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Science 24 January 1992:
Vol. 255. no. 5043, pp. 430 - 433
DOI: 10.1126/science.1734519
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Articles

Science, Vol 255, Issue 5043, 430-433
Copyright © 1992 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Addictive drugs: the cigarette experience

TC Schelling

Department of Economics, University of Maryland, College Park 20742.

Cigarettes are among the most addictive substances of abuse and by far the most deadly. In this country smokers know it and try to stop. Their success has been dramatic but partial and excruciatingly slow, and until recently quite uncoerced by government. Cigarettes and nicotine have characteristics distinct among addictive drugs, and some of these help explain why efforts to quit smoking are so often frustrated. Nicotine itself is the most interesting chemical in the treatment of addiction and, in some forms, can pose a dilemma: compromise by settling for pure nicotine indefinitely, or stay with cigarettes and keep trying to quit. Nicotine is not alone among addictive drugs in becoming increasingly identified with the poorer classes.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Effects of Long-term Cigarette Smoking on the Human Locus Coeruleus.
V. Klimek, M.-Y. Zhu, G. Dilley, L. Konick, J. C. Overholser, H. Y. Meltzer, W. L. May, C. A. Stockmeier, and G. A. Ordway (2001)
Arch Gen Psychiatry 58, 821-827
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Long-Lasting Enhancement of Glutamatergic Synaptic Transmission by Acetylcholine Contrasts with Response Adaptation after Exposure to Low-Level Nicotine.
R. Girod and L. W. Role (2001)
J. Neurosci. 21, 5182-5190
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Tobacco Consumption in Swedish Twins Reared Apart and Reared Together.
K. S. Kendler, L. M. Thornton, and N. L. Pedersen (2000)
Arch Gen Psychiatry 57, 886-892
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


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