Studies Link Family of Genes to Nicotine Addiction
One person reaches for a cigarette soon after waking, smokes a pack a day, and cannot seem to quit. Another smokes a few cigarettes now and then but never feels driven by the need for nicotine. A third person smoked for a while in youth and then stopped. According to several recent NIDA-funded studies, such contrasting smoking patterns and responses may arise because individuals inherit different forms of half a dozen genes that dictate the features of the brain receptor to which nicotine binds. Scientists have long known that nicotine produces many of its effects by attaching to receptors for