• Alcohol and tobacco are the two most frequently "co-abused" substances in the general population.
• Alcoholics, the heaviest of drinkers, also tend to be the heaviest of smokers.
• A recent study has discovered that nicotine (in the form of tobacco) increases alcohol consumption.
• Future treatment options may need to address the two addictions simultaneously.

It is no secret that alcohol beverages and tobacco are often consumed/used at the same time. The exact mechanisms, however, for the concurrent use of the two substances have stumped researchers for some time. A recent study published in the February edition of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, has shown that nicotine, the active ingredient in smoking, increases alcohol consumption.

"We knew that many more alcoholics smoked than members of the general population," said Dzung Anh L, senior scientist at the Centre for Addiction & Mental Health, assistant professor of pharmacology at the University of Toronto, and the study's lead author. "We also knew that the active ingredient in smoking is nicotine. So we asked ourselves: Does nicotine increase alcohol consumption?"

Of the five experiments that comprised L's study, three confirmed their suspicions. "We found that nicotine can indeed promote alcohol consumption," said L. "Furthermore, it's likely that nicotine and alcohol can act through the same rewarding system in the brain."

Nicotine is defined as "a poisonous volatile alkaloid derived from tobacco." It is also the 'addictive' component of tobacco. On average, between 80 and 90 percent of the nicotine that reaches the lungs through cigarette smoking is absorbed into the body. After reaching the brain, nicotine activates a group of proteins called nicotinic receptors. These proteins, located on the surface of certain brain cells, normally regulate a number of physiological functions, some of which may contribute to aspects of reinforcement or de
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Contact: Dzung Anh Le, Ph.D.
anh_le@camh.net
416.535.8501 x6744
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
13-Feb-2000

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