Today a brand new member got thrown into Seeking Help because they asked for advice on whether it’s ok or not to use nicotine pouches to quit smoking. The new member was also told that posting while ‘under the influence’ is against the rules.
I called it out and @acromouse said that the thread belongs in Seeking Help because it was talking about moderation.
So… full disclosure, I’ve just taken a hit of my vape. Is that classed as under the influence? Pretty much every single one of my posts over the past 2 years were made while vaping nicotine. Are we moving all of them to seeking help because I’m under the influence?
Members here regularly talk about replacing smoking with vaping, vapind with lozenges, smoking with patches etc. Are all those posts now reserved for seeking help?
What about coffee? That’s also an addictive substance. We have a long standing thread dedicated to cafeine. Are we moving that to seeking help? Should people refrain from posting while drinking their morning coffee with or without a morning cigarette?
What about food? Food addiction and sugar addiction are a thing. Do we move the Foodies Unite thread?
Where exactly do we draw the line?
There are many similarities between all addictions. Absolutely. But using smoking cessation tools to quit or drinking coffee or eating chocolate are not the same as moderating cocaine or heroin.
Why am I so riled up about this?
New members often find this platform confusing. The person who started the original thread was brand new to the forum. Some people find this platform difficult when they’re new. The person who asked about nicotine could just as well now think their thread was deleted because they were told off for being under the influence.
@Amy30 good post to start in my opinion. I’m obviously not a moderator and do not hold any position of authority so just my personal views:
I’d suggest the forum could adopt a hierarchy of harms approach. I’m not trying to diminish ANYONE’s struggle with anything at all. Addiction is a spectrum, I can empathise with anyone who wants to quit anything. HOWEVER there are certain substances or behaviours which are more likely to cause a lot of harm very quickly. I would suggest that nicotine does not fall into that category. Those fast-harm substances are also likely to impair the person posting and could also trigger a reaction from someone reading them, hence the need for the “Seeking Help” category.
To me " under the influence" means being affected by a substance.
Vaping or smoking does not fall into this category imo.
When we say someone is ‘under the influence,’ it implies that the person’s normal faculties are impaired due to the consumption of a substance,
I dont agree with the decision that the particular thread should have been moved to seeking help. I go to seeking help to help those that are unable to get a grip on the addiction or those who are talking about causing harm to themselves. This in no way fit either category.
I did get internally riled up learning that this type of post was put into this category and then the fire was stoked further when I learned it was for a new comers post. We are meant to be a supportive and understanding community and here to help and Imo I do not feel this individual got a fair view of what this community is about.
If this remains in the seeking help category I really am curious to know where we draw the line. Most people in rehab facilities are allowed to smoke and vape while they detox.
“I have a STRICT limit to 1 per day. I have self control and discipline, but obviously I know thats not how its works. Can moderation be done efficiently?”
Maybe the poster was quitting smoke inhalation, maybe not, we don’t know. There’s loads of people who get addicted to nicotine without inhaling traditional cigarette smoke.
There is lots of medical concern about abuse potential of nicotine pouches:
If the question is “does a post about moderating use of nicotine pouches belong in seeking help”, then I think the answer is yes. It definitely doesn’t belong on the main forum, and with the active discussion of moderating, it is even in a gray area there. The seeking help category was created for posting if one needs to post while under the influence of a substance one is trying to quit.
This is ridiculous I’ve stopped smoking cigarettes for over 3 years now but I still smoke a vape , people are coming here for help and support and something like this could scare them away , when I stopped drinking alcohol 5 years ago I nearly doubled my smoking I know I ate a lot more and don’t get me started on how much chocolate I ate so I think we need to be very careful with situations like this
That is not what was said. What was said was, quote “messages that discuss active use are only allowed in a segment of the forum” (the segment being the “Seeking Help” category).
OP of that thread created the thread in the regular forum (not Seeking Help) asking for guidance / input about moderating consumption of nicotine pouches
the first response to the OP’s opening post said that “messages that discuss active use are only allowed in a segment of the forum” (the response did not say that posting about moderation and how to moderate is explicitly against forum rules; it is possible the responder was responding in good faith and wanted to give the OP some space to see where the OP was going, to understand more fully)
the OP’s thread was moved to Seeking Help
there were additional responses to the OP, with input about the OP’s question
It would be different if the conversation was not about ongoing moderation. If it was about actually quitting - not moderation - then the poster could join the open forum in the grumpy people quitting nicotine thread.
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so I think we need to be very careful with situations like this
