Posted on 07/17/2004 5:17:58 PM PDT by MadIvan
Nicotine could soon be rehabilitated as a treatment for schizophrenia, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, as well as hyperactivity disorders.
Research shows that the chemical that has addicted millions to smoking has a powerful impact on brain activity in patients who suffer from psychiatric and degenerative disorders.
Some experiments have shown that nicotine can slow down the onset of Parkinson's symptoms; others have had revealed its power in curtailing the hallucinations of schizophrenics.
'A whole range of psychiatric conditions seem to be helped by nicotine,' said Dr Dan McGehee, a neurobiologist at the University of Chicago. 'However, such benefits do not justify smoking. The lethal effects of cigarettes far outweigh any help they provide. On the other hand, our research does suggest that derivatives of nicotine, administered medically, could help to alleviate a range of psychiatric problems.'
Nicotine is known to switch on receptors on the surface of cells in certain parts of the brain, causing these neurones to release the neuro-transmitter dopamine, a chemical that is associated with feelings of pleasure. This effect leads to a person's addiction.
More than 50 per cent of people suffering from clinical depression smoke, while the figure rises to 95 per cent for schizophrenics. But smoking among the general public has dropped to about 25 per cent. 'The assumption is that people with psychiatric conditions are self-medicating,' said McGehee. 'They are smoking because the nicotine in particularly helpful in alleviating their condition.'
This point is backed by Dr Tony George, of Yale University. 'Smoking is a marker for psychopathology,' he states in the current issue of the journal Nature Medicine.
Similarly, it has been found that nicotine can sometimes slow the debilitating symptoms of Parkinson's, a disease caused by the slow destruction of certain types of brain cells.
'Either nicotine stimulates other types of brain cells to compensate for the loss of the cells involved in Parkinson's, or it is somehow providing protection to remaining healthy Parkinson's cells,' said McGehee. 'Either way, the effect is noticeable.'
I just had to let you know, your comment has inspired me. You see so many great comebacks here on FR, I had to make a place on my profile page to keep some winners and you are the first!
Thanks for giving an honest answer. I've said before and I'll say it again that as soon as it is the government's responsibility to pay our medical bills it becomes the government's fiduciary responsibility to see that we eat right and excercise. This is no different. I expect the War on Fat to jiggle forth next.
The reason it hasn't been banned is the hope that people will stop smoking on their own.
Just as a point of interest, there have already been *two* tobacco prohibitions in America, one during colonial times and the other after the revolution. The largest side effect during these tobacco prohibitions was to encourage a cottage spying industry to catch secret smokers. Modern tobacco smuggling to avoid sales taxes is already a billion dollar industry. I'm not optimistic that banning it again will be any different.
Cheers.
Dear MainFrame,
Perhaps you didn't read my post carefully. I do not smoke. However my domestic partner does and my sister did, and even before the smoking nazis sent these pathetic people out into the cold and the heat and the wind; out of the comfortable spaces inside where decent people live and work and have their being--even before that--my DP and my sister were considerate of others.
Now, a perfect universe would be nice, it would be great,
1) my dog would not eat poop
2) my daughter would call more and have a baby
3) there would be a cure for wrinkles and cellulite, but only I would have it
4) my DP would try to talk me into going on a cruise
well, I could go on, but since I can't have a perfect universe, why should you expect to ????
The smoking bans that have been passedin the various states and municipalities all include a "snitch" line.
The state of Delaware is spending an absolute fortune on billboards up and down the highway about the smoking ban......."Second Hand Smoke is no longer on the menu" with the requisite cherubic child's picture........and underneath is the toll free number to call to report "problems"
Baseball is not gay! Baseball players are of normal size and look great in those pants! You are now to go outside and stand pathetically holding your cigarette down beside you, except for when you take furtive puffs.
According to that article, 25% of the general population smoke; the number is larger among wackos and Freepers.
Do you realize what this means? If you people would get off your butts as opposed to sitting around puffing on cigarettes and probably drinking and enjoying yourselves,
think what an influence you could have.
But, no, you're not joiners... you'd rather just sit there and smoke.
