Natural Tobacco

[Stravinsk]

Thought I'd start this thread for a bit of truth reveal.

I've smoked (commercial) tobacco nearly all my life, since I was 15. I've quit a lot of drugs, but this is/was by farthest the hardest to stop. Never done so successfully for long.

Drinking (alcohol) and smoking go together, and there's a reason why. When people drink alcohol, it depletes their bodies B vitamins, and in particular, vitamin B3. The reason why people smoke more during alcohol consumption is that, tobacco, when burned, converts to and releases a small amount of vitamin B3, which helps to replace what is lost through alcohol.

Tonight I'm having some beers and smoking my home grown, home cured, tobacco. It's much harsher than the commercial stuff. Strangely, it's also more satisfying. It doesn't taste good, it's harsher, but I also don't feel the need to smoke nearly as much. While I've known for a long time the list of additives to tobacco is long, I didn't realize until tonight how much garbage is added to keep the smoking of it on more indulgent side. I'm actually smoking quite less than normally.

I'm not sure one can find natural tobacco on the market. Perhaps if one looks hard enough and trusts the source. I know mine is natural because I grew it and cured it myself.

 

[Fritz Kobus]

I got off cigarettes about 43 years ago. Was a 2.5-pack-a-day smoker. What it took was a substitute. So, I chewed on toothpicks. The toothpick habit ran for five years. Quitting toothpicks was another story.

Alcohol? I got away from the people who liked to drink and eventually just quit drinking at all. Haven't had a drink in 10 years and that was one small glass of wine and I did not like the way it made me feel, so I dumped the rest. Probably have had about a six-pack worth of beer in the 10 years before that. Have no desire to drink, but 40 years ago they probably would have labelled me an alcoholic.

There's other stuff and I left that all behind a good 40 years ago too.

 

[Stravinsk]

Hey @Fritz Kobus thanks for replying. I am glad you were able to successfully give up 2 horrible habits!

I started this thread to help people understand the connection between tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption. I didn't understand myself why I smoked more when drinking alcohol than not until the last few years, or why some people don't smoke at all unless they are drinking alcohol.

The answer I found is fairly simple. Alcohol depletes B vitamins - nearly all of them, but especially B3. Tobacco smoke is converted to a small amount of B3 which is the reason people often smoke (or smoke more) when consuming alcohol.

What I've also found is that the tobacco people smoke almost always has to be changed significantly for people to want to smoke it. Natural tobacco is harsh. It's more satisfying, but it's harsher to inhale. That is why tobacco companies use certain chemicals to change it to make it more appealing.