Phil was quietly reviewing the mail that had accumulated on his desk when he came across a report that stunned him. He reached for the phone and pushed three buttons fast.
“Yes, boss?” Morris said, his head thrusting into the corner office where his friend and co-worker held forth.
“Take a look at this,” Phil said, pushing a couple of pieces of paper across the desk.
Morris picked up the top sheet and sat down. His mouth moved but no sound came out as his eyes traced back and forth on the text in front of him. “Well, I’ll be smoked,” he said. “If that doesn’t beat all! They’re going to go inside the brain to stop people from craving nicotine.”
“Not for a while,” Phil said. “They’re just doing research on mice right now.”
“Mice don’t smoke.”
“No, but they can get themselves addicted to nicotine.”
“With help from the lab guys.”
“Granted, but addicted in any case. What they’ve done is they’ve found a neuropeptide receptor in the brain that makes it possible for a chain reaction to take place that makes mice crave nicotine.”
Morris leaned back. “Phil,” he said, “I’ve told you a thousand times. Smoking is an intellectual activity. Starts right here in the brain.” He tapped his forehead.
“Maybe so, but remember we’re talking about nicotine, not tobacco.”
“So?”
“Well, scientists now have a way of blocking those receptors so that mice that were addicted to nicotine lose their craving. They don’t want nicotine any more.”
“Hmm. That could be bad for us.”
“Not for a while, Morris. It takes a while for these things to surface. But still, we need to think of our future and what we can do to keep a receptor blocker from ruining it.”
“Won’t happen, pal. People love to smoke. They crave nicotine, but they really like the experience of smoking. The smoke, the breathing in, the good feelings. It’s fun to smoke.”
“Thanks, Morris,” Phil said as he put the papers into a folder. “Thanks a lot.”
Source: Molecular Switch in Brain May End Smokers’ Cravings
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