Early Nicotine use Re-Writes the Brain for Addiction

Ivanhoe Newswire

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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Starting young may make it harder to quit smoking as an adult. New research reveals nicotine actually changes the cells in the brains of young smokers.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center exposed young and middle-aged people to nicotine and compared their responses to nicotine exposure. They report the younger subjects, especially males, had a pronounced breakdown of nerve cell membranes in the brain. These changes could alter the "hardwiring" of the brain and make an addiction to nicotine in adult years more likely.

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One in four teenagers are smokers in the United States. While this number is down from years past, some experts say not enough is being done to help the teens who are actively addicted to nicotine.

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SOURCE: Presented at Neuroscience 2006 in Atlanta, Oct. 14-18, 2006