# Where did my nicotine buzz go?



## Hooked (11/3/21)

https://vaping360.com/learn/nicotine-high-buzz/
9 March 2021

[...]

*Why does nicotine stop giving a buzz?*

If you use nicotine regularly, you develop a tolerance for some of the effects, as is the case with most drugs, and especially those that have habit-forming properties. Nicotine stimulates receptors in the brain that release neurotransmitters like dopamine—but the receptors don’t have unlimited capacity. When they’re full, additional nicotine just won’t do much for you besides make you feel sick. And when you use nicotine habitually, those receptors are almost always full, meaning that you’ll lose the ability to feel a “nic buzz.” Basically, the nicotine is no longer a novelty to your brain; it’s expected.

You may become dependent on nicotine—or, as the newspapers and anti-vaping advocates call it, addicted. Whatever word you use, when that happens, you’ll stop chasing the nicotine buzz dragon and start maintaining: keeping your blood nicotine at the optimal level by using it first thing in the morning, and then topping it up throughout the day. Either that or you’ll make yourself sick trying to find the elusive, missing buzz.

*Is there a way to get the buzz back?*

The only remedy is to stop using nicotine until your nicotinic receptors are “empty.” Even veteran nicotine users feel more of an effect after a night’s sleep. That’s why the “morning cigarette” is supposed to be the best: after a few hours without nicotine your brain is primed for it.

If you’re not actually dependent on nicotine and you just want to experience that short-lived feeling, it’s best to vape infrequently…

*Will any nicotine product get you buzzed?*

If you miss that feeling of a nic buzz and want to find it in another product, there are some things to consider. A big part of the nic buzz (and also the drug’s addictive potential) comes from the speed with which it’s delivered to the brain. Inhalation is the fastest way to reach the brain’s receptors. It travels from the lungs to the brain in just 10-20 seconds—even more quickly than injection. And nothing does that faster than cigarettes, which are optimized to deliver nicotine as rapidly as possible.

But vaping is catching up, if not already there. Modern vaping devices are very good at providing nic quickly and in large, cigarette-like amounts. They offer options too. You can choose a tiny, low-power device that uses very strong nicotine salts, or a sub ohm tank that delivers a high volume of lower-strength standard (freebase) nicotine. Both work well, and now more than ever smokers have choices that make vaping an attractive and effective alternative to smoking.

Oral forms of nicotine are also absorbed through the mouth and throat. Like cigars, they can be very effective at achieving and maintaining a high blood nicotine level, but they never create that immediate jolt we’re calling a nicotine buzz. However, after 30 minutes or so, when the nicotine delivery plateaus, oral tobacco like snus or chew definitely are felt. And unlike smoked tobacco, smokeless tobacco continues to deliver nicotine even after it’s removed from the mouth, because nicotine embedded in the cheeks and gums continues to be absorbed (at lower and declining levels) into the bloodstream for up to an hour. (Oral nicotine replacement therapy products like gum and lozenges have a similar delivery profile as smokeless tobacco.)

Nicotine transdermal patches, which deliver nicotine through the skin very gradually, are the slowest delivery method of all. In fact, they’re so slow that researchers don’t believe they can create nicotine dependence in people who’ve never used the drug before. Could you get a buzz by wearing several nicotine patches? Maybe…eventually. Or you might just wind up feeling stupid and scratching a bunch of itchy red welts..."

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