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• Copyright 1990 The San Diego Union-Tribune The San Diego Union-Tribune September 8,1990, Saturday SECTION: LIFESTYLE; Ed. 1,2,3,4,5,6; Pg. C-3 LENGTH: 578 words HEADLINE: Cigarettes are seen as a gateway for kids to more potent drugs BYLINE: Barbara Fitzsimmons; Staff Writer BODY: Parents be warned: Smoking cigarettes is not just an innocent part of growing up. In fact, it may be a very potent gateway to other, heavier drug usage, members of the National Conference on Nicotine Dependence were told at their meeting in San Diego ~ yesterday. Some parents are happy to learn that their children are "just smoking and not doing junk;" Dr. John Slade told the group of about 200 gathered at the Hilton Resort. However, cigarettes are now included in a group of four "gateway drugs," Slade said, along with smokeless tobacco, beer and wine coolers. using other psychoactive drugs," said Slade, assistant professor of clinical medicine at the New Jersey University of Medicine and Dentistry. Kids who do use the gateway substances, he said, set themselves up for further drug use. Slade said figures from the National Institute on Drug Abuse show that 92 percent of adolescent marijuana smokers used tobacco first. In addition, more than 90 percent of the teen-agers and adults who seek treatment for alcohol or drug dependency are also addicted to cigarettes. Slade's comments drew criticism from the Tobacco Institute, a Washington-based lobbying group for the cigarette industry. ~ "Nicotine is not intoxicating or mind-altering;" said Brennan Dawson, a spokeswoman for the organization. "There's nothing about nicotine that would lead you to other drugs." N o 00 Slade agreed that tobacco itself "is not the root of other drug problems." ~

0 Rather, there is a connection between the behaviors around teen-age cigarette usage and the behaviors around other drug use. "Cigarettes teach drug acquisition skills," he said. "For the most part, they're illegal for kids to buy." Thus, young people who smoke must devise ways to get cigarette money, then find someone to buy the cigarettes for them, then sneak the actual act of smoking. This sequence is similar to that for buying and using crack cocaine or other drugs. In addition, kids who smoke "get firsthand experience in handling emotional states;" Slade said. "Cigarettes teach drug-taking skills." Teens may use cigarettes to relax themselves under stress, Slade said. Also, "Cigarettes promote the attitudes that foster other drug-taking behaviors," said - Slade. In other words, kids may find that smoking cigarettes or drinking beer doesn't cause any problems in the short run. Thus, they have a hard time accepting warnings about drugs in general. ~ "They say, It doesn't matter what I'm learning in class,' " said Slade. "Personal experience is more powerful than education." • Another conference speaker, Dr. Neal Benowitz, professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco, described the physical effects of nicotine as similar to those of other psychoactive drugs. release in the brain. It makes you feel good," said Benowitz. "This may be due to dopamine release." In addition, Benowitz said, nicotine can be a relaxant, suppresses appetite and serves as a mood regulator. "If you smoke in the morning, it helps wake you up," said Benowitz. "However, it may be used later in the day to relieve stress. It enhances behavior." The Tobacco Institute's Dawson noted that "one does have a physical reaction to nicotine. You also have a physical reaction to exercise." But regular exercise benefits the body. Slade noted that even if young people who smoke don't go on to other drugs, cigarettes themselves can eventually kill. LOAD-DATE: September 24,1996 00

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