Jun 18

Scientists have long known that smoking suppresses appetite, although the mechanism behind it wasn’t clearly pinned down until recently. As a result, people who quit smoking tend to gain weight as their bodies adjust to the new lifestyle, and they become hungrier on average than their smoking peers.

This has of course become a major roadblock in quitting smoking. As if quitting weren’t hard enough by itself, it turns out that it can make you fat—although the benefits no doubt outweigh a little weight gain. Thankfully, new research suggests there may be a way to kick the habit without the extra pounds.

A recent study by Yale School of Medicine scientists showed how nicotine, an active ingredient in cigarettes, works to suppress hunger in smokers. This can pave the way for the creation of a new drug which would stave off cravings in new quitters, helping them quit without gaining weight.

The researchers found that nicotine activates a group of neurons in the hypothalamus, a small part of the brain that controls several functions, including hunger. These neurons then send a signal that the body is full. Nicotine appears to work by activating a different set of receptors, rather than the ones responsible for cigarette cravings.

The initial goal was to isolate the function of the brain’s nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, which appeared to be nicotine’s main target. The scientists tried a depression drug that had earlier proven effective on these receptors, and found that mice that were given the drug …

written by madamejune

Sep 11
Due to the large-scale harm meted out by smoking on human beings and the environment as a whole, numerous efforts have been initiated in order to curb the prevalence of smoking addiction. Smoking has been prevalent in the human society from a very early period and it is very hard to determine the exact circumstances that initially developed cravings for nicotine in the minds of human beings. When man was first introduced to nicotine addiction, he was not aware of the harmful effects of smoking. During that period, man was not knowledgeable enough to identify the disastrous effects of smoking and most particularly, at that time science was also not well-developed to ascertain the killing effects of smoking in the human body.Slowly and gradually, man got hooked to this widespread addiction and with the passage of time it has almost become an urgent necessity for man. Even though there are people who are not addicted to tobacco smoking, still they are also harmed tremendously if they are exposed to passive smoking. Smoking is omnipresent in every nook and corner of the world. But unfortunately, even after being very well aware of the harm and destruction that is inevitable due to smoking, human beings are undeterred and are the least bothered to fight off this very harmful and at the same time, equally powerful addiction.Efforts have been initiated from all quarters to help man ward off the addiction of smoking but the results that have been yielded so far are not …

written by The Scientist