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A comment on Fake Meat Was Supposed to Save the World. It Became Just Another Fad. Parent comment

Re:Fake Meat Was Supposed to Save the World. It Became Just ... by exolymph on Thursday January 19, 2023 @03:23PM (#34445112)
> if nicotine didn't have the specter of cigarettes hanging behind it, I'd imagine it could be quite a large market.

It drives me a little bit crazy that people think nicotine itself is what's harmful about cigarettes. The myth is slowly eroding but the common knowledge about nicotine — aside from the reality that it is addictive — remains directionally wrong (as common knowledge often is).

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Re:Fake Meat Was Supposed to Save the World. It Became Just ... by jasonmclaren on Thursday January 19, 2023 @03:41PM (#34445326)
Can you elaborate? My understanding is that nicotine raises blood pressure, which is a big part of what's harmful about cigarettes.
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Re:Fake Meat Was Supposed to Save the World. It Became Just ... by wyre on Thursday January 19, 2023 @10:36PM (#34448906)
What’s harmful is the inhalation of the thousands of chemicals into your lungs from a burning cigarette.

Nicotine could be considered bad because its addictive qualities make smoking happen more frequently, but rising blood pressure is a small piece.

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Re:Fake Meat Was Supposed to Save the World. It Became Just ... by rrrrrrrrrrrryan on Friday January 20, 2023 @01:52AM (#34449948)
Nicotine isn't good for you by any means, but lung cancer is the main reason cigarettes are uniquely harmful. It's a really rough way to go.
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Re:Fake Meat Was Supposed to Save the World. It Became Just ... by exolymph on Friday January 20, 2023 @02:36PM (#34458550)
Nicotine may be mildly harmful, but in a similar ambiguous you-win-some-you-lose-some way to caffeine: https://www.gwern.net/Nicotine
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Re:Fake Meat Was Supposed to Save the World. It Became Just ... by trehalose on Sunday January 22, 2023 @11:54AM (#34479324)
Well, nicotine kind of is one of the most harmful things about cigarettes. During the curing and processing of tobacco leaves, nicotine and other alkaloids partially react with nitrate to form nitrosamines ("Tobacco-Specific Nitrosamines" or "TSNAs"), that contribute greatly to tobacco's carcinogenicity. They're not the only carcinogens in tobacco / tobacco smoke, of course, but they are important. (This is, afaik, not relevant for pure nicotine.)
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