Drugs and cigs

[BattleDuck]

I've been wondering lately if one would consider a cigarette and/or cigar as a drug. According to faithful dictionary.com, a drug is: A chemical substance, such as a narcotic or hallucinogen, that affects the central nervous system, causing changes in behavior and often addiction.
This would be the definition most people would use, but another one could be A substance used in the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of a disease or as a component of a medication.
So in reality, is a cigarette a drug? No, if you refer to definition #1, it does not effect the central nervous system other than the addiction, but it does damage organs such as your lungs immensly.
And no i'm not a drug attic

[Smith357]

Nicotine is a drug, possibly the most addictive drug known to mankind. I've been addicted to nicotine for 25 years.

[offguard96]

Here's a nifty article on it.

http://www.tfy.drugsense.org/tfy/addictvn.htm

Check out the tables at the bottom of the page. Interestingly, marijuana is consistently more benign than alcohol, caffeine, or nicotine. Gateway, hmm?

[combat_potato]

I've been wondering lately if one would consider a cigarette and/or cigar as a drug. According to faithful dictionary.com, a drug is: A chemical substance, such as a narcotic or hallucinogen, that affects the central nervous system, causing changes in behavior and often addiction.
This would be the definition most people would use, but another one could be A substance used in the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of a disease or as a component of a medication.
So in reality, is a cigarette a drug? No, if you refer to definition #1, it does not effect the central nervous system other than the addiction, but it does damage organs such as your lungs immensly.
And no i'm not a drug addict

I fixed that for you.

Of course it is a drug, I don't think that is open to any debate. It does effect your central nervous system, allbeit in a small way.

[ryanpgracie]

Yeah, I don't think there's any controversy at all about whether nicotine and alcohol are drugs. Of course, when used colloquially, "drugs" has a loaded connotation. But formally speaking, yes it is a drug.

[johncua02]

It is most definitly a drug, along with caffeine and alcohol. Cocaine was once a legal painkiller in this country and was treated like Tylenol is today.

I think the debate should be whether nicotine and alcohol should be made illegal like marijuana is. I really have no opinion on the issue other than if Marijuana was made legal, it would be taxed so hard, that cigarette taxes would be miniscule in comparison.

And please don't claim that weed is harmless because becoming a lazy, worthless pile of flesh and bone may not be harmful to yourself, it's harmful to society.

[Epiphone_65]

To re-itterate what seems to be the general concensus of this thread, cigarettes are a drug. Just as alcohol and caffeine are.

Judging from personal experience, cigarettes are highly addictive, and do have an effect on the nervous system. First, we have nicotine, a highly addictive chemical. Lack of nicotine in the bloodstream can cause severe changes in behaviour, often referred to as a "nic fit". Secondly, Carbon monoxide, which is contained in cigarette smoke, can cause damage to the nervous system.

I believe that these two items, not to mention the myriad others contained in a cigarette that have effect on the human body, satisfy the description you have provided regarding a "drug".


http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/text_version/chemical/carbon_monoxide.html
http://www.ash.org.uk/html/factsheets/html/fact09.html

Thank you for your time.

[offguard96]

And please don't claim that weed is harmless because becoming a lazy, worthless pile of flesh and bone may not be harmful to yourself, it's harmful to society.

Almost nothing is harmless. Nobody claims that marijuana is harmless, just that it's far less harmful than some other legal drugs.

Although, I don't see how you can justify making it illegal on the premise that it makes you lazy and worthless. So does alcohol, if abused. So do hamburgers, if abused. They're not illegal, however, because it's assumed that the majority of those who use these substances will not abuse them, because it's also assumed that adults can behave responsibly for themselves. If the line brought up to rebut this is "society needs protection from itself", then I say, alright, let's make alcohol and cigarettes illegal, because they're not only more harmful, but also far more widely abused, than marijuana. Again, the stats:

1 = Most serious 6 = Least serious

HENNINGFIELD RATINGS

Substance Withdrawal Reinforcemt Tolerance Dependnce Intoxictn
----------- ---------- ----------- --------- --------- ---------
Nicotine 3 4 2 1 5
Heroin 2 2 1 2 2
Cocaine 4 1 4 3 3
Alcohol 1 3 3 4 1
Caffeine 5 6 5 5 6
Marijuana 6 5 6 6 4


BENOWITZ RATINGS

Substance Withdrawal Reinforcemt Tolerance Dependnce Intoxictn
----------- ---------- ----------- --------- --------- ---------
Nicotine 3* 4 4 1 6
Heroin 2 2 2 2 2
Cocaine 3* 1 1 3 3
Alcohol 1 3 4 4 1
Caffeine 4 5 3 5 5
Marijuana 5 6 5 6 4

*equal ratings

I don't know how well the tables translate, so you can refer to the original site for clarification. I do know, however, that the numbers tend to support the assertion that marijuana is far more benign than alcohol, nicotine, or even caffeine.

Edit: For a cumulative rating, I compiled the following. Generally, the lower the number, the more dangerous the substance. The higher the number, the less dangerous the substance.

Henningfield Rating:
Nicotine ---- 15
Heroin ------- 9
Cocaine ---- 14
Alcohol ----- 12
Caffeine ---- 27
Marijuana -- 27

Benowitz Rating:
Nicotine ---- 18
Heroin ------ 10
Cocaine ---- 11
Alcohol ----- 13
Caffeine ---- 22
Marijuana -- 26

As for making the user lazy and worthless...I thought the reason marijuana became illegal back in the 30s was to prevent "Reefer Madness" and the hyperactive, violent fits associated with it...now it's claimed the exact opposite phenomenon is the real reason for making it illegal...which is it?

[Dr. Twist]

How wouldn't nicotine be a drug? It completely fits the definition of a drug. Tylenol, advil, and asprin are drugs as well.

[a_elephant]

Marijuana is only a gateway drug because it puts you in contact with the people who use and distribute other illegal drugs.

[dankotron3000]

don't claim that weed is harmless because becoming a lazy, worthless pile of flesh and bone may not be harmful to yourself, it's harmful to society.

Funny, with the exception of the past week I've been smoking just about every day for the past 5 years...

And here I am, getting decent grades in college while working a part-time job and getting paid to do artwork on the side.

Also funny considering I have an aunt who has smoked just as much as me for well over 20 years and is very successful in international business negotiations between Russia and the US.

You have a bad, bad habit of getting cause and effect mixed up, my mislead friend.

[nash668]

indeed it is it has nicotine in it and it's one of the most addictive drugs to human...

[solecistic]

I'm thinking this belongs in Drugs & Booze. Moving.