About 12% are Black, the same--maybe a little more--hispanic and maybe -- I dunno - 6% gay/lesbian and look at the influence they have!
Look what you could do. Put out those smokes, get together, form a coalition and get your rightful places back in restaurants. Demand smoking sections in movies.
You have rights!
The mentally ill have high rates of substance abuse is a result of their vulnerability to it. It is harder for them to quit too and being exposed to environment with high rates of substance abuse leads others to substance abuse.
The cigarette companies are making a lot of money taking advantage of vulnerable people. I don't buy that these cigarettes are helping the mentally ill at all, in fact they found that it interferes with the absorbtion of their medications. Have they done any studies linking smoking to causing or triggering mental illness? That might be a worthy study since so many mentally ill smoke, it could be affecting brain cells or something.
La Gloria Cubana Churchill Ping
A few years ago Mcdonalds hamburgers and the combination of ingrediants were supposed to have increased your cancer risk RESULT = billions and billions served
The BIG LIE That Smoking is an Economic Burden To Society
yellow teeth, bad breath, smelly person, yellow finger nail
How dare you! I have been smoking since I was 16 years old. I do NOT have yellow teeth, bad breath. I do not "smell." Personal hygiene is the ticket for ALL people. Yellow finger nails?
You don't even know me. So how dare you think this of me just because I smoke!
You may smoke or not, as you choose, but please do not share your habit with me. If you consider dining in a nice restaurant to be an occasion instead of just nutrition, perhaps you will recognize that I would appreciate the same consideration for me and my family, particularly if you are able to enjoy your meal accompanied by indulging your prediliction, merely by sitting in a different area of the same facility.
I lived with constant breathing problems, sinus infections, and other evidence of reaction to constant exposure to smoke while I was growing up, so I presume you are far more able to live in this environment without harm or serious discomfort.
But the facts are these:
1. Smoking is about as far from a natural act as anything can be. Smokers, not nonsmokers, bear the social obligation of accommodation.
2. Smokers - even my parents, who truly loved me, but smoked like chimneys - made no effort to accommodate my discomfort, over decades. They though I would get over it, like they and all my siblings, all smokers.
3. I am making every reasonable effort to accomodate smokers, by supporting equal BUT SEPARATE accommodations. I am not aware of an instance of a smoker experiencing discomfort due to a hotel room NOT smelling like stale tobacco. After all, a few smokes will bring it up to accustomed conditions.
We will never change each other's minds, so I am getting off the train here. I enjoyed the discourse.
That's what I'm afraid of. They are getting regular smokers mixed up with POT smokers. The POT smokers "I" have seen have yellow and rotten teeth, stringy dirty hair and yellow fingernails. They have gotten the regular smokers mixed up with their POT smoking buds.
Together, through politics and organization, our dreams can acquire the power of a physical force -- one strong enough to allow me to enjoy the comfort of Mainframe's home without having to go outside to enjoy a relaxing cigarette.
The struggle for this freedom will be long and arduous. We will have to battle the prejudice of oldthinking bigots clothing their antisocial paranoia in talk of "property rights" or whatever that old cliche is that lawyers are always laughing about.
But like the mighty cigarette itself, the fire of justice starts with one spark.
I've been smoking as long as you and here I am!!!
Didn't you love the fifties?
I'm 71 years old and lots old friends have died.
Some were smokers,some were ex-smokers,and some never smoked.They are all dead.
None of us are going to get out of this alive.
"Didn't you love the fifties?"
The 50s were the best times in my life, except for haveing an airplane and flying that I didn't have in the 50s.
Sure did love the hot rodding, racing, boating, marlin fishing , and life in general much more than now.
I am proactive on my health concerns and conscious of others concerns, however I leave it up to others to decide how to manage their own health concerns as they see fit.
Nicotine kills insect pests in your garden, too.
You've got that right about the peanuts. There are even places where any type of scent isn't allowed and that includes the scent from the soap you used to shower in the morning.
I've come to the conclusion that Al Qaeda could wreak havoc in the US by throwing around peanuts,perfume, and smoking while they are doing it.
Instant surrender by the gnatzis.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.