Tobacco - Ally or Enemy?

[PureMan]

Is there anything USEFUL in smoking/chewing/snuffing tobacco?

I have read that some people are akin to smoking nicotiana rustica/mapacho and I am curious about the actual spirituality behind this plant, as opposed to the addictive nature of nicotine.

I have struggled through nicotine addiction for years, and am on the fence about this question. I would love to hear everyone's opinion.

 

[Steely]

Sorry, you were in the middle of posting, I caught the thread when there was no text in the original post.

 

[PureMan]

My bad, fixed.

 

[azrael]

really hard to say: if it's an ally it's needy one, if an enemy one with perks.


both? a tough one to moderate given the addictive potential, ease of access, and acceptance of social use. can be useful, goes well with san pedro or alcohol or boredom. otoh after no tobacco or nicotine for a month I'm real patient and relaxed. kind of bum in and out of the habit/lifestyle, currently "in" as I do about 1-2 a day (compared to pack a day five years ago or various abstinence periods of up to a year since then).

imo the "smoker or not" is too binary and makes it far too easy to fall in to "well, fucked it up with a single cig, might as well buy a pack". so find the middle path to help you decide, but you'll need some solid smoke-free living to compare anything to. not everyone's like that, so maybe another way to think of it is a very convincing way to slowly leave it behind (assuming cold turkey hasn't done it).

take a month off, see how you feel. work up to it with days to weeks if it helps. shorter periods of non-tobacco are easier than "never again" since you know you'll be back to it, lessens the anxiety. then, knowing how you operate whilst not pumped with tobacco toxins (takes a month to clear out most all of them, citation needed), you will have some experience of liberation that will probably convince you to try two months or three or

 

[PureMan]

For me, it seems that when I quit cold turkey, and have one cigarette at a weak moment, I am back to square one. My mind finds ways of getting me to smoke another cigarette.. and eventually I'm back to buying packs.

I think if tobacco is an ally, it is only because it can help a person further understand addiction.

 

[PureMan]

really hard to say: if it's an ally it's needy one, if an enemy one with perks.

What are the perks to smoking?

 

[DiMiTriX]

it could be an ally in some situations but if you give him too much confidence it become an enemy,as almost all allies if you complacement it can hit you from behind..most people who smoke don't realize that what they think it's an ally is already an enemy!:?

 

[Infundibulum]

Try snuff, nasal tobacco is in my opinion the best "ally" relationship. It'll most likely get you over smoking addiction (if you're into that) and it is really not calling you back as often.

Downside is that the nostrils may look like an asshole dripping brown stuff if they're not properly cleaned!

 

[jamie]

Tobacco definatily has medicinal uses..it can be very very useful for ridding the body of parasites as an example..it also has value as a medicine for toothaches..

 

[dream_denizen]

Tobacco definatily has medicinal uses..it can be very very useful for ridding the body of parasites as an example..it also has value as a medicine for toothaches..

Interesting points fractal. You seem to have cool bits of knowledge.

As for tobacco being enemy or ally, well thats wholly up to the user.
I tell myself smoking is bad and that I should quit. These are definitely qualities of it as an enemy. I take short hiatuses from smoking but always go back. There is nothing like sitting back and relaxing outdoors and smoking earth. Under the influence of mushrooms, tobacco use has often felt ritualistic.

 

[Infundibulum]

Tobacco definatily has medicinal uses..it can be very very useful for ridding the body of parasites as an example..it also has value as a medicine for toothaches..

Interesting points fractal. You seem to have cool bits of knowledge.

As for tobacco being enemy or ally, well thats wholly up to the user.
I tell myself smoking is bad and that I should quit. These are definitely qualities of it as an enemy. I take short hiatuses from smoking but always go back. There is nothing like sitting back and relaxing outdoors and smoking earth. Under the influence of mushrooms, tobacco use has often felt ritualistic.

I think you confuse the terms "smoking" and "tobacco", or at least use them interchangeably if I read your post correctly. Most people do this mistake; tobacco does not equal smoking. Smoking tobacco may be a tricky ally but tobacco intake is without doubt a good ally, if you do it properly. I imagine aya is a good ally if taken orally but a pretty dangerous one if taken intravenously.

 

[ubu]

Infundibulum observations are very interesting. It is hard to separate smoke from other forms of ingestion as it is hard to separate tobbaco from nicotine.

I have spent half of my life smoking tobacco and found nicotine to be the only substance really addictive for me (according some studies it is addictive only when administered with MAOIs, as those found in tobacco too). Smoking tobbaco/nicotine make me feel really good and really bad. It is contradictory but it is how the thing works and I discovered such contradictions only when I decided to stop smoking, which happened two years ago. I have not smoked tobacco since then and probably I cannot get along with smoking tobbaco anymore. It is too addictive for me. And that is my biggest concern. Not only a personal concern but a public health issue.

