2c The Cedar Rapids Gazette: Mori., Nov. 14,1994 MONEY/TECHNOLOGY HEALTH & SCIENCE Are cigarettes addictive? Smokers can answer that By John Schwartz port of 1988 said it does. But the The Washington Post tobacco industry argues that it Before he finally quit smoking does not, at least in the com­ 18 years ago, Charles R. Schus­ mon-sense meaning of the ter recalled that after a day of words. leading smoking-cessation work­ James W. Johnston, chief ex­ shops, he would declare to his ecutive officer of R.J. Reynolds wife that he was finished with Tobacco Co., said, "All you need cigarettes — and dramatically to do is ask and honestly answer fling his pack over the back two simple questions. First, patio into his garden. would you rather board a plane "Two hours later," said the with a pilot who just smoked a former head of the National cigarette, or one with a pilot Institute on Drug Addiction, "I who just had a couple of beers would be out there with a flash­ or snorted cocaine or shot hero­ light, looking through the bush­ in or popped some pills?" es." good feeling within a part of the "Second, if cigarettes were ad­ Most people would say he was brain known as the nucleus dictive, could almost 43 million hooked. Yet there is no univer­ accumbens. Americans have quit smoking, sal consensus on how addictive Cocaine, like nicotine, enhanc­ almost all of them on their own nicotine is, or at what level it es the effects of dopamine. It without any outside help?" becomes so. blocks the parts of the cells that The fact that millions have Nicotine, one of nature's own soak dopamine back up, leaving quit smoking doesn't negate nic­ insecticides, might seem an un­ more dopamine in the brain and otine's addictiveness, said Jack AP photo likely drug of choice. Nicotine is over-stimulating the nucleus ac­ E. Henningfield, chief of Nation­ lethal to bugs, because it mimics cumbens. al Institute on Drug Addiction's High-tech fair in Vietnam the action of messenger chemi­ Nicotine could work on the Clinical Pharmacology Branch. cals that help animals' nerve same system, but it doesn't keep Many addicts walk away from A Vietnamese visitor points to a computer screen as he talks to Jonathan Mayshar (right) of cells communicate. the body from soaking up its alcohol, cocaine and even hero­ Scitex Israel about the system's computer graphics and applications. The two are taking part But as toxicologists are wont excess dopamine the way co­ in. in the Hanoi International Fair for European Engineering and Production Machinery. About to say, the dose makes the poi­ caine does; instead, it seems to "There is the notion that hero­ 421 companies from 15 countries are represented at the fair. son. At the level offered by tell the nerve cells to pump out in is an all-or-nothing addiction, cigarettes, nicotine gives its fans more dopamine. but nothing is further from the a rush of pleasure, focusing the At the same time, steady truth," he said. As many as 15 mind and relaxing the nerves. smoking appears to deactivate percent of heroin users never The tobacco industry insists the nicotine receptors, lessening seem to become addicted at all that smokers light up for plea­ the pleasant buzz. The body — about the same percentage of sure, not to satisfy an addiction. compensates over time by grow­ non-addicted smokers, he said. 'Virtual secretaries' Most medical experts, however, Most medical authorities have ing more nicotine receptors, and disagree. "once that pathology is set up, little doubt that nicotine fits the So as the FDA explores the you end up in a little cycle that classic definition of chemical Now you don't have to be organized possibility of regulating tobacco keeps you smoking cigarettes," addiction. They have identified products as drugs, Commission­ By Mark Potts Two recently released computer organizer said John Dani, a researcher at all the generally recognized hall­ er David A. Kessler has suggest­ Special to The Washington Post software packages illustrate the strengths, and Baylor College of Medicine in marks of addiction in smokers: 'm not the most organized person in the world. shortcomings, of the new breed of PIMs: Claris ed that it might require ciga­ Houston. • New smokers develop a tol­ For years, I did without a desk calendar, Organizer is a bare-bones model that eschews rette-makers to ratchet back the After the body has gone with­ erance for nicotine, building to­ keeping appointments in my head or on little many bells and whistles (sometimes at its peril); levels of nicotine in cigarettes out nicotine for several hours, ward an eventual plateau. I gradually over a decade or more scraps of paper. My scruffy Rolodex was full of Expresso, from Berkeley Systems — the company