Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site proper.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!floyd!cmcl2!seismo!hao!hplabs!hpda!fortune!amd70!dual!proper!gsa From: gsa@proper.UUCP (George Acton) Newsgroups: net.med Subject: Smoking Message-ID: <1349@proper.UUCP> Date: Tue, 12-Jun-84 23:11:29 EDT Article-I.D.: proper.1349 Posted: Tue Jun 12 23:11:29 1984 Date-Received: Sat, 16-Jun-84 00:43:13 EDT Organization: Proper UNIX, San Leandro, CA Lines: 27 This is in reply to the request for information about smoking. It is known that nicotine stimulates receptors for the neuro- transmitter on nerve cells in the CNS. Besides the direct effect of mimicing acetylcholine (including effects on memory and thinking), other neurotransmitters are released by the downstream neurons. These include norepinephrine, which among many effects may diminish anxiety, anger and dampen response to 'stress', and dopamine, which decreases appetite and appears to produce subjective sensations of pleasure--at least it is positively reinforcing in animals. Another inportant element of smoking is the fact that positive feedback is so rapid--all the animal conditioning models say that the briefer the time from response to positive reinforcement, the stronger the conditioning. These facts provide some explanation for why people persist in a habit with such detrimental aspects. They do not explain why people *don't* smoke. It seems to me that a reasonable guess is that there are constitutional, plausibly genetic, differences between individua which explain different susceptibilities to drug dependencies. It comes down to a conflict between the objective drawbacks of smoking and the subjective benefitGiven our ignorance of much of the biology, and the impossibility of experiencing another person's internal chemical milieu, let alone their life experiences, a little toloration and mutual accommodation seems called for.