nicotine_temp

Positive comments about nicotine in the LessWrong community were a major reason why I started vaping. I found the addiction to be less serious than commonly claimed, but I also found the beneficial effects to be small. I couldn't say with confidence that it's better than caffeine, and caffeine is more socially acceptable. I don't suppose I'd be shadowbanned for telling people my experience of caffeine.

In my own experience, nicotine was not very addictive. As a non-smoker, I started vaping 36mg/ml nicotine in unflavored propylene glycol. I used a high concentration to minimize exposure to any unknown non-nicotine risks. I vaped heavily for about 2 years before getting bored of it. I tapered the dose to zero over two weeks and experienced only mild withdrawal symptoms. It's been about four years since I quit and I've never felt the effects were sufficiently interesting or enjoyable to start again.

I vaped unflavored nicotine for about 2 years. Intermittent at first, heavy daily use during the second year, equivalent to a pack of cigarettes per day or more. I quit because enjoyment decreased to the point where it was no longer worth the hassle.

I experienced zero addiction for the first three months, and even after the full two years addiction was mild. I reduced my dose gradually over two weeks. There were no physical withdrawal symptoms, and only minor craving which went away after a few months abstinence. I'm no expert on heroin addiction, but I find it hard to believe it's equal to nicotine. Perhaps whole tobacco would be different.