Aren there new drugs that “mimic” nicotine?
Pharmacological research has given rise to new drugs that trick the brain into reacting the same way it might with nicotine. However these drugs also do nothing for the behavior patterns smokers have taken years to develop, patterns that have little to do with the drug nicotine. These are the situations that “trigger” a cigarette – lifestyle patterns that seem inexorably connected to smoking such as talking on the phone, starting the car, finishing a task or starting a new one, etc. The desire for a smoke in these cases does not necessarily come from nicotine depletion but from a behavioral connection to a trigger or an urge.
Pharmacological research has given rise to new drugs that trick the brain into reacting the same way it might with nicotine. However these drugs also do nothing for the behavior patterns smokers have taken years to develop, patterns that have little to do with the drug nicotine. These are the situations that “trigger” a cigarette – lifestyle patterns that seem inexorably connected to smoking such as talking on the phone, starting the car, finishing a task or starting a new one, etc. The desire for a smoke in these cases does not necessarily come from nicotine depletion but from a behavioral connection to a trigger or an urge.
