About a week or two ago I had the unusually dumb idea that one could, hypthetically, build up to start smoking by chewing nicotine gum. People use it to quit smoking so I, genius, determined that the process should also work in reverse.
It was funny at the time. We giggled a bit.
Now I did it.
Well, I didn't start smoking. I just bought the gum to try to find out why the heck people smoke in the first place, and maybe why they have such a difficult time quitting. It was cheap; only 25SEK, as compared to what, 80SEK for the stuff you get at the pharmacy? But cheap didn't mean it was any less potent. Having taken a handfull of bites into the gum I suddenly feel my brain shift down a gear. Stray suface thoughts ripple and dissipate, and I become more aware of my surroundings. The sound environment suddenly stands out for me, and I'm even aware of the silence inbetween the noises...
A very odd feeling, and I now realize how very potent a drug nicotine is; and how it works as a neural toxin. That people become addicted to the stuff is no longer a mystery, and a veil to the smoking culture has been lifted from my eyes.
I'm not addicted, of course, but I do feel that now at least I have a small right to even express vague opinions about addiction. People who scream bloody murder about the use of every drug on the planet but never even tried anything have always been the subject of my contempt. In my eyes it's like philistines critiquing abstract art, or butchers giving advice on how to perform brain surgery.
One needs to know what one is talking about. Now I can honestly say that nicotine has a use, and could be used for self-medication, but smoking a pack a day is comparabe to drug abuse. Use, and abuse. Two very diffrent things.
Expat out
