Nicotine Strength

[Steve D.]

Anyone wonder why one person experiences a cigar as strong in nicotine while someone else finds it not? I hear Kip and Craig relate opposite experiences quite often. Is it our behavior with certain cigars that releases extra nicotine? I don't think my behavior varies that much cigar to cigar, but perhaps it is not a conscious behavior. Could speed of smoking or time the cigar is in ones mouth be the culprit? Perhaps what varies from one person to the next is whether the nicotine strength lies in the wrapper vs the filler. Chomping on the stick a lot might expose you to more nicotine if it is in the wrapper while speed or frequency of smoking might release more nicotine from the filler. Perhaps the temperature the stick gets to has some impact. My personal enemies are the LHC Core and Partagas Black. Thoughts?


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[IWinchester]

Funny, like Kip I'm a nicotine wimp, but the LHC core is fine for me! You made some good observations; I never thought about how holding cigars in the mouth could up the nic feel but it makes sense. I also notice I feel it more when driving, but maybe I smoke faster then or maybe it's cuz it's a small space. Holding the smoke in longer can definitely affect it, too. Cool discussion!


Kid Corona

[jledou]

Interesting topic, I would not think it was the wrapper itself that would be high in nicotine but more the other (ligero) leafs in the end of the cigar that hit you while in your mouth. I rarely get hit by nicotine but when I do it seems more from under fermented tobacco. I wonder if increased airflow, like when in the car, actually puts more into your lungs where the nicotine is absorb more?


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[kurtdesign1]

Great, great topic. I completely believe that different constitutions wreak havoc on people differently. To your point, I cannot explain why oft affected individuals will not have results from identical products (e.g. I get destroyed by the TrampStamp & Casa Fernandez Arsenio). Kip and I postulated that driving somehow impacted my experience with these cigars but exactly how is still a mystery.
I do know that introducing saliva to the mix causes a secondary absorption of the nicotine, i.e. you take it in through your oral membrane as well as your stomach/lungs. Hypothesizing a bit, I would think this is the cause of our issue. Extrapolating slightly some basic knowledge I remember about biology and intoxication, I believe a direct blood interface yields more efficient and quick "results" compared to ingestion or inhalation. Could we experience more symptoms when driving because we keep our cigar in our mouth more so our hands are free? It sounds very feasible.
Backing away slightly from that hypothesis, some other possible factors are one's metabolism, environment volume (size of room), accompaniment, mood, attention to what you're doing, etc. The factors could lead to a doctoral thesis, for Pete's Sake.

[IWinchester]

One thing I know for sure is the space/airflow you're smoking in. In the winter we herf at a friends house in his man cave with a butane heater, ceiling fan, and windows at both ends. It's about 300sq ft. With 3 or more smoking in there, I get wrecked by my second cigar. The air is smoky, and the heater eats up oxygen. Mostly anecdotal evidence, but I've yakked on more then one occasion there, and I never do that otherwise.


Kid Corona

[IWinchester]

On another note, I rarely feel nicotine in very palate-drying cigars…something to do with the aforementioned saliva? Perhaps…


Kid Corona