The Paradox of the Cigarette

At the heart of nicotine’s story lies a paradox. Cigarettes were the most inefficient, destructive, and noisy delivery system imaginable, yet they became the most successful consumer product in history. They killed half their customers, stank up every room they entered, scarred cities with ash and tar, and still they spread like wildfire.

Why? Because in the ruins of all that noise, the signal—nicotine’s binding to acetylcholine receptors—remained intact. The receptor did not care about the smoke, the smell, or the social stigma. It only cared that the message got through. And it always did.

The Solution

Here’s the wild (and, I think, correct) claim: the single most life-saving “invention” of the 21st century could be a change in delivery, not a new drug.

That is, if society chooses permission over performative prohibition.