Dependency’s level of nicotine tolerance

Our dependency’s level of nicotine tolerance (the amount of nicotine required daily in order to overcome acetylcholine receptor up-regulation and desensitization), combined with nicotine’s half-life to compel each of us to decide when during each day we would engage in replenishment in order to avoid experiencing early withdrawal anxieties. Possibly unaware we were doing so, we each established daily replenishment patterns that taught and conditioned our subconscious when to expect more nicotine. It was watching and remembering as use cues arriving via sight, smell, sound, taste, touch and emotions were quickly followed by arrival of new nicotine.

Meta-Analysis of Smoking Ban and Heart Attack Studies

In the largest meta-analysis to date of studies examining the effect of smoking bans on heart attack admissions, a paper published this week in the journal Circulation concludes that smoking bans lead to an immediate 15% decline in heart attack admissions or deaths. I noted that the authors excluded from the analysis a study which found no effect of smoking bans on heart disease deaths in six states. After further examination of the reasons provided by the authors for the exclusion of that study, I have concluded that there was no valid reason for the study's exclusion and it appears to be motivated by a desire to exclude the negative findings than by a valid scientific justification.

Despite Best Efforts of Anti-Smoking Groups, Electronic Cigarettes are Here to Stay

The Food and Drug Administration along with at least seven national anti-smoking groups made a valiant effort to remove electronic cigarettes from the market. In 2009, the FDA exerted what it purported was its jurisdiction over electronic cigarettes under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and effectively banned these products. At the same time, seven national anti-smoking groups promoted the removal of electronic cigarettes from the market.