I gave up smoking almost 2 years ago I don't want to go back.

I have some other parts of my life I want to heal and I feel ayahuasca calling my name. I believe I could get the resources to go to S. America and partake in a few ceremonies. I have found a reputable center that I have corresponded with. [Amrita Center]

I told them about my previous abuse of tobacco and how I was wary to have it blown in my face during ceremony. They said they could blow perfume instead but they must smoke mapacho cigarettes in the Maloka for the duration of the ceremony.

I wonder if it would really bother me when I am tripping that hard. It does bother me now when I'm sober or tripping at a festival and come into contact with it I usually move away. Maybe the context of its use would not inspire addictive tendencies?

I'm just wondering if its good to trip hard in a room full of the smoke from a former addiction. If any other ex-smokers have gone through with this it'd be nice to hear your views.

Otherwise I will just begin on the Aya path at home.

Thanks

Hey there, i gave up Tobacco on x-mas last year, quit cold turkey. I had been using Ayahuasca all last year, at my house, comfortably and respectfully and quitting Tobacco merely came as a benefit i guess as the way i see it the Ayahuasca broke my mind out of the addiction cycle and plus i'm a Cannabis smoker so the Cannabis has also helped in a way. For me, i can be around people smoking Tobacco and i don't even get the slightest urge or craving, in fact since i've quit i haven't had one single craving or urge to smoke it again. Although i have thought here and there what my reaction would be now if i tried smoking a cigarette but i think i'm 100% over Tobacco and it wouldn't a big deal at all.

Now as for your situation, might i make a tiny suggestion? What you could do if you feel the urge for whatever reason, to smoke, is to maybe smoke on some Caapi leaf, or extract some freebased Harmalas from Syrian Rue and either dissolve them in a solvent to evaporate them onto the Caapi leaf or straight up mix the two in a bowl and smoke and when the Harmalas are heated they melt onto the herb making for a nice smoke. Or, you can take a few tokes of some Cannabis (not anything hardcore, just some nice relaxing herb) and you should be fine. I personally feel Cannabis really adds to my Ayahuassca/Changa sessions.

The reason for using the Harmalas to cope is because the Harmalas themselves stimulate Serotonin and Dopamine, which i attribute to what Tobacco smokers really "like" about Tobacco rather than the Nicotine, seeing as how Tobacco has some Harmalas in them though of course not Harmaline or Harmine. Plus the US government has patents on Harmalas for the treatment of various chemical dependencies, so i'm pretty sure that's why i was able to quit Tobacco so smoothly because i had been really working with the Ayahuasca even though i smoked Tobacco with it till i decided enough was enough and quit Tobacco like it was nothing.

Just remember to stay strong though, once you have it in your mind that Tobacco sucks and there's no reason for you to be smoking such a lousy herb, you'll be fine. Hell, i've only been without Tobacco for 8, almost 9 months now and i'm doing fantastic! You're almost at 2 years, you should be even better than i am. Hang in there, you'll be fine.

Honestly Mapacho smells and tastes nothing like cigarettes. If anything its closer to a cigar than a pack of smokes.

I personally despise the smell of mapacho and wish they didn't have to use it in ceremony but if the maloka is built correctly you shouldn't be bothered by it. Your on the floor laying down so the smoke is always well above you. I'm sensitive to mapacho and its never been a problem for me.

When they come to smudge you they do blow it across your head and hands but I just hold my breath till its done. It shouldn't be an issue IMO.