Tolerance To The Effects Of Nicotine
Like its 1988 version, the current SG’s report claims that nicotine addiction is driven by the same factors that drive addiction to opiates and alcohol. We have shown above that the major factor in this model, namely the presumed reinforcing effects of nicotine, is not supported by empirical evidence. Another factor that drives nicotine addiction, according to this model, is “neuroadaptations that occur with the persistent use of nicotine .” How does neuroadaptation, and specifically tolerance, contribute to drug addiction? With continued use, tolerance can occur to both the pleasurable and the aversive effects of drugs. It is well documented that tolerance occurs to the aversive effects of nicotine, at least up to a certain point as noted by the authors of the current report : “… tolerance to the aversive effects of nicotine must occur for adolescents to escalate from to two cigarettes per day to one pack per day… .” However, while tolerance to the aversive effects of a drug allows the user to use increasing amounts of the drug, it does not motivate increased use. In contrast, tolerance to the pleasurable effects of the drug can motivate increased use and facilitate addiction, as users must administer increasing amounts of the substance to obtain the desired effects. This is what happens with opiates, but does it also happen with nicotine?
Legal Challenges To Regulation
On August 14, 1978, Ernest Pepples sent a “Privileged” memorandum to several high executives at the company regarding a paper entitled “Up from the Bombshelter,” which was written by Charles Morgan, a noted
civil rights attorney in the 1960s, who later represented the tobacco industry. Although the documents include only a tiny fragment of the paper, we know from those fragments and from Pepples’s memo that Morgan believed the industry should adopt aggressive legal measures to challenge government regulation of tobacco. For example, at one point, Morgan states:
We recommend the initiation of litigation to strike down legislation which forbids private property owners to allow free and unrestricted assembly by smokers in their businesses, restaurants, hotels, bars, stores, and similar facilities.
Pepples explained that the paper had been reviewed and discussed by the Committee of Counsel, a Tobacco Institute committee consisting of the chief counsel of the tobacco companies, and by Horace Kornegay, then president of the institute, and that the memo dealt “with the main currents of the deliberations arising from paper” .
In his analysis of Morgan’s paper, Pepples notes:
Although some of the specific recommendations in Morgan’s paper seem impractical, there is already wide agreement with one of his underlying ideas; namely, that now it has become timely for the industry to adopt a more aggressive stance in objection to some of the anti-industry measures being proposed.
Strategy Of No Settlements
B&W will continue the strategy of intensive litigation of each case with the objective of exploiting each case’s favorable factors and a policy of no payments to plaintiffs in settlement of cases. In the event manufacturers experience losses in the smoking and health cases, the selection of contingency strategy would depend upon the scope of the losses. During the planning period the most attractive strategy probably will be to continue intensive litigation of the cases with no settlement payments and the acceptance of losses as charges against income. The current insurance coverage of $1,000,000 would quickly be absorbed and the adoption now of internal financial structures to fund losses could be a negative influence on juries. Such structures should be re-evaluated if losses occur. A possible contingent strategy of settlement also should be reassessed on an opportunistic basis. Pressure will develop in the Congress for superfund legislation applicable to smoking and health lawsuits if large scale plaintiff victories occur; such a fund would be financed by contributions from cigarette manufacturers amounting to a large percentage of profits.
The strategy of refusing to settle with any plaintiff was one that the industry had devised when the first products liability actions were filed in
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Counseling And Psychological Support
Reviews have indicated that NRT and other medications are most effective when supported by counselling and psychiatric care.
This can range from counseling as simple as advice from a primary care physician to stop smoking to individual, telephone, and group therapy.
These interventions can help people with nicotine dependency overcome the psychological aspects of withdrawal, such as low mood and irritability, while the medications help tackle the chemical side of dependency.
Resisting Government Regulation: Advertising Campaigns
The documents describe several advertising campaigns planned by B&W and other tobacco companies in 1969 and 1970 to counter the increasing threat of government regulation. The first of these campaigns, developed by B&W, was Project Truth, which contained purely political material. Although it was aimed at the public generally, it was intended primarily to influence opinion leaders. Another campaign developed by B&W included political and health messages along with brand advertising. A third campaign, proposed by R. J. Reynolds, and intended to include the participation of all the major cigarette companies, involved the production of a series of spots to be used on prime-time network television. Still another television campaign, intended as an alternative to the R. J. Reynolds idea, was proposed by B&W’s advertising agency. Although these campaigns were diverse in design, they had in common the industry’s desire to go directly to the public in order to defend itself against the growing body of scientific evidence demonstrating the dangers of smoking.
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Filters On Cigarettes Remove Most Of The Nasty Stuff From Cigarettes
Weve all seen the brown stain in a discarded cigarette butt. But what few have seen is how much of that same muck enters the lungs and how much stays there.
