WASHINGTON — Nicotine builds up gradually in smokers’ brains rather than spiking after each puff, according to a study that might help point to new ways to help people quit smoking.
Dr. Jed Rose of Duke University reports in Monday’s online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that nicotine buildup in the brain was gradual over several minutes.
Scientists have theorized there is a spike of nicotine in the brain about seven seconds after each puff, but hardly any measurements had been taken until now, Rose said.
Maximum brain levels of nicotine were reached in 3 to 5 minutes and built up more slowly in addicted smokers than in casual ones, the researchers found. “This slower rate resulted from nicotine staying longer in the lungs of dependent smokers, which may be a result of the chronic effects of smoke on the lungs,” Rose suggested.
“Now that we know there are not these spikes” that had been expected, Rose said, researchers may be better able to develop new approaches to help smokers get what they need from cigarettes but in a way that’s not addictive. His laboratory, for example, is working on a mist inhaler to deliver nicotine without any combustion.
The research was funded by the giant tobacco companies Philip Morris USA and Philip Morris International. The researchers said the companies had no role in designing or carrying out the research or analyzing the results.
