As smokers come to terms with
the ban, anthony daniels looks at the benefits of tobacco
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F or those who do not smoke, cigarettes are foul, a social nuisance. For those who do smoke them, they are divine.
Smoking tobacco is one of the few ways in which man can, by pharmacological means, simultaneously increase relaxation and sharpen his mind, without any risk whatever of becoming psychotic.
The nicotine in cigarettes causes the release of a neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, in an area of the brain that causes increased vigilance and alertness. It thus helps the smoker to concentrate. Nicotine also releases dopamine in the so-called 'pleasure' area of the brain, giving rise to a sense of well-being. (Rats can be trained to press a lever in order to have nicotine delivered to certain parts of their brain.)
For a long time, cigarettes were considered essential items of consumption. During the two world wars they were part of a soldier's |
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| Tobacco gives off the smoke that cheers but does not inebriate |
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basic rations. A man who didn't smoke was an oddity.
I have often envied smokers their conviviality, and surely we all have an image of a smoke-filled pub or bar where people congregate to have lively and intelligent conversation. Smouldering tobacco gives off the smoke that cheers but does not inebriate.
But health conquers all, and health effects are the argument of arguments nowadays. Until about 1950, though, smoking was still sometimes recommended for the treatment of asthma, and early research found that smoking protected against the development of Alzheimer's disease. Is later research proving the opposite a panicky reaction to the possibility that smokers had been given a rationalisation to continue their foul habit?
For the record, I hate cigarette smoke and have no shares in tobacco companies. A single cigarette smoked in a restaurant ruins a meal for me. But I can't see why there shouldn't be smokers' bars and restaurants. The customers in them would be far jollier than we miserable abstainers. 
FIRST POSTED JULY 3, 2007
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