Nicotine Has One Benefit, at Least

Although I’m a passionate non-smoker now, I can remember from my early smoking days the calming effect a cigarette could have. And it wasn’t just imagination, although that’s what the quitters always maintained. Now Californian scientists have put this to the test, and published their findings in Behavioral and Brain Functions.

Twenty non-smokers completed two games with a fictitious opponent – one game while wearing a 3.5 mg nicotine skin patch, and one wearing a placebo patch. Brain metabolism was assessed using fluoro deoxy-glucose Positron Emission Topography (FDG-PET) during an anger provocation task. The task was designed to cause and then measure retaliatory tendencies. Each participant had to respond to a visual stimulus as quickly as possible. They were asked to set the level of white noise she/he wanted the opponent to receive if the opponent lost. By measuring the reaction time, intensity and length of retaliation, the researchers could get an index of the participant’s anger.

When players were wearing the nicotine patch they had decreases in reaction times, which were accompanied by decreased brain metabolism in the left thalamus. They also had shortening of retaliation time, which was associated with increased brain metabolism in the cortex and subcortex of the brain. There were no nicotine-related changes in the intensity of retaliation.

The scientists suggest that nicotine interferes with brain areas that are responsible for emotional processing, and that this amounts to a calming influence. They also speculate an angry disposition might be a risk factor for smoking initiation and nicotine addiction.

This confirmation of what most smokers know – that a cigarette does have a calming influence – may make it harder to persuade people to quit. It provides them with an excuse to continue; but this is where the nicotine patch comes in.