Does addiction to cigarettes have very little to do with nicotine?
In the new study published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Dr. Reuven Dar of Tel Aviv University's Department of Psychology found that the intensity of cravings for cigarettes had more to do with the psychosocial element of smoking than with the physiological effects of nicotine as an addictive chemical.
And:
Dr. Dar's studies conclude that nicotine is not addictive as physiological addictions are usually defined. While nicotine does have a physiological role in increasing cognitive abilities such as attention and memory, it's not an addictive substance like heroin, which creates true systemic and biologically-based withdrawal symptoms in the body of the user, he says.
Dr. Dar believes that people who smoke do so for short-term benefits like oral gratification, sensory pleasure and social camaraderie. Once the habit is established, people continue to smoke in response to cues and in situations that become associated with smoking. Dr. Dar believes that understanding smoking as a habit, not an addiction, will facilitate treatment.
More details on the studies here.
On the subject of things that kill, the other night I watched this documentary about America's first serial killer, H.H. Holmes. While I don't really recommend the movie, the subject matter is incredible. Holmes constructed his house to facilitate his killing, and made it a veritable house of horrors. The best source of info on the case is Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America. It was a national bestseller, rated 4.5 stars with 940 reviews on Amazon.
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