Addicted to smoking from your first puff? Blame it on a chemical pathway in your brain. Researchers at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry have discovered differences in brains that explain why some individuals become addicted to tobacco with their first cigarette while others are initially sickened by the experience. It comes down to one brain pathway that … [Read more...] about Researchers Discover Why Some Smokers Addicted with First Cigarette
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Chantix Questions Illuminate Hold of Cigarettes on Mind
The mentally ill consume 45% of the cigarettes smoked in America these days, the WSJ reports. A striking figure in its own right, the number takes on new significance amid reports of psychological troubles associated with Pfizer’s anti-smoking drug Chantix. Nicotine increases the level of dopamine in the brain’s reward center — a powerfully addictive effect. And as reports … [Read more...] about Chantix Questions Illuminate Hold of Cigarettes on Mind
Two Nicotine Addiction Puzzles Explained
The stranglehold of nicotine addiction leads to more than four million smoking-related deaths each year. Scientists at the California Institute of Technology have now explained two roots of that addiction. The discoveries may offer new hope not just for smokers, but eventually also for sufferers of Parkinson's disease, a debilitating movement disorder that affects some 40 … [Read more...] about Two Nicotine Addiction Puzzles Explained
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