This utterly compelling video demonstration shows how ineffective filters are in removing this deadly sludge. A smoker demonstrates holding the smoke in his mouth and then exhales it through a tissue paper, leaving a tell-tale brown stain. He then inhales a drag deep into his lungs, and exhales it into a tissue. The residue is still there, but in a much reduced amount. So where has the remainder gone? Its still in the lungs!
B&w’s Internal Research Program
The history of B&W’s research program is described in a document that chronologically lists all the smoking and health research conducted by B&W from 1906 to 1986 . The entry for 1946 states:
Prior to 1946, the only research done at Brown & Williamson was performed in a laboratory established under the control of the Manufacturing Department. In 1946, the Technical Research Department was formed with Dr. R. C. Ernst as the Director of Research on a consulting basis. … The majority of research conducted at this time was still in the form of technical support.
This entry suggests that, until 1946, B&W had only studied technical issues related to cigarette marketing and development. By 1948, however, B&W had begun developing a cellulose acetate filter. In 1950 the company began work to “eliminate the harsh, irritating smoke in a cigarette that comes from the paper wrapper” .
The entry for 1952 suggests that B&W was becoming more concerned about the health effects of its products with each passing year. It also indicates that B&W was particularly concerned about the tar and nicotine content of its cigarettes.
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The Blackman Paper: Rewriting Scientific Documents
The extent to which lawyers for B&W were concerned about having damaging scientific statements linked to the company is conveyed in a letter dated October 25, 1984, from J. Kendrick Wells, III, B&W’s corporate counsel, to H. A. Morini, a lawyer at BAT . The letter contains Wells’s comments on a draft paper titled “The Controversy on Smoking and HealthSome Facts and Anomalies,” which had been written by Dr. L. C. F. Blackman, executive director of research and development for BAT . The paper presents the industry’s view on the “controversy” over the health effects of smoking. As it was originally written, the Blackman paper contained a reasonably complete presentation of the evidence that smoking causes disease, and then used quotes from various scientists and scientific reports to support the claim that a causal link between smoking and disease had not been proven. However, as Wells’s letter shows, even merely acknowledging the existence of some evidence pointing to such a link was unacceptable.
The title page of the Blackman paper indicates that it contains “Notes on talks given at the BAT Management Centre, Chelwood, by Dr. L. C. F. Blackman” , suggesting that the paper was intended to be a primer for BAT executives on issues related to smoking and health. The introduction states:
Wells’s comments on the draft paper are prefaced with a cautionary note:
To say that these conditions were related to smoking does not necessarily imply that smoking caused them.
FIGURE 9.1.
What Happens When You Smoke A Drug
Smoking a drug is one of the most common forms of intake. It is also the fastest way to get it to reach the brain. When a drug is smoked, it seeps into the bloodstream through the lungs, allowing it to quickly travel to the brain. The effects are immediate.1
When a drug is injected, it instantly goes into the bloodstream and takes effect in 3 to 5 seconds. When a drug is snorted, it enters the bloodstream through mucus membranes in the nose and the stomach and causes effects within 15 minutes. When a drug is swallowed, it enters the bloodstream through the lining of the stomach or the intestines. This is the slowest method of use.1
Are you worried your drug or alcohol use has gotten out of control? Take our free and confidential addiction assessment.
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Expert Practitioner Addict And Lay Opinions About Addiction And Control
At present, much of the general public and much of the medical establishment believe that addiction entails a loss of control over one’s actions, and thus a loss of agency or free will. Among researchers, opinion is more widely divided as to whether addicts lose some control, lose all control, or retain control.
The view that addicts lose control over their smoking or drug use may remain popular in some circles partly because several parties have a strong vested interest in sustaining it. As others have noted in some detail , persons who abuse drugs and alcohol often prefer to avoid responsibility for their destructive actions. Denying that they could control themselves is potentially helpful in dodging responsibility. That is, people prefer to say I cannot stop as they continue to indulge their pleasure-yielding habits, rather than saying I could stop but I choose to enjoy myself regardless of the cost. The medical establishment likewise gets strong benefits from regarding addiction as out of control, because it means that people need professional help, and so the popular belief that addiction constitutes uncontrollable behavior puts money in their pockets, as , , and have pointed out.
A similar conclusion emerges from a recent compilation by called Addiction and Responsibility. The contributors to the volume seem divided between the full control and partial control positions, with almost no one arguing that addiction entails a full loss of control.
Is Smoking Tea Legal
Green tea beverage is legal to buy and consume. There are no regulations on the herb as an illegal drug or substance. It can be consumed legally in any way a person would like, including publicly.
Green tea can also be legally purchased as a smoking blend or pre-fabricated cigarette. You can also purchase green tea for drinking purposes and smoke it instead, if desired.
Laws that apply to smoking areas, secondhand smoke, and smoking in enclosed areas most likely apply to smoking green tea. If you cant smoke tobacco cigarettes in certain areas, you wont be able to smoke green tea cigarettes there, either.
