From sacred ritual to global health crisis, how did tobacco and its modern successor, the vape, come to dominate our world, and what exactly do they do to our bodies? This episode travels back 12,000 years to find tobacco's spiritual roots before charting its journey into a commercial powerhouse. We'll dive deep into the neuroscience of nicotine, revealing how it hijacks the brain's most primitive reward pathways to create a powerful addiction. We also uncover the shocking truth of "The Great Tobacco Deception," a fifty-year conspiracy to hide the dangers of smoking. We'll then explore the science behind vaping, hookah, the toxic chemicals hiding in sweet flavors, and the story of the deadly EVALI outbreak. Finally, we look at the challenging but achievable science of quitting.

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