the receptors reactivate, hungri­ • They find it difficult to quit, outdated names and phone numbers. famed for its whimsical After Dark screen-saver to reach levels that- are not ly clamoring for a fix. "You feel even when aware of the health addictive. Once I finally got a personal computer for my program — piles on the features and gimmicks nervous, your hands are shak­ effects. Researchers have found into an attractive but bulky package that may be Finding that level may prove ing — you feel awful. That's the that half of smokers who have desk at work, I was sure I'd change my difficult, although nicotine is disorganized ways. But I neyer was able to find an too ornate for some users' needs. reason the first cigarette of the had surgery for lung cancer one of the more studied of day is reported to be the most resume their habits, and 38 per­ electronic organizer that suited me, so I kept The best thing about Claris Organizer is a drugs. Indeed, much of what we feature it shares with its corporate cousin at pleasurable," Dani said. The cent of smokers who suffer a addresses on a clunky old HyperCard stack and now know about the class of Apple Computer Inc., the Newton: If you type smoker continues to puff heart attack go back to smoking. tried various date-book programs to keep track of messenger substances called "Lunch with Bob" into its calendar, it consults its throughout the day to keep the • Smokers who try to quit my schedule. neurotransmitters derives from .Moa^^^^^^^H address book and offers receptors quiet. experience withdrawal symp­ Things got even more •MMMUMMMBMMM early experiments with nicotine. complicated as my you a choice of Bobs you Does that cycle equal addic­ toms such as irritability, anxi­ can link to the In 1909 British researcher J.N. ety, headaches and more. computing went portable. *'What used to be called Langley found that nicotine, tion? The surgeon general's re­ I found myself keeping appointment. Newton goes a bit farther — it when applied to the part of a different schedules on my calendars and date books knows that lunch is muscle that joins a nerve, could desktop machine, my generally at noon, and make muscle tissue contract. He U of I finds milk fortifier laptop and my Newton — are now 'personal realized that there must be a 9 schedules accordingly, a device that, if nothing information managers, and over time learns your "receptive substance" at the else, has a fairly good habits and guesses that neuromuscular junction that is helps premature infants scheduler and address loaded with enough the Bob you want is the responsive to chemicals like nic­ the possibility of fractures. book built in. IOWA CITY — For most ba­ one you usually eat lunch otine, and that the body must bies, the concentrations of nutri­ produce its own nicotine-like Previous studies have shown I suspect my plight was features to make them with. ents and minerals in breast milk hardly unique. Among chemicals. that adding a fortifier improves And Claris Organizer makes it the perfect food for the the most booming virtual substitutes for Later researchers found the efficiently handles most beginning of life. the growth of premature infants. products in PC software 99 body's nicotine-like neurotrans­ of the other basics of "Because premature infants are programs that help secretaries. mitter: acetylcholine, which is Unfortunately, for premature grow at such a phenomenal rate, people organize their organizers — allowing also released at the synapses, or you to sort and group infants breast milk is not ade­ the nutritional needs of the pre­ lives. points of connection, between quate to support their needs. In addresses and two nerve cells. mature baby are greater than • What used to be called appointments, offering a a new study, University of Iowa what breast milk alone is capa­ calendars and date books When people use tobacco, nic­ great deal of flexibility in College of Medicine researchers ble of providing," says Ziegler, are now dubbed "personal otine enters the bloodstream are examining the effectiveness how you enter information and sending also a staff physician at the information managers" — PIMs, for short — and and binds to receptors in place of a new fortified powder that is reminders of upcoming appointments. of acetylcholine. In the brain University of Iowa Hospitals. are loaded up with enough features to make them • But Organizer disappoints in many other areas. added to breast milk. virtual substitutes for secretaries. Most PIMs (which nicotine can reach by It has a fairly ugly interface that's almost integrate the scheduling and address-book passing through its protective "We will be testing a newly Better nutrition in early life unchangeable by the user.