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How Can Smoking Affect Health
Many of the chemicals in cigarettes, like nicotine and cyanide, are poisons that can kill in high doses. The body is smart. It goes on the defense when it’s being poisoned. First-time smokers often feel pain or burning in their throat and lungs, and some even throw up the first few times they try tobacco.
Over time, smoking leads to health problems such as:
- heart disease
Smoking can affect sexual health in both men and women. Girls who smoke and are on hormone-based birth control methods like the Pill, the patch, or the ring have a higher risk of serious health problems, like heart attacks. And if a woman wants to get pregnant, smoking can make that harder.
Besides these long-term problems, the chemicals in cigarettes and other products also can affect the body quickly. Teen smokers can have many of these problems:
Cannabis Is Not Like Harder Drugs
About 20% of those who did not feel smoking blunts is addictive based their assessment on a comparison of cannabis and âhardâ drugs such as cocaine and heroin.
Arlos: It is not actually addictive, but you do actually get the urge and you feel depressed and somehow, someway you just want to do it eventually. It’s not officially addictive like crack or all that other stuff.
Arlos went on to say that he wondered if cannabis âmight beâ mentally addictive. Another respondent, Sheeba, also thought physical dependence might be possible but ruled out physical addiction:
Sheeba: I know it affects your physical chemistry. But from an addiction standpoint ⦠I think that you have a little bit more agency and control than you would have if, um, you’re on heroin or on, you know, and you certainly don’t have the withdrawal kind of situation.
Interestingly, some respondents who said they do not believe cannabis is addictive also said that they know other users who seem to be dependent on the drug. About 7.5% made this observation; they saw the behaviour of others as evidence that addiction is driven by personality rather than the drug. This is in contrast to those who saw the dependent behaviour of others as proof of cannabis’ addictive potential .
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Rolling Tobacco Vs Regular Cigarettes
There are some notable differences between RYO and regular cigarettes. Smokers tend to inhale more tar and nicotine when smoking RYO cigarettes, due to the lack of a filter.
However, both types of cigarettes are similar in that they are incredibly damaging to one’s health. A 2019 study looked at the amount of TSNAs in the saliva of RYO and regular cigarette smokers and concluded that RYO cigarettes are just as harmful as manufactured cigarettes.
Deborah Arnott, chief executive of the anti-smoking organization Action on Smoking & Health , put the differences between RYO and regular cigarettes into perspective in an interview withIndependent: “A useful analogy that has been used is that arguing over the difference between roll-ups and straights is like arguing whether its safer to jump out of the 20th or 15th floor of a buildingeither way, youre going to hit the ground and die.”
Battelle’s Nicotine Research Program
Not disclosed in Sir Charles’s 1962 speech was contract research on nicotine that BAT was already having done by the Battelle Memorial Institute laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. The project was headed by Sir Charles, and its ultimate purpose was to develop a novel nicotine delivery device that would avoid the toxicity of conventional cigarettes.
Battelle undertook several projects for BAT on nicotine from the late 1950s through about 1967. Project Mad Hatter was a comprehensive literature review. Project Hippo I involved animal experiments exploring the effects of nicotine on stress, weight gain, water balance, and hormonal regulation. The investigators regarded each of these diverse phenomena as related to the action of nicotine on the hypothalamus, a part of the brain that was then the focus of intense scientific interest because of its apparent control over the pituitary gland, the so-called “master gland” of the body. Project Hippo II extended this work on the hypothalamic effects of nicotine by exploring whether nicotine acts in ways similar to major tranquilizing drugs such as reserpine. A separate series of experiments traced the basic pharmacokinetics of nicotine. Finally, Project Ariel sought to develop an alternative nicotine delivery system: a device that would provide the consumer with nicotine while delivering negligible amounts of the other toxins found in tobacco smoke.
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A Grave Crisis: B&w’s Public Relations
The level of concern that the Surgeon General’s report aroused in the industry’s public relations departments is indicated in a report from John V. Blalock, director of public relations for B&W, to J. W. Burgard of B&W’s Marketing Department . A copy of this report was also delivered to B&W’s president, E. P. Finch. The report is dated June 18, 1963, six months before the Surgeon General’s report was actually released.
In this report Blalock discusses meetings he held with various representatives from the Tobacco Institute, the Tobacco Industry Research Committee, and the public relations firm of Hill and Knowlton regarding how the industry as a whole should respond to the Surgeon General’s report.
The consensus is that the industry is in a “grave crisis,” and the philosophy is “to expect the worst and work for the best.” Of course the greatest cause for alarm is the forthcoming Surgeon General’s report, which is expected to be detrimental to the industry. The only degree of hope is the possibility that, instead of singling out tobacco per se , the report will take into account a list of other agents which are suspect. However, this is deemed a rather dim hope, because indications point to a strong indictment of tobacco, with possible “root-shaking” consequences.
Apparently, however, neither of these organizations felt prepared to handle the situation that was about to confront them.
