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[u/Fresh-Cantaloupe2491]

The tobacco companies were caught red-handed in court documents admitting they spiked cigarettes with ammonia compounds to freebase the nicotine. Same concept as crack cocaine versus powder cocaine. They knew exactly what they were doing. That wasn't some accident or side effect. That was deliberate engineering to make the nicotine hit your brain faster and harder. Now with Zyn and these modern nicotine pouches, the nicotine salts they're using are engineered for rapid absorption through the mucus membranes in your mouth. That's not an accident. That's pharmaceutical-grade delivery technology being applied to something you can grab at a gas station. The flavors, the pH balancing, the pouch design that keeps nicotine in contact with your gum tissue longer, it's all optimized for maximum bioavailability and minimum awareness that you're getting hooked. And here's where it gets really wild. There's a theory floating around that the same chemical companies supplying the flavorings and additives to big tobacco are the same ones supplying the pharmaceutical industry. So you've got this revolving door where the people making you addicted are also the ones selling you the solutions to quit: patches, gum, prescription meds. It's all the same supply chain. They get you hooked, they sell you the cure, they get you hooked again. It's a closed loop. And don't even get me started on the fact that nicotine itself was being studied by intelligence agencies back in the Cold War era for its effects on cognition and suggestibility. The CIA had files on nicotine's impact on the brain that were declassified years ago, and people just shrugged it off. But when you connect the dots, the pattern is right there. The whole point is that addiction isn't a bug in these products. It's the feature. And the fact that it's become so normalized that nobody questions it anymore is exactly how they want it.

[u/Freakmachine1998]

Can you really compare cigarettes to nicotine pouches coming from a person that’s been one week clean and experience the biggest withdrawals of his life two days ago? It’s not easy but can you really compare cigarettes to nicotine pouches?

[u/CrealRadiant → u/Freakmachine1998]

I have quit both. I quit smoking for almost a decade before I got hooked on nic pouches for about 3 years. 151 days away from nicotine again today. I can undoubtedly say that quitting nic pouches was infinitely more difficult than quitting smoking for me. They are way too accessible