Addiction is an extremely difficult area where there are entire books written just to introduce people to the subject, such as [this one](https://shop.lww.com/The-ASAM-Principles-of-Addiction-Medicine/p/9781496370983).
Alcohol could cause you to crave cigarettes because it reduces inhibitions and self-control, thereby allowing you to act on urges you normally wouldn’t act on. Some people smoke marijuana after drinking. Some people buy things online or go shopping, spending freely.
Not sure why cocaine causes a craving…I’m only a few pages into the textbook I mentioned.
Alcohol lowers your inhibition, leading you to do things you normally wouldn’t. When you’re sober, you might have similar cravings but subconsciously you’re thinking “I just had a cigarette 30 minutes ago, I don’t need another one yet”, but with alcohol you lose that subconscious inhibition. I’m sure there’s more to it, but that’s at least part of the equation.
I have never craved nicotine after drinking. I don’t actually know anyone who smokes, so not sure how I’d even know it’s nicotine craving.
I can only speak for alcohol, but there may be overlapping causal mechanisms for other drugs as well. What happens is basically that the alcohol numbs the reward receptors in your brain. If you already use nicotine, your brain will crave it as always, but because the receptors are numbed, you will need a larger hit to satisfy the brain. This is also partly why people continue to drink when already drunk.
Alcohol is a depressant and nicotine is a stimulant. Helps to balance things out. Also the social aspects of smoking are a huge factor. It’s difficult to have a conversation with someone in a loud, crowded bar or party, but periodically going out to smoke is a convenient way to get to know or spend more quality time with someone in an informal way. Like alcohol, Nicotine is also a very powerful antianxiety drug, though it’s duration is very short meaning you need to continuously keep going back to the well. It’s a big reason why so many people with psychological disorders self medicate with tons of cigarettes.
Cigarettes help me pull myself together when on stims, feels kinda like oiling the gears in my head lol
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