A new study shows that, in the ongoing hunt for vaccines that can guard against addiction, a weak nicotine vaccine might be worse than none at all. While research in that field is continuing, this is another pitfall for scientists to be wary of.
While an attempt to scare younger smokers into quitting by showing them what they might look like in 20 years is interesting, I’m not very confident that it will work. Scare tactics have been used in various forms for centuries, and when it comes to addiction they are almost always ineffective; forethought, planning, and consequences are governed by the frontal lobe, which is often powerless over the primal, pleasure-based system that drives addiction.
Limiting the access of teens to addictive substances, however, is a much more promising approach.
Here’s an interesting article about the relationship between “behavioral addictions” — gambling, sex, and some forms of eating disorders — and substance addictions. This is a topic I’ve thought long and hard about, and I’m still thinking about how to separate them, and what their connections are. I suggest you follow this upcoming series if you’re interested in the topic, as it promises to be fascinating.
And finally, here’s a short consideration on how Obamacare will affect addiction treatment when it comes fully into effect. You’ll hear a lot more about that on this blog as it occurs.