Are you a good judge of nicotine content?

[TheTraveler]

Is it just me? Am I the only one who gets surprised by the nicotine buzz from some cigars?

Something must be wrong with my ability to judge how much a cigar is affecting me. I can't tell when I'm getting a nicotine buzz until BLAM I'm pasty white, sweating and nauseous! I've read reviews that said "Cigar X is a little stronger than Cigar Y, and Cigar Z is somewhere in the middle". For me, either a cigar is mild or it kicks my a$$.

As a side note, not many cigars (so far, mind you) have given me that nicotine a$$ whipping - though admittedly I've not smoked any notorious nicotine bombs yet. I have smoked cigars that were labeled "Medium to Full" in their descriptions without any ill effect at all - I'm not just smoking mild cigars here.

I've been giving it some thought. I generally smoke all my cigars the same way: slow and thoughtful. After all, I only smoke one or two a week usually so I tend to focus when I'm smoking. I smoke a pipe much more often and, except for my first intro to pipes back in college, I've never, ever had a nicotine buzz from pipes. Also I'm careful not to inhale though an occasional partial inhale happens due to laughing, talking, etc, while smoking.

There's another possible factor at play here: I smoked two packs of cigarettes a day for almost 10 years before quitting them cold-turkey in January of 2002. Maybe all those years of nicotine skewed my judgement.

Anyway, what about you guys and gals? Are you super-sensitive and able to judge nicotine levels on a scale of 1 to 10? Are you totally insensitive like me and either don't get any buzz or get slammed? Or are you somewhere in between?

I am curious to see your responses. I'm a bit puzzled about this.

Thanks for reading this post!

[stitch]

What's a nicotine Buzz??

[bigloo]

I can judge very mild and when it becomes very strong. Everything in between is just groovy.

[ucla695]

Nicotine doesn't really affect me anymore. It just helps me relax. The more nic the cigar has, the more relaxed I get.

[The Poet]

I fear my sensitivity varies with the fullness of my belly, and vacillates between 0 and 11 on your scale.

[TanithT]

Except under specific circumstances, I don't tend to get much of a nicotine buzz if any, no matter what gets stuck in my hand at herfs where the puffing is nonstop for many hours. Those circumstances are a combination with too much alcohol, caffeine or junk food (my tolerance for all those things is fairly low) or a very empty stomach to the point that I'm already light-headed. In that case, some buzz can kick in, but I am usually aware of it pretty quickly.

Rob's Tat110 that I had a number of puffs on last night did actually hit me noticeably, and I could tell immediately that it was hitting me. But I also hadn't eaten anything since breakfast due to being slammed with website work, so that was definitely a factor. Skipping lunch + smoking a very strong cigar = some buzz.

I know exactly what you have described. It normally happens to me if I keep the cigar in my mouth and it gets really wet. Then the nicotine gets me.

There is one brand that has kicked my butt each time and that's Cu-Avana Impreso. These cigars live up to that name Impreso.

Dan

Originally Posted by bigloo

I can judge very mild and when it becomes very strong. Everything in between is just groovy.

Yup yup!!

I can usually judge very strong by the intensity of my hiccups!!

[WyGuy]

I'm also a terrible judge when it comes to determining the nicotine strength of a cigar. I notice it only when it's to late and I'm really feeling it. Luckily that's doesn't happen all that often to me.

I need to always put on my glasses - I meant Cu-Avana Intenso. But I was very Impreso'd.

Dan

[14holestogie]

Not a great judge of nic content, but I can tell when it's sneaking up on me.
An hour later, when I finally drop the stick, my intuition proves accurate and my face turns green.

[Doctorossi]

A good nicotine whack doesn't often catch me by surprise, but when it does it's usually because I've disrupted my relaxed 'zoning'. If I knock back a spicy double corona over two hours, I may feel it when I stand up and re-circulate the blood. This is in addition to the regular sudden-activity blood-rush effect.

Cant answer the poll for lack of choices, because I never get any hint of a buzz from anything. Perhaps it is because I smoke cigerettes. I can smoke the strongest thing you got on an empty stomach 1st thing in the morning and feel absolutely nothing.

I am wanting to quit smoking cigerettes, so I am sure that once I do I will either start inhaling more of my cigars or start feeling a buzz. I know the "buzz" feeling though....I have quit smoking before.

[RGD.]

Originally Posted by stitch

What's a nicotine Buzz??

Ron

[Chris.]

I can have a bad nic reaction after 3 to 4 sticks if I'm not eating tons of junk food/cookies and they are back to back. When I first started smoking cigars, I smoked 3 back to back and puked all over my friends car.

[Volt]

Strong nic ciagrs I can tell from the first 3 - 5 puffs. The nic causes the back of my throat to constrict and all gets tight. If I persist, I can get the neausa, sweats, etc. The strong nic cigars provide me with no pleasure at all.

I have had some great tasting sticks I tried to work through but in the end were not worth it due to the discomfort the nic put me into.

[TheTraveler]

Thank you all for your responses.