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Am I Addicted to Cigars?
By Jesse | March 10, 2008 |
This entry comes from Bryan (HerfinBigDog) of Social Cigar. You still have a chance to enter, check out the Contest Page for the details.
First, let’s look at the definition of ‘addiction’.
Addiction – A compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal.
By this definition, I don’t fit the profile. I don’t feel physiologically compelled to smoke cigars. Nor do I habitually smoke or feel a psychological compulsion to do so. I can go weeks without smoking a cigar and feel no effects, ill or otherwise from not having smoked a cigar for weeks.
Maybe I am addicted to the calming and relaxing feelings that a good cigar can bring about. I enjoy those aspects. But as far as being addicted to cigars because of the nicotine or other chemical properties in the tobacco, I don’t believe that I am an addict.
Fads usually end over time. And a hobby is defined as an activity or interest pursued outside one’s regular occupation and engaged in primarily for pleasure. The definition seems befitting of what cigar smoking can be to some people. But it is no hobby to me.
No, what ever you may call it…I do not have an addiction to cigars.
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Tags: Addiction, Bash Entry, Cigars
Topics: Cigar Talk |
March 10th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
This is all in fun.
“Maybe I am addicted to the calming and relaxing feelings”
Unlike those addicted to heroin.
No, no - kidding - but,uh … what was that you were saying about nicotine and its physiological effects?
“But as far as being addicted to cigars because of the nicotine or other chemical properties in the tobacco, I don’t believe that I am an addict.”
I don’t think Hitler believed he was a manic depressive murderous meglomaniac and we all know how that worked out.
I know what you mean though. I can quit smoking any time I want to - I just don’t want to.
“a hobby is defined as an activity or interest pursued outside one’s regular occupation and engaged in primarily for pleasure…it is no hobby to me.”
So it’s either smoking cigars is your occupation or you just get no pleasure from smoking cigars. I hope you get paid well if you don’t like it.
“No, what ever you may call it…I do not have an addiction to cigars.”
Well hey, you’re the one that brought it up. I never thought you did - honest!
We’ll take you at your word - smoking cigars is neither an addiction for you nor something you primarily do for pleasure.
So? What is it for you?
March 11th, 2008 at 11:33 am
I don’t care how you define it, I think most of us regular cigar smokers are “addicts.” I, too, am primarily drawn to the experience of relaxing with a cigar, and I’ve also gone for long spells without smoking a cigar, usually when I’m sick. But that said, when I don’t have the opportunity to smoke a cigar I REALLY miss it - A LOT. I also find myself obsessing at times about what life would be like if I couldn’t smoke cigars anymore, and it’s very depressing. So, am I addicted? I suppose so, in a way.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:41 am
I quit smoking cigarettes a few years before I picked up cigars. While I often find myself desiring a cigar, it isn’t like that constant need I had for cigarettes. I don’t have that same physical addiction I had to cigarettes, but mentally I’m hooked to cigars. Mainly because I look forward to the peace and quite away from work and everyone else where I can enjoy a cigar.
March 11th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
I’ve been a caffeine addict for ages, though I’ve cut way back on my coffee consumption in the past year to two. And I gotta say that my desire for a cigar is greater these days than my desire for a cuppa joe.
On the other hand, like most of us, I’ve gone without a cigar for a couple of days when I’ve been sick with no problem. If I tried that with coffee, I’d have a skull splitting headache.
So am I a cigar addict? Nope. But I am a cigar experience addict.
March 14th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
I enjoy cigars very much, but I do not think that I am addicted to them. For the purpose of this discussion, I think of “addiction” as the addiction to nicotine that a cigarette smoker has (or someone who chews, for that matter). For those people, if they don’t smoke or chew throughout the day, they will most likely go crazy because they are having nicotine withdrawal. But the amount of nicotine absorbed from smoking a cigar is so little that becoming addicted and/or dependent is fairly unlikely (there was a cool study at http://www.cigargroup.com/faq/health/ncifaq.htm check it out).
With that being said, I do enjoy cigars a lot, and when I am unable to smoke one for a period of time (say a few days to a week) I do miss it and look eagerly ahead to the next time when I can enjoy one. Mainly because I enjoy the calming, relaxing feeling I get when puffing on a nice stogie and enjoying the fine aroma. I don’t go into any sort of withdrawal though if I can’t smoke for a while. On a recent vacation I smoked cigars pretty much everyday (usually 2-3 per day) and then when I returned to my regular life and my consumption dropped, it was without much mention.
As a little sidenote to the last person who commented, I am also somewhat addicted to coffee (caffeine) and if I drink coffee heavily over a period of a few days (mostly when I work) and then don’t consume as much of it my first day off, I have gotten that nasty caffeine withdrawal headache. But not so with cigars. They’re meant to be enjoyed and savored, not addicted to.