this post was submitted on 19 May 2024
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Unpopular Opinion

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-21
Nicotine addiction isn't that bad - tobacco companies encourage the belief that it's more severe to keep people smoking (self.unpopularopinion)
submitted 6 months ago by Aggravationstation to c/unpopularopinion@lemmy.world
48 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Tobacco companies had to own up to the fact that smoking is harmful in the 1960s when undeniable evidence came out. People struggled to quit because it is somewhat addictive, but mainly because they enjoyed it.

Those companies then encouraged the rhetoric about it being more addictive than heroin. It isn't. In my experience it's less addictive than caffeine.

Here's my history with nicotine:

  • Smoked cigarettes from 15 - 26.
  • Quit totally for 14 months
  • My friend who smoked moved back to town and I smoked when I was with them.
  • Switched to vaping 8 years ago.
  • Quit vaping in January this year (2024).

I bought 30 cigars at the start of last month (April 2024) and have smoked 9 of them so far. I normally just have 1 a week if I'm having a beer at home but I went out drinking 2 nights in a row at the start of this month and smoked 6 over that weekend.

Am I addicted? Maybe, but I haven't had any nicotine this week and don't plan on having any next week either.

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[–] Aggravationstation 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Yes, we are sentient, in that we perceive the outside world just as animals do. But there is some disagreement as to whether we truly have free will or if we're still just slaves to our instincts.

[–] Donut@leminal.space 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Can you link any research or study into this? It sounds interesting. I thought sentience meant being conscious of oneself, or self awareness

[–] Aggravationstation 1 points 6 months ago

With sentience I was going off the definition of the word:

sentient /sĕn′shənt, -shē-ənt, -tē-ənt/ adjective

  1. Having sense perception; conscious.
  1. Experiencing sensation or feeling.
  1. Having a faculty, or faculties, of sensation and perception.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sentient

But as far as free will goes this article is quite compelling: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2398369-why-free-will-doesnt-exist-according-to-robert-sapolsky/