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Some cigarette brands are likely to be far more addictive than others, new research warns. For the first time, scientists have measured the amount of super-addictive "freebase" nicotine different cigarettes deliver to the smoker. Like crack cocaine, freebase nicotine vaporises and passes rapidly through the lungs into the bloodstream. Because it reaches the brain so quickly it is thought to be more addictive than normal nicotine, which stays in the form of sooty smoke particles. Until now it has not been known how much freebase nicotine various types of cigarette contain. The new research, from a team at Oregon Health...

The downsides of smoking are plentiful, ranging from stained fingers and teeth to an increased risk of lung cancer. But one potential upside was discovered recently when research suggested that cigarette smoking may delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Findings published online this week by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicate that nornicotine, a by-product of nicotine, could be responsible for this protective effect. Kim Janda and Tobin Dickerson of the Scripps Research Institute tested the effect of nornicotine on amyloid beta proteins, which aggregate into the plaques that are a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. Specifically, the...

4 students fail nicotine part of city drug testsNone fail alcohol or drug portionsBy Bayne Hughes DAILY Education Writerhughes@decaturdaily.com · 340-2432Decatur City Schools had their first drug test failures during November's random tests, but not for drugs or alcohol.According to Supervisor for Safety and Alternative Education Phil Hastings, four students failed the tobacco portion of the random tests given to students participating in competitive extracurricular activities."All of the students admitted to it (smoking cigarettes or using smokeless tobacco), and are taking steps to stop using it," Hastings said.The penalties for positive nicotine use are not as harsh as the penalties...

<p>Tobacco farmer Dwight Watson's voice poured through the phone line like cream on a slice of sweet- potato pie. He was calling from North Carolina, where his family has grown tobacco for 150 years. He had read my column asking why, despite billion-dollar liability suits that slammed tobacco companies for their deadly and addictive product, cigarettes are still on the market.</p>

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc said Thursday US regulators had approved an over-the-counter nicotine lozenge designed to help people quit smoking. (Who wants to QUIT!!) The Commit Lozenge helps relieve craving and nicotine withdrawal symptoms by providing a temporary alternative source of nicotine, the company said in a statement. The product also gives smokers a way to determine the appropriate strength of nicotine they need, based on how quickly they need to smoke after waking, the company said. The lozenges have been shown effective in helping people quit, including smokers who have tried quitting before, the company said....

SMOKE-FILLED ROOMS BROOKLYN TOBACCO PARTY by Herb Allen Issue of 2002-07-29Posted 2002-07-22 CLASH, which stands for Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment, is the only organization dedicated exclusively to protecting the rights of New York City smokers. It was founded two years ago by Audrey Silk, a thirty-eight-year-old police officer in Brooklyn's Sixty-seventh Precinct, who smokes between one and two packs a day and was, she says, "sick and tired of the government telling me how to live my life." Under Silk's leadership, CLASH has opposed the ban on smoking in restaurants, fought proposals to raise the tax on cigarettes, and...

Cannabis poses a greater threat to health than tobacco, lung experts have warned. The warning comes on the day that Home Secretary David Blunkett is due to make a Commons statement about the future of government drug policy. Many young people are simply not aware that smoking cannabis may put them at increased risk of respiratory cancers and infections . Dame Helena Shovelton: The Home Affairs Select Committee has recommended that cannabis is downgraded from a class B drug to class C. This would mean that possession would lead to a caution, rather than arrest. The British Lung Foundation is...