To think a benign and manageable addiction isn’t something to be overly concerned about?

[Thepeopleversuswork]

To be clear I am talking about:

• caffeine
• nicoteen gum

I have consumed both daily for over 20 years without any adverse health effects. Not in huge amounts, a couple of cups of coffee and four or five gum lozenges a day. Have asked my GP about the gum and she shrugged and said “it’s better than smoking or vaping”. Which is absolutely how I see it.

A colleague (who is a health nut) was telling me it’s high time I stopped drinking coffee and chewing nicotine gum and is pushing me to go to a hypnotist. She keeps asking me when I am going to get it done and says you can’t truly be healthy if you live with addiction. I don’t really see the need. I used to smoke (cigarettes), drink moderately heavily and generally was pretty unhealthy.

I now don’t smoke, I almost never drink alcohol and I exercise loads and feel healthier than I have since my 20s. I have just had a clean bill of health from the GP on a bunch of tests I have had done.

AIBU to think if these two minor vices don’t harm me but support stress management and are enjoyable I should be allowed to crack on without having to stop purely because they are technically addictions?

I thought using nicotine gum for years was bad for you - increased risk of mouth cancer or something.

Don't see the problem with the coffee.

Nicotine gum isn’t great but as GP said, better than smoking or vaping. As for coffee-there are plenty of well documented health benefits to it, as long as it doesn’t disagree with you (digestive issues or anxiety) then on balance it’s a good thing to drink!

Having two cups of coffee a day is not an addiction. Your health nut friend should maybe wind her neck in. I would be inclined to start lecturing her on dangers of orthorexia if she doesn't stop with her suggestions.

Nicotine gum aggravates gum disease ,some studies have shown a risk of oral cancer and nicotine itself has many bad effects on the cardiovascular system etc.
The gums were only designed for short to medium term use to help wean off cigarettes. They were not designed to be used for years.
Nicotine in gums certainly can have detrimental effect on oral and general health . Although, like vaping , it is much better than smoking it could not be , even remotely , described as a healthy habit .

I mean it’s no huge deal, and if it helps you avoid worse ‘addictions’ it’s worth it.

But you can’t really say there are no adverse effects, because you don’t know how much healthier / happier you might be if you weren't reliant on these things. You’d be a bit richer, at the very least, and less liable to bad moods etc if for any reason you have to go without.

This is a good overview of the problems of long term use of nicotine gum. It was only ever meant as a short to medium term aid to smoking cessation. https://actchealth.com/blogs/nicotine-gum-5-side-effects-to-be-cautious-of#:~:text=Increased%20Oral%20Cancer%20Risk,not%20have%20harmful%20carcinogenic%20effects.

It’s a fair point on the nicotine gum: I guess I have always seen it as the lesser of several evils. I know eventually I need to stop.

I guess what I found odd is the idea that you can be “addiction free” when you are talking about relatively benign things.

There are so many things people do which could be described as “addictive”, from running to sex to looking at their phones. If taken to excess these are all negative but I guess I question the idea that you should seek to eliminate anything that’s pleasurable purely because it could be addictive.

Ir seems a bit of a puritanical and self defeating approach.

It's not even an addiction at that point it's just something you enjoy that might be a tiny bit bad for you, that it would be a bit sad for you to stop.
For me it's diet coke. It's delicious. Could I stop drinking diet coke? Yes. I did so throughout my pregnancy. It was a little hard tho so there's definitely some element that's similar to addiction.. however my duet coke consumption doesn't negatively effect my life at the moment altho I know it's not the healthiest.. and I enjoy it. So why bother working hard to give it up?

Hmmm

I don’t think life works like that though really. I think you would probably just be substituting something else.

2 cups of coffee a day is an addiction? It's my only vice and I am never giving it up. Just had my annual checkup; all good so I am carrying on.

I don't know enough about nicotine gum.

I am arguably addicted to exercise; I'm used to the endorphins of regular vigorous exercise, and if I'm not able to for more than a short period I feel pretty down and trapped. But the benefits hugely outweigh the disadvantages.

I'm also a bit of a caffeine addict, and honestly I probably should cut back a bit because I do notice a correlation with feeling anxious, but I could do a lot worse. Most people have crutches of some sort or other; it's a cost/benefit thing.

I mean realistically whether it's concerning or not, it's your life and you can do what you want and decide how concerned you are about your habits. It's none of her business what your habits or addictions are, whether that's chewing nicotine gum and drinking coffee or eyeballing vodka and going on MDMA binges. It doesn't effect her so your colleague needs to butt out and mind her own business!

An addiction is defined as not having control over what do you or use to such an extent that harm is caused. The two substances were described by you as benign & manageable, so there's no cause for anxiety. They seem to me to be habits rather than addictions.

I would be pointing your friend in the direction of all the research evidence that shows that coffee consumption is actually beneficial for health

www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/9-reasons-why-the-right-amount-of-coffee-is-good-for-you

Maybe so, it’s an interesting thought. I don’t drink alcohol, tea, coffee or any carbonated drinks. Nor do I smoke, vape or chew gum.
I don’t over-eat or over-exercise or play video games or gamble.

I am a terrible procrastinator though. Maybe that’s my maladaptive coping strategy 🤔

I have no issue with the coffee.
Not so sure that long term nicotine gum is a great idea. Perhaps you need to consider lowering the amount with an aim to stop eventually.

Maybe said "health nut" needs some therapy to get over their incessant need to push their opinions onto others.

Try Millways watermelon flavour chewing gum as a very different but very nice alternative (with the bonus it's not plastic but plant-based.)