why do drugs like alcohol and stimulants like cocaine cause you to crave nicotine?

Question

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

Answer 1

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.