Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Paranormal / Architecture / Other Stuff / Apropos of Nothing Substituting tea-tree oil for nicotine
Posted by Kevin Warwick on 01.10.12 at 02:30 PM
- Photo from Shutterstock
So, I sympathize with Kate Schmidt's resolution-themed post from last week about the trials of quitting smoking, because though I've never out-and-out uttered the words "I'm quitting," each subsequent Chicago winter beat down has facilitated a resolution to shave a cigarette or two off of my daily total. And that's been a tough enough fucker to execute in its own right.
In response to my slow-quit approach, I've recently taken to gnawing on Tea Tree Therapy's cinnamon-flavored toothpicks—you may recognize them from their designated real estate next to the register at health food stores and local organic groceries worldwide (and, of course, Whole Foods). I watched a friend back in college kick smoking with these, and the back of the package notes, "Their long-lasting flavor can be an aid to those giving up smoking." OK, you sold me. The toothpicks give off a slight cinnamon-tinted burn that, at the moment, seems less obnoxious than hacking a lung through my throat or waking up with a massive cigarette hangover. Plus, they're less expensive than blowing through packs of chewing gum that result in my worrying about developing Temporomandibular joint disorder (aka TMJ syndrome).
I wonder what it would be like to be a toothpick dude. If my persona could land more near Ryan Gosling's role in Drive than the fanatic in the video below who built a model of San Francisco out of toothpicks, I think I'd be fine with it:
Comments (3)
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Mertz Apothecary has a fine selection of fine flavored toothpicks!
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Modify your biochemistry. It's well known that caffeine and alcohol increase cravings for cigs.
To do the opposite, I'd say get your vitamins. Back when I was regularly taking an expensive, premium multivitamin/mineral/amino acid/EFA supplement, my daily cigarette AND beer habits dwindled to almost zero. My thirst for a beer or two every day at 6 p.m. went away. Cigarettes began to taste bad and after a puff or two, I'd throw them away. I was actually afraid I'd become a stick-in-the-mud, with no bad habits whatsoever! Sugar cravings, too, melted away, and sugary foods began tasting too sweet.
I stop taking the supplement, all these cravings eventually come back again. This effect repeats. On again, cravings go. Off again, cravings back.
Not being a scientist, I can't tell you for sure which specific ingredients had what effect. But, I speculate that the fructose provided slow-burning sugar, so no spikes and crashes in blood sugar; the chromium polynicotinate, too, optimizes your insulin release (very good for people with diabetes 2 ... and polyNICOTINate, eh whot?)
Another ingredient in this supplement was Vitamin B5 or niacin. Note, B5's lesser known scientific name, nicotinic acid. The latter can be synthesized in the lab by oxidizing nicotine. Wikipedia says: "...it was thought appropriate to choose a name to dissociate it from nicotine, to avoid the perception that vitamins or niacin-rich food contains nicotine, or that cigarettes contain vitamins."
However, the name change obscures a possible connection. And, my experience is far from isolated, even though most addiction programs totally ignore the nutrition connection, just like most of mainstream medicine ignores the connection of nutrition to everything, but don't get me really going on that.