But tobbaco has some therapeutic potential, specially as an antipsychotic ally. People like to keep a benzo at home for emergency situations such as drug induced psychosis (bad trips, freaking out and so on). It is really a good idea and I follow it too. But it is not the only medicine to keep around. Tobbaco can be considered a first line of defense even before taking a benzo since tobbaco shows potential to relieve psychosis symptoms.

 

[dream_denizen]

Tobacco definatily has medicinal uses..it can be very very useful for ridding the body of parasites as an example..it also has value as a medicine for toothaches..

Interesting points fractal. You seem to have cool bits of knowledge.

As for tobacco being enemy or ally, well thats wholly up to the user.
I tell myself smoking is bad and that I should quit. These are definitely qualities of it as an enemy. I take short hiatuses from smoking but always go back. There is nothing like sitting back and relaxing outdoors and smoking earth. Under the influence of mushrooms, tobacco use has often felt ritualistic.

I think you confuse the terms "smoking" and "tobacco", or at least use them interchangeably if I read your post correctly. Most people do this mistake; tobacco does not equal smoking. Smoking tobacco may be a tricky ally but tobacco intake is without doubt a good ally, if you do it properly. I imagine aya is a good ally if taken orally but a pretty dangerous one if taken intravenously.

To relate to this topic smoking comes to mind because, along with many others, that is how I use tobacco.

 

[Newfound_wonder]

really hard to say: if it's an ally it's needy one, if an enemy one with perks.

What are the perks to smoking?

It calms me down at work without messing me up, although it does hurt my lungs a little if I do it too often. If I need to calm down at work without getting messed up and my lungs don't hurt, then a cigarette makes for a good ally. This does not mean, however, that smoking a cigarette is the answer to every problem I'll ever encounter.

 

[proto-pax]

Usually when I'm stressed over something I'll smoke. (I.E. tough break up close friend dying) I don't smoke on the back porch anymore because I've been addicted to the stuff and it's not pretty.

 

[Shayku]

"It calms me down at work without messing me up"

Are you sure about that? It increases your heart rate, contracts your blood vessels and shortens your breath - sounds like a stimulant. In my experience, the main thing nicotine calms is the immediate need for more nicotine.

To me, tobacco is a clear enemy. It causes heavy addiction and a range of health problems and offers only regret in exchange. Everything else is a junkie's rationalization. Yoga, sex and flavours are a much better choice. More work, more rewards.

 

[biopsylo]

although i guess i am fortunate enough to not become addicted to nicotine, american spirit tobacco has slipped into many a spliff. at first it seems alright, but then i end up smoking more cannabis only to get 70% high, so spliff smoking becomes perpetual.:roll: when one good pull from a bubbler will send me right there.

smoking cigarettes by themselves??? ewww definitely not an ally. prepackaged cigarettes are poison.--to lungs and the environment.

that being said, i have no experience with the stronger strains from south america. at least one strain is said to be hallucinogenic.?

 

[PureMan]

"It calms me down at work without messing me up"

Are you sure about that? It increases your heart rate, contracts your blood vessels and shortens your breath - sounds like a stimulant. In my experience, the main thing nicotine calms is the immediate need for more nicotine.

To me, tobacco is a clear enemy. It causes heavy addiction and a range of health problems and offers only regret in exchange. Everything else is a junkie's rationalization. Yoga, sex and flavours are a much better choice. More work, more rewards.

I think I am leaning more towards the side of "enemy". There are no real benefits to smoking tobacco in any form. It is only an illusion that nicotine calms you down. It is only an illusion that it relieves boredom. Any "perk" is only an illusion. The reward receptor is set off.. that is about it.

I have struggled through the nicotine trap long enough to now truly know my enemy.. There are no real benefits to smoking tobacco that I can personally think of.. even in a ritualistic context.

 

[1992]

Tobacco is an ally for me. I work constantly and it keeps me going and focused, plus it prevents me from eating the junk food that I'm surrounded by. I only use snus, and I've only smoked a few cigarettes in my lifetime. I do get anxious and lose focus when I go without snus but that only lasts for about a day and so long as I don't have school and I have a day off from work, I can discontinue use fairly easily.

Between helping me get up in the morning and allowing me to get work done with no ill side effects outside the occasional sore gum, snus and consequently tobacco is super important to me. I'd be screwed without it hahaha.

 

[jamie]

honestly..I have never ever become addicted to tobacco..I never went out and bought packs of smokes though..I have spent entire weeks at a time in the bush, smoking cigars while eating mushrooms and I never felt the need to run out and buy tobacco after and start smoking..maybe cigarettes are different I dunno...for me cannabis was way more addictive than tobacco ever was, but I smoked cannabis the way most people smoke tobacco so who knows..I have not smoked tobacco in a long long time now..I dont really have any desire to anyway, other than an interest in combining mapacho with ayahuasca.