Smoking and Autism

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Some people have suggested on WP in the past that smoking (for some) may be a substitute activity for the more recognisable and usual forms of stimming. There could be a grain of truth in this: it is a repetitive physical activity that takes the same form over and over and is resorted to particularly at times of overload or overstimulation...

No one ever talks about how tobacco lowers testosterone. That can obviously cause a lot of issues, including erectile dysfunction. So, you can choose not to breathe properly, be weak, damage your brain AND have limp d***. Why smoke again? Interestingly enough, cannabis does not cause these issue; especially when vaped. Cannabis CAN have a mild impact on testosterone, but only in high frequent doses and it only has a minimal effect.

Regarding stim.
Smoking whether with cigarettes, cigars, pipes or capping IMO has a ritualistic component and thus could fit into Stim.

me at the 6 o'clock hour and waking up getting ready for work.
My routine aka ritualistic thing does not include smoking unless I burn the toast.
( above was attempt at humor I don't eat toast in the morning )

B19 you could be very right with that. I remember that everytime things got too much for me i just stepped out to smoke one. It gives one a legitimate reason to get away from a situation and be for yourself, and its repetative. I always said "I dont care about cancer, i dont want to stop" and my switch to vaping happened more or less "by accident". The thing is - while beeing healthier now, i still have my ritual. I can take a 5 minute break, step outside, vape, pace and just be alone without anyone asking questions...

Peace
TK

Weed, tobacco and caffeine are my trifecta of functionality.

There have been studies on this and they confirm your anecdotal observation. For them, as I suspect for some of us, it's a form of self medication. (Hell, that probably goes for many neurotypicals, too, e.g. the anxious co-worker I mentioned in my previous post.)

Smoking is however a pretty potent aphrodisiac. No one ever talks about that either.

As I understand it, it acts as a stimulant for many who don't smoke regularly -- you can see it, they smile, their speech speeds up, they become quite active. Others experience a feeling of profound calm with the first cigarette, and it's been written that those who do will become smokers. For those for whom it initially acts as a stimulant, it eventually exerts a calming effect. This seems to be an example of the double whammy you mentioned: as one becomes addicted, the body attempts to maintains homeostasis by IIRC upregulating niccotine receptors. Without nicotine, then, one becomes anxious, anhedonic, has difficulty focusing, etc. Smoking restores the balance and so produces a temporary calm that typically lasts about half an hour until cravings start occurring and lead one to smoke the next cigarette. Since I've slipped several times over the years and started smoking again for a while, I've had ample opportunity to witness this sequence in myself!

However I dont get cravings, I grab a cigarette when I am about to get a panic attack or a meltdown, so it varies between one and seven cigarettes a day. Btw, the testosterone story isnt necessarily true. It occurs in 40% of smoker and only 20% of smokers have erectile dysfunction. I got enough testosterone though. I got other problems that dont stem from smoking such as a chronic autoimmune disorder that may shorten my lifespan by 20 to 30 years (average among patients with HIES). Plus CommanderKeen sounds like he takes pride in masculinity, which in my view in dumb. Its up to you though if you want to be another douchy Chad.

There is evidence that smoking is an antidepressant, but not because of the nicotine. Nicotine is a naturally-occuring chemical present in aubergines, potatoes and tomatoes and I don't recall feeling more relaxed after eating those!

The antidepressant effect is more likely due to the beta-carboline alkaloids present in cigarette smoke, which inhibit the enzyme(s) monoamide oxidase - making cigarettes a type of MAOI antidepressant.

I've thought for a while that MAOIs are more effective than SSRIs, but doctors don't like prescribing them due to potential side-effects. IMO, it's a shame to pooh-pooh such effective antidepressants, especially when there's new evidence that the side-effects of MAOIs have actually been overplayed.

It seems though that you would have to eat 20 pounds of eggplant to get the amount of nicotine in a single cigarette:

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NE ... #t=article

Great stereotyping. I guess it's up to you if you want to be weaker than need be on top of your condition and rely on cigarettes to get you through the day.

"Its up to you though if you want to be another douchy Chad."
Yeah, let me just go and stop trying to stay healthy, stop being assertive and stop being strong because some jackass on a web forum thinks he knows everything.

Dataunit, are you maybe confusing nicotine with nicotinic acid aka vitamin B12?

CommanderKeen, you dont see anything wrong with your previous comment then? Speaking of a double standard and inability to take criticism.
Plus there is nothing assertive about you being an inconsiderate douche incapable of constructive dialogue as you have already proven that you are so. Please prove me otherwise. Tell me how doseage of tobacco products as well as other factors dont matter when asserting that smoking makes you weak. Tell me why your logic isnt the same as saying everyone who drinks alcohol is an alcoholic. If you cant then you should maybe stay out of this thread.

Jean Nicot, of nicotine fame, reportedly used tobacco to cure cancers. Excuse me, if I'm being too practical, but it seems that all the best, most useful things in life have been demonized.

I used to get sick, as from the flu, when visiting relatives, who would hotbox every car and small room, and it used to be considered customary, when eating or outdoors, always.

As an adult, I have smoked socially, or in moderation. It can serve a useful, medical purpose, without being taken to extremes.

The same can be said of pedantism. It can serve a useful, medical purpose, without being taken to extremes.

Please define pedantism.

Is it about a wide spread disease. Going over small details. I'm lost.

me.. Not that kind